What Are The Symptoms Of Allergic Asthma
If you have allergic asthma, you may have many of the same symptoms you would experience with other types of asthma. These symptoms can include:
- Coughing frequently, especially at night.
- Experiencing chest tightness .
These symptoms can be very intense during an asthma attack. Make sure you have a treatment plan in place if you have severe asthma symptoms this plan often includes an inhaler .
You can also experience symptoms more closely related to allergies. These are usually less intense than asthma symptoms and can happen when youre exposed to an allergen. These symptoms can include:
- A rash and hives.
Know Your Triggers To Help Manage And Control Symptoms
There is no set cure for asthma it can only be and treated. Once you identify your triggers through a skin or blood test, you can come up with the best plan for managing and controlling your symptoms.
Knowing your triggers and avoiding them can help prevent or control an allergy-induced asthma episode. The AFAA advises people not to leave food or crumbs in living quarters to prevent pests like cockroaches fix leaks to prevent mold wash bedding in hot water and use mattress and pillow covers to protect against dust mites vacuum pet dander and wear a mask when outdoors.
For some with allergic asthma, allergy medications may help avert or alleviate symptoms. If your allergies are extremely severe, you should consider seeing a doctor to discuss a treatment plan that may involve a prescription like . Some over-the-counter options may help those with mild allergy symptoms. These include:
- Saline nasal sprays
To treat an asthma attack, there are both short-term and long-term options for relief. Short-term options seek to relax the narrowing muscles in the airways and ease the flow of air. The goal of long-term medications is to control and reduce inflammation in the airways and make them less sensitive to triggering allergens.
Asthma medications may be inhaled through a nebulizer or an . A is a machine that uses a mask to convert medication into a mist that is more easily inhaled into the lungs.
Additional reporting by Nicol Natale.
Certain Types Of Allergies Can Increase A Childs Risk Of Developing Asthma
When the allergic reaction takes place in the airways, they become inflamed and constricted. Children inherit atopy from their biological parents. However, it is not the same as inheriting a specific type of allergy. Rather, being atopic means only having a tendency to develop allergies. In other words, both the child and the parent might be allergic to something, but not necessarily the same thing.
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Treating Perennial Allergic Rhinitis
One of the most effective ways to prevent nasal polyps is to effectively manage allergic rhinitis. Common treatment approaches include:
- Allergen avoidance:This involves figuring out ways to reduce the presence of allergens in your environment. It may entail deep cleaning of all surfaces, regularly laundering bedding, opting for wood floors versus carpeting, or finding new homes for pets.
- Medications:A number of medications can help with perennial allergic rhinitis, many of which are also indicated for CRSwNP. These include nasal or oral corticosteroids, antihistamines , Atarax or Vistaril , and sodium cromoglycate.
- Allergen immunotherapy:Another approach to chronic allergic conditions involves exposing affected patients to increasing levels of allergens. Over time, this is expected to reduce the bodys inflammatory response, reducing the severity and frequency of symptoms.
Food Chemicals And Additives As Asthma Triggers
Food chemicals and additives are not typically listed as allergens like the common allergens on a food label. This is because, for most people, these ingredients do not cause an allergic reaction. However, a small number of people may experience that certain food chemicals and additives trigger an allergic reaction and asthma symptoms. The more you consume the ingredient, the worse your symptoms might get. According to the Department of Healths Better Health website, these are additives that could potentially cause an asthma flare-up or symptoms:1
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What Are Common Allergens That Can Trigger Allergic Asthma
Allergens can be found all around you. These can be in your indoor and outdoor environments. When you have allergic asthma, inhaling these allergens can set off your symptoms. Its important to know what can trigger your asthma so that you can control your condition.
Possible allergens that can trigger allergic asthma can include:
- Dander: This is skin flakes and its usually from pets. Hair is often grouped with dander as a common allergen.
- Pollen: A powdery substances, pollen comes from plants. The most common types of pollen that trigger allergic asthma are grass and weeds.
- Mold: Typically found in places that hold moisture , mold produces spores that get into the air and can trigger your asthma.
- Dust mites: Very small and shaped like spiders, dust mites live in the soft surfaces of your home . They eat skin flakes that you naturally shed all of the time. Both the mites themselves and their feces are allergens.
- Cockroaches: These pests can be found in many homes and other buildings. Your asthma can be triggered by the feces, saliva and other body parts of the cockroaches.
Some people suffer from seasonal allergies. These are allergies that flare up at a certain time of year. This is often connected to spring because of the blooming of many plants. During this time of year, there is more pollen in the air than other seasons .
