Asthma is a commonly found disease that is chronic in nature and causes inflammatory disorders of a patient’s airways (passage through which air reaches the lungs of a human body). The type of health problems encountered due to such a condition by a person are attacks of wheezing, coughing, breathlessness and chest tightness.
Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by recurrent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing, and occurs in people of all ages. It is the most common chronic disease among children. It currently affects about 235 million people.
Types
Clinically, asthma is classified according to various factors such as frequency of symptoms, and the expiratory flow rates. Other factors of classification include a topic and non-atopic that is, whether or not the condition is invoked by allergens. The following are the few ways in which this can be classified.
- Brittle Asthma
Characterized by frequent severe attacks. This can appear in spite of intense medication in some cases.
- Exercise induced Asthma
There has been a correlation that is discovered between exercise and the disease. Sports such as cycling, running and mountain biking are found to be more susceptible to the disease as found in some studies.
- Occupational Asthma
This kind of asthma is a very commonly reported occupational respiratory disease. This refers to the asthmatic condition that arises or worsens due to the exposures one has to face during his/her work hours. The highly impacted occupations under this category are operators, laborers, and fabricators which mainly come under the canopy of the manufacturing industries. The exposure to animal proteins, enzymes, flour, and chemicals is believed to be a high contributor to the work related to asthma.
Symptoms
- Coughing may be dry or with sputum
- Wheezing may be in various forms. It may come in episodes and normal at other times.
- Shortness of breath which worsens with physical activity.
- Abnormal breathing pattern
- Chest pain or tightness feeling in the chest
- Flaring of nasal
A frequently asked question is what triggers an asthma attack?
Asthma is a chronic breathing disorder. Some causes and triggers are common to all people with asthma, and some are more individual. Although the fundamental causes of asthma are not completely understood, the strongest risk factors for developing asthma are inhaled asthma triggers. These include:
- Indoor allergens (for example house mites in bedding, carpets and stuffed furniture, pollution and pet dander)
- Outdoor allergens (such as pollens and mould)
- Tobacco smoke
- Chemical irritants in the workplace.
- Emotional imbalances and stress
Other triggers can include cold air, extreme arousal such as anger or fear, and physical exercise. In some people, asthma can even be triggered by certain medications, such as aspirin and other non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, and beta-blockers (which are used to treat high blood pressure, heart conditions, and migraine).
According to WHO estimates, 235 million people suffer from asthma globally. Although asthma cannot be cured, appropriate management can control the disorder and enable people to enjoy a good quality of life. In addition, some children with milder forms of asthma outgrow their symptoms with age.
