S For Managing Your Sore Throat
The first step in managing your allergy-induced sore throats is visiting a professional. From there, we can determine the root cause of your allergy, and help you create a personalized plan for removing the trigger from your life and/or ways to manage your allergies when removing the trigger isnt a realistic solution.
Short Term Relief
Providing short-term relief for a sore throat can usually be accomplished through the use of simple but effective home remedies. Drink warm liquids, especially tea with honey or lemon, and chicken broth or bouillon. Cold liquids can also help. Suck on Popsicles, hard candy, or throat lozenges to soothe irritation. Gargle with warm salt water several times a day. Use a humidifier or vaporizer to moisten the air.
Long Term Relief
More long-term solutions can involve immunotherapy, which is a series of allergy shots designed to build up your bodys immune system against the allergen causing you and your body stress.
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Symptoms Associated With Asthma Cough
A cough is a very common asthma symptom. In some people, cough is sometimes the only noticeable symptom of the condition.
When figuring out whether your cough is due to asthma or not, it may be helpful to assess any other related symptoms you have.
Other possible asthma symptoms include:
- chest tightness
Having An Asthma Action Plan
You and your doctor will also put together an asthma action plan. This is a personalised set of instructions that includes a list of your usual asthma medications and doses, guidance on what to do in different situations , and your doctors contact details.
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Why Does My Asthma Act Up At Night
Asthma can get worse at night. If you have symptoms at night, it’s called nighttime asthma. This is often a sign of uncontrolled asthma. It probably has to do with natural body rhythms and changes in your body’s hormones. With the right asthma management and treatment, you should be able to sleep through the night.
How Does The Doctor Know If My Child Has Asthma
There is no simple test to diagnose asthma. However, there are some signs that may help your child’s physician decide if your child has asthma:
Wheezing is a common symptom of asthma. You hear wheezing when air is moving through narrowed airways. Be sure to tell your doctor if your child wheezes.
Chronic cough is another hint that your child might have asthma. Be especially alert for coughing at night, after exercise, or after exposure to cold air.
Another clue to look for is shortness of breath during exercise. Naturally, all children get out of breath when theyre running and jumping, but most begin to breathe normally very quickly after exercise. If you child take a long time to breathe normally after exercise, please tell your doctor.
Having a long-lasting cough after a cold or viral infection may be a sign that your child has asthma.
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What Are The Manifestations Of Coughing
Asthma cough reflex and throat clearing are common phenomenons. Usually, they go away on their own. Most people self treat and dont seek medical attention. However, sometimes these symptoms become chronic, which is defined as coughing or throat clearing that persists for 8 or more weeks. This is usually when people seek help. The best path to finding the best treatment options begins by seeing a doctor and getting a proper diagnosis.
How Is Asthma Diagnosed
Your health care provider may use many tools to diagnose asthma:
- Medical history
- Lung function tests, including spirometry, to test how well your lungs work
- Tests to measure how your airways react to specific exposures. During this test, you inhale different concentrations of allergens or medicines that may tighten the muscles in your airways. Spirometry is done before and after the test.
- Peak expiratory flow tests to measure how fast you can blow air out using maximum effort
- Fractional exhaled nitric oxide tests to measure levels of nitric oxide in your breath when you breathe out. High levels of nitric oxide may mean that your lungs are inflamed.
- Allergy skin or blood tests, if you have a history of allergies. These tests check which allergens cause a reaction from your immune system.
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Does Having Asthma Increase Your Risk Of Getting Pertussis
One study in 2012 found that children and teenagers with asthma appeared to be at an increased risk of getting whooping cough. While there might be a link, research has not determined why.
Since both conditions affect the airways and can cause difficulty breathing, it makes sense that if someone with asthma got a respiratory illness like pertussis, they might have a more severe case than someone who did not have asthma.
Do I Have Asthma Or Just A Cough
About 25 million Americans have asthma, and for most of those people, that means they also have a nagging cough. But asthma isn’t the only medical issue that causes coughing. So how can you tell whether your cough is due to asthma or something else?
Diagnosing asthma as soon as possible is critical for keeping your symptoms under control. The Harbor Community Health Centersteam offers complete asthma management plans based on each patients unique needs. Heres how to tell if your cough means you need an asthma evaluation.
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What Types Of Asthma Are There
Asthma is broken down into types based on the cause and the severity of symptoms. Healthcare providers identify asthma as:
- Intermittent: This type of asthma comes and goes so you can feel normal in between asthma flares.
- Persistent: Persistent asthma means you have symptoms much of the time. Symptoms can be mild, moderate or severe. Healthcare providers base asthma severity on how often you have symptoms. They also consider how well you can do things during an attack.
Asthma has multiple causes:
- Allergic: Some peoples allergies can cause an asthma attack. Allergens include things like molds, pollens and pet dander.