Can Current Therapeutic Regimens Prevent Virus
There is no doubt that the reductions observed in asthma morbidity and mortality observed over the last 20 years are the result of better therapeutic management however, the real question is, are asthma therapeutics effective in virus-induced exacerbations? Large studies have shown that even low-dose inhaled corticosteroids reduce exacerbations and the risk of death from asthma . For example, in comparison to no treatment, 100 g budesonide twice daily resulted in a 60% reduced risk of having a severe exacerbation in the OPTIMA trial . The addition of a long-acting 2-agonist to ICS further reduces the frequency , severity and duration of exacerbations. Studies such as these were not designed to identify the cause of the exacerbation however, as viruses are thought to cause 50% of all exacerbations, it is reasonable to assume that some reduction in the incidence of virus-induced exacerbations would occur. None of these studies specifically identified whether improved asthma management does one or more of the following: 1) reduces the rate of respiratory viral illnesses 2) reduces the rate at which respiratory viral infections trigger a sequence of inflammatory events that will result in an exacerbation or 3) reduces the severity of symptoms or lung function such that the episode does not require exacerbation-defining medical intervention.
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How To Manage Allergic Asthma
An essential step to managing allergic asthma is identifying and avoiding triggers when possible. You may need to remove the source of the allergen from your home or other environment.
You can also reduce allergic asthma symptoms by washing out your nasal passages regularly with saline solution using a Neti pot or squeeze bottle.
Allergic asthma can have serious complications. One complication is anaphylaxis. This type of severe allergic reaction may have symptoms such as:
- nasal congestion
Untreated anaphylaxis can be life threatening. It may cause health concerns such as an abnormal heart rate, weakness, low blood pressure, cardiac arrest, and pulmonary arrest.
If youre at risk of a serious allergic reaction, your doctor may prescribe an epinephrine self-injecting device . Carrying this medication with you at all times and using it within the first few minutes of the onset of allergy symptoms can prevent a life threatening allergic reaction.
Allergic asthma attacks arent always preventable. However, you may be able to make them less frequent by changing your environment.
The steps you take will depend on the allergen causing your symptoms. They may include:
- washing bedding frequently in hot 130°F water
- mopping instead of sweeping
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Intrinsic Vs Extrinsic Asthma
Allergic asthma, which is also called extrinsic asthma or allergy-induced asthma, is caused by allergens. So, allergic asthma is often triggered during spring, fall and summer allergy seasons. But it can really flare up any time, since other environmental allergens are present year-round. Between 80-90% of children with asthma have allergy triggers, compared to 50% of adults.
Non-allergic asthma, or intrinsic asthma, can have a wide range of triggers, including respiratory infections, exercise, smoke exposure or even stress. In this category, infections are especially common triggers for allergies in children.
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How Is Asthma Diagnosed In Children
Asthma is sometimes hard to diagnose because it can resemble other respiratory illnesses or conditions. For that reason, asthma is under-diagnosed and therefore, under- treated. Sometimes the only symptom is a chronic cough at night, or cough and wheezing after exercise.
To diagnose asthma and distinguish it from other lung disorders, your childs pediatrician will rely on a combination of things: the childs medical history, a thorough physical exam, and laboratory tests. These tests may include spirometry peak flow monitoring chest X-rays and possibly blood and allergy skin tests. To help your physician make the best diagnosis possible, bring a record of your childs symptoms and experiences with asthma symptoms when you have an appointment.
Alternative Pet Ideas For Children With Asthma
If your children love animals but cant keep a household pet, here are some other ways they could feel connected to an animal:
- Sponsor an animal through a zoo, safari park or charity scheme.
- Get your child a substitute pet such as an interactive toy like a Furby or Little Live Pet, or an animal app. Virtual pets let children feel like theyre caring for an animal without the risk of triggering asthma symptoms.
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Cold Turkey Vs Tapering
How quickly did you discontinue gluten from your diet? Did you find everything with gluten in your kitchen and toss it in the garbage? Or did you make a conscientious effort to slowly reduce the amount of gluten in your diet in a tapering method. There is debate as to whether tapering off of gluten products is a superior method of withdrawal to giving it up cold turkey.
Many people find that when they quit cold turkey from a previously high gluten intake, that they cannot handle the withdrawal symptoms. Part of this may be due to certain gluten-induced endorphin deficiencies. Those that taper down their gluten consumption before finally quitting generally find that withdrawal symptoms are less severe because theyve given their physiology some extra time to transition and adapt to reduced consumption.
When To See An Allergist
See an allergist if you develop unexplained wheezing that keeps coming back or along with other symptoms, such as rapid breathing or problems taking in air.
If you begin wheezing after being stung by an insect, taking medication or eating something you are allergic to, then get emergency treatment. You should also seek emergency treatment if you have difficulty breathing or your skin turns blue.
If you have mild wheezing that comes with a cold or an upper respiratory infection, you might not need treatment.
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Is There Such Thing As A Hypoallergenic Cat
If you suffer from allergy induced asthma brought on by exposure to cats, but really want to care for a kitty of your own, you may want to consider a hypoallergenic breed. There is certainly no guarantee that these breeds will prevent your asthma attacks, however these cats have been specially bred to produce less of the problematic Fel D1 protein and may be a better choice for you.
Here are a few breeds of hypoallergenic cats that you may want to find out more about:
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The need for inhaler frequently
Contact Oklahoma allergy and asthma clinic, OKOA for allergy treatment.
