One in six children in the country suffers from asthma so let’s take a look at the symptoms that this condition manifests. Thanks to the growing pollution, lifestyle choices like smoking and food that contains so many additives, more and more are coming within the ambit of this condition. While it is essentially a condition that affects the young and they may grow out of it, adults too suffer from it, usually after a respiratory illness.
Asthma is diagnosed in a very different manner from most illnesses. Asthma has a wide range of effects on humans and may be more or less severe depending on the type of asthma and how often the asthma attacks take place. For example, the diagnosis of a doctor may be “severe persistent” for a particular case and this may be due to the frequent nature of the symptoms and the inability to be as mobile as you once were. Many of the symptoms of an asthma attack involve heavy breathing and the inability to breathe easily (marked by blockage in air passageways) as well as wheezing and coughing. People with severe persistent symptoms may complain that the asthma attacks occur usually while sleeping at night.
The peak expiratory flow or PEF is a measure of how efficient your breathing is and how well you are able to blow air out of your passageways. If the PEF is less than two thirds of the normal rate, then this may be an indicator of a severe and persistent form of asthma. For those who are diagnosed with a “moderate persistent” diagnosis, the asthma attacks may occur as frequently as five or six times a week, and the inhaler is almost always necessary for many occasions. Patients with this diagnosis complain of the inability to perform daily functions and be active in their lives. These symptoms may be a little bit more than mild persistent, where the asthma attacks are a little less severe but still involve PEF of only 85%. Finally mild intermittent is a diagnosis of asthma attacks only a couple times a week and very mild and less severe. In this case the PEF reading may be at full capacity but the asthma attacks still inhibit activities and outdoor lifestyles.
It is also important to note the causes of asthma that lead to certain symptoms. Symptoms may differ based upon whether or not you are exposed to certain allergens that induce an allergic response in your system or other environmental factors that reduce breathing and bring on the slow onset of wheezing. Smoking may be another factor.
In asthma, the basic problem is in the airways. They get inflamed and swell up so there is less air that gets into the lungs. However, there is no problem with the lung tissue or the sacs in the lungs. It is just the bronchial tubes that go into a spasm. The wheezing that is characteristic of an asthma attack is the difficulty with which the air is pulled through the airways. This sounds like a labored, whistling sound. Most people who suffer from it say they feel they are just not getting enough air and they experience shortness of breath. Very often, besides the wheezing, there could be a cough and tightness in the chest area. The coughing is usually worse at night when the patient is in a supine position. Children especially should be given medication that prevents the attack and eases the cough. Changing a child’s position when he has a cough helps sometimes and in some cases, a basin of warm water in the room has been known to ease the symptoms. As different people suffer from a different intensity of symptoms, each has to find his own comfort level. However, keeping your doctor informed and following a preventive course carefully goes a long way in managing the symptoms.
The severity of the symptoms varies from person to person. While one might just experience mild symptoms, another might feel that his very breath is being squeezed out of him. It is very important not to let the symptoms progress to a bad stage and medication given at the slightest symptom can avert the attack and help you go about your normal day to day functions.
The symptoms of asthma have been known to manifest themselves in certain conditions. These could be in times of stress, when there is a change of weather, in wet, damp places, in spring when there is pollen in the air, when people around are smoking or when the air is very polluted. Not all asthma patients are affected by these conditions but many are and it is worth keeping them protected in such environments. Carrying an inhaler when there could be conditions like these is a safe precaution to take.