- Non-allergic: Outside factors can cause asthma to flare up. Exercise, stress, illness and weather may cause a flare.
Asthma can also be:
- Adult-onset: This type of asthma starts after the age of 18.
- Pediatric: Also called childhood asthma, this type of asthma often begins before the age of 5, and can occur in infants and toddlers. Children may outgrow asthma. You should make sure that you discuss it with your provider before you decide whether your child needs to have an inhaler available in case they have an asthma attack. Your childs healthcare provider can help you understand the risks.
In addition, there are these types of asthma:
How Do I Know If My Asthma Is Not Well
A good way to know if your asthma is not well-controlled is by answering these questions:
- Do you have asthma symptoms more than two times a week?
- Do you take your quick-relief medicine more than two times a week?
- Do you wake up from asthma more than two times a month?
- Do you use oral corticosteroids more than two times a year?
If you answer yes to any of these questions, talk with your doctor.
If your asthma is not well-controlled, your daily activities may be limited. You may miss work or school. You may increase your chances of having complications from a respiratory infection. And you may be at greater risk for going to the emergency room, staying in the hospital, or even dying from asthma.
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How Do Healthcare Providers Diagnose Asthma
Your healthcare provider will review your medical history, including information about your parents and siblings. Your provider will also ask you about your symptoms. Your provider will need to know any history of allergies, eczema and other lung diseases.
Your provider may order spirometry. This test measures airflow through your lungs and is used to diagnose and monitor your progress with treatment. Your healthcare provider may order a chest X-ray, blood test or skin test.
Prevention Of Asthma Coughing
Preventing an asthma cough can be done in a few simple steps. If you are typically coughing more at night, it may be beneficial to place a humidifier in your bedroom. If the air outside is bothering you, then it is best to limit time outdoors. If allergens are the trigger of asthma, then it is essential to also treat the
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Who Can Get Asthma
Anyone can develop asthma at any age. People with allergies or people exposed to tobacco smoke and secondhand smoke are more likely to develop asthma.
Statistics show women tend to have asthma more than men, and asthma affects Black Americans more frequently than other races.
When a child develops asthma, healthcare providers call it childhood asthma. If it develops later in life, its adult-onset asthma.
Children do not outgrow asthma. They may have fewer symptoms as they get older, but they could still have an asthma attack. Your childs healthcare provider can help you understand the risks.
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What Are The Symptoms Of A Severe Asthma Attack
Asthma is known as a progressive disease, meaning that it starts out with mild symptoms but can become severe over time. It is caused by inflammation or swelling of the airways, making it difficult for air to pass through.
The symptoms of severe asthma can vary from person to person, but the following signs could indicate a severe asthma attack:
- Coughing, especially in the morning and at night
- Tightness in the chest
- Feeling confused or agitated
- Symptoms that do not improve with medication
Asthma attacks are typically treated by quick-relief medications that a person will breathe in through a device called a rescue inhaler. If asthma symptoms do not improve with the use of this or other medications, it could be a sign that asthma is severe.
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What To Expect When You Visit The Doctor
Your doctor may ask whether you have any family history of asthma, eczema or hay fever.
In children, doctors assess the severity of the asthma based on the pattern and frequency of the symptoms.
Lung function tests are difficult to perform in children younger than 5 years and so are usually only used to diagnose and assess severity in children 5 years and older.
It is recommended that a paediatrician or paediatric respiratory specialist diagnose and manage asthma in infants under 12 months. If your infant is wheezing your doctor should refer to you one of these specialists.
Spacers And Asthma Medication
For all people with asthma, it is recommended that a spacer device is used when asthma medication is delivered via a puffer . A spacer is a specially designed container that attaches to a puffer and has its own mouthpiece to breathe through.
Using a spacer helps the medication to go where it is supposed to into the small airways in the lungs rather than ending up coating your childs mouth, tongue and throat. It is much more effective than using a puffer on its own. Using a spacer with a puffer can reduce or prevent side effects from inhaled medication.
Babies and young children may need a spacer with a special face mask attached to inhale asthma medicines effectively. These fit tightly around your childs mouth and nose to make sure none of the medicine leaks out. Talk to your pharmacist for advice and to have your technique checked.
Watch this Asthma Australia video which shows you how to use a spacer with a face mask.
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How Are Pertussis And Asthma Linked
It has been hypothesized that getting pertussis can increase your risk of developing asthma later in life. It’s also been suggested that the reverse might be true: Having asthma can increase your risk of getting pertussis.
There have been few studies on either theory, but here is a brief overview of what researchers have found out.
Everyday Treatment For Asthma In Children
The main aims of day-to-day asthma treatment are to:
- keep symptoms under control
- keep lungs as healthy as possible
- stop asthma from interfering with school or play
- help your child enjoy a full and active life.