**Disclaimer: The information on this page is not intended to be a doctors advice, nor does it create any form of patient-doctor relationship.
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How To Get Tested
Allergists are specialists in diagnosing and treating asthma and other allergic diseases. And allergists are specially trained to identify the factors that trigger asthma or allergies.
Asthma is sometimes hard to diagnose because it can look like other breathing problems, such as emphysema, bronchitis and lower respiratory infections. Some people with asthma do not realize they have it and are never treated. Sometimes the only symptom is a chronic cough, especially at night. In other cases, coughing or wheezing may occur only with exercise. Some people mistakenly think they have frequent bronchitis, since respiratory infections usually settle in the chest of people with asthma.
To diagnose asthma and distinguish it from other lung issues, allergists rely on the combination of a medical history and a thorough physical examination, including certain tests. The tests include spirometry , peak flow monitoring , chest X-rays, and sometimes blood and allergy tests.
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What Makes Some Pollen Cause Allergies And Not Others
Plant pollens that are carried by the wind cause most allergies of the nose, eyes and lungs. These plants are natural pollutants produced at various times of the year when their small, inconspicuous flowers discharge literally billions of pollen particles. Because the particles can be carried significant distances, it is important for you not only to understand local environmental conditions, but also conditions over the broader area of the state or region in which you live.
Unlike the wind-pollinated plants, conspicuous wild flowers or flowers used in most residential gardens are pollinated by bees, wasps, and other insects and therefore are not widely capable of producing allergic disease.
The Asthma Is Usually Linked To Allergic Rhinitis
Environmental allergies can affect your airway in unique ways:
- Allergic rhinitis affects your nose and sinuses, and may cause sneezing, congestion, and an itchy nose and eyes.
- mainly affects your lungs, and may cause coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath or rapid breathing.
But when you have allergic asthma, youll likely develop both sets of symptoms at once.
In children, the signs can be more subtle, notes Dr. Purcell. Kids may say theyre too tired to play, but parents should check for wheezing or coughing. If the other kids are running around playing, and your child wants to sit on the sidelines, he or she may be having trouble breathing, he says.
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What Is A Chest X
By viewing your lungs on an X-ray, your doctor can see if you have another health condition that may be causing asthma-like symptoms. Asthma may cause a small increase in the size of your lungs , but a person with asthma will usually have a normal chest X-ray. Patients with COPD will also have hyperinflation, but emphysema causes holes in lung tissue, called blebs or bullae, which are evident on a chest X-ray. A chest X-ray can also make sure you don’t have pneumonia or lung cancer, particularly in smokers.
How Do You Know If You Are Having An Asthma Attack
An asthma attack happens when the body is exposed to a triggerlike pollen or smokethat causes the airways to become inflamed and swollen.
Asthma attacks are uncomfortable to experience and can be frightening, especially for children. If you or someone you know is having any of the following symptoms, they may be having an asthma attack:
- Difficulty breathing
- Chest tightness or pain
- Coughing or wheezing
An asthma attack may go away after a few minutes with proper treatment, but symptoms can last longer and become life-threatening if untreated. Seek medical attention immediately if you or someone you know is having a severe asthma attack with one or more of the following symptoms:
- A feeling of panic about the asthma attack
- Pale and sweaty face
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What Happens In An Asthma Attack
During an episode of asthma, when your airway comes into contact with a trigger, the linings of the airway become inflamed and narrow.
Mucus clogs and tightens the airways, making it difficult for someone having an episode to breathe. Each individual case of asthma is different, and each person has different reactions to various triggers. Some allergens are more common than others.
Are All Asthma Symptoms Caused By Allergies
No. While a strong connection exists, other triggers can lead to asthma attacks such as strong odors, exercise, cold air, and other respiratory infections. Many people suffering from asthma have more than one trigger. The best way to manage symptoms is to be aware of the triggers and pay close attention as they may change over time.
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Common Allergens That Trigger Allergic Asthma
Among adults with asthma, 75 percent of those between ages 20 to 40 and 65 percent of those ages 55 and older have at least one allergy, according to research reported by Dr. Paula Busse, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Mount Sinai Department of Allergy and Immunology. She also reports that as many as 80 percent of children with allergies also have asthma.
There are certain allergens that typically trigger allergy-induced asthma in children and adults, such as:
Its important to note that not everything you are allergic to will cause asthma symptoms to develop, though another type of allergic reaction may develop. A doctor may perform a skin or blood test to determine the allergen triggering your allergic asthma.
In an allergy skin test, also referred to as a skin prick test, a nurse makes small marks in the skin and applies allergen extracts next to them. In adults, the skin test is usually conducted on the arm, and in children its done on the back. According to Mayo Clinic, a skin prick test can check up to 40 different substances at once.
Another option is an allergy blood test, which measures the level of IgE antibodies in the blood. A positive result for a total IgE test indicates an allergy after the overall number of IgE antibodies is measured. Alternatively, a specific IgE test identifies the levels of IgE antibodies in response to individual allergens so that you can discover whether or not you have allergies to a specific trigger, such as pollen.