Your doctor will help you to develop a plan to manage your childs asthma which will include an asthma action plan , and will prescribe the correct medication to help you do so.
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How Do You Diagnose Chronic Cough
The doctor will ask the patient for a careful, detailed description of the history of the cough and of any other symptoms that may be present. In particular, the doctor will be interested in symptoms suggesting postnasal drip, asthma, or GERD. Taken together, these three conditions account for 90 percent of cases of chronic cough. In one study, these conditions were responsible for 99.4 percent of cases of cough in patients who were nonsmokers, did not take ACE inhibitors and had normal and stable chest xrays.
In most cases, the history and the patients response to treatment give the doctor enough information to determine the probable cause of the cough. The doctor may wish to obtain a chest xray as part of the initial evaluation.
If asthma is suspected but cannot be confirmed, the doctor may perform lung function tests. These allow the doctor to study the pattern of airflow into and out of the lungs. A test called a methacholine challenge may also be used to help diagnose asthma. In this test, lung function is measured before and after a patient inhales a medicine called methacholine. A patient with asthma will have a decrease in lung function after inhaling this medicine. The effect of this medicine is short-lived, easily reversed with additional medication and generally not noticeable to the patient. It is a safe and commonly used test.
What’s An Asthma Flare
An asthma flare-up is when asthma symptoms get worse, making someone wheeze, cough, or be short of breath. An asthma flare-up can happen even when asthma is controlled.
Asthma flare-ups are also called asthma attacks or exacerbations.
Triggers like allergies, respiratory infections , cigarette smoke, exercise, or even cold air can cause a flare-up and make asthma symptoms worse.
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Side Effects Of Relievers And Preventers
Relievers are a safe and effective medicine, and have few side effects as long as they are not used too much. The main side effects include a mild shaking of the hands , headaches and muscle cramps. These usually only happen with high doses of reliever inhaler and usually only last for a few minutes.
Preventers are very safe at usual doses, although they can cause a range of side effects at high doses, especially with long-term use.
The main side effect of preventer inhalers is a fungal infection of the mouth or throat . You may also develop a hoarse voice and sore throat.
Using a spacer can help prevent these side effects, as can rinsing your mouth or cleaning your teeth after using your preventer inhaler.
Your doctor or nurse will discuss with you the need to balance control of your asthma with the risk of side effects, and how to keep side effects to a minimum.
Do You Have An Asthma Cough
Asthma cough can be challenging.
It can be embarrassing or awkward to have an ongoing cough, especially amid increased anxiety over health during COVID-19 times.
When we released a blog last year on COVID-19 and asthma coughing, it had a huge response. People with asthma told us about the stigma and social isolation they were feeling about their coughing during the pandemic.
A cough is a way the body attempts to expel irritants in the lungs. But when the cough is due to inflammation of the lungs in asthma, and exposure to triggers, then the cough can continue.
Here is what you need to know about asthma cough.
In asthma, the airways are inflamed and overly responsive to triggers, such as cold and dry air, colds and flu, smoke, dust, and pollens. For some people, the coughing can start after exercise.
The amount and severity of cough can change depending on the weather and the season.
Taking your preventer medication as prescribed, and in line with your , may improve the cough symptoms by reducing the inflammation in the airways.
We encourage you if you are experiencing any asthma symptoms, to speak with your doctor as it may indicate that you are due for an asthma review.
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Asthma Emergencies In Children
Symptoms of an asthma attack can worsen and develop into an asthma emergency. To prepare for an asthma emergency, make sure your childs doctor has written an asthma action plan for your child.
Have a copy of your childs asthma action plan pinned up somewhere easy to access at home, and send a copy to anyone who cares for your child, including their school, kinder, childcare service, family members and friends. You may like to take a photo of their asthma action plan so you always have a copy with you.
What Are The Symptoms Of An Asthma Cough
Cough variant asthma or an asthma cough is usually known to have no other symptom apart from a chronic dry and nonproductive cough. A nonproductive cough means that it does not produce any mucus. Lasting for more than 8 to 10 weeks in adults and more than 5 weeks in children, an asthma cough is not considered to be a serious condition on its own. However, a chronic cough is irritating and disrupts your daily life.
Sometimes, to understand whether or not your cough is happening due to asthma, doctors may assess if you have any of these related symptoms:
- Trouble exercising
- Wheezing and chest tightness
Keep in mind that it is necessary to treat an asthma cough properly and in time because if it is left untreated and ignored, then it may progress into regular asthma. If you notice the following symptoms, your asthma cough might well be developing into classic asthma:
- Tightness feeling in the chest
- Difficulty in breathing followed by shortness of breath
- Asthma attacks when you feel that the air is not able to reach your lungs due to the narrowing of the airways
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