The Pros And Cons Of Pain
For those times when you do need a dose of pain relief, you need to make a smart choice. Here’s a rundown of the benefits and risks of some popular pain medications. It should help simplify your choices the next time you’re in the drugstore.
Keep in mind that you shouldn’t use any over-the-counter painkiller on a regular basis. If you’re in that much pain, you need to talk with your health care provider.
ACETAMINOPHEN Tylenol, Panadol, Tempra
ASPIRINBayer, Bufferin, Ecotrin
When To See A Specialist About Your Asthma
Asthma is not always easy to diagnose, Fineman says, but you should see your doctor if youre having repeated episodes of wheezing and coughing or shortness of breath. If you’re diagnosed with the condition, work with your doctor to develop an asthma management and;action plan.
Although your primary care doctor may be able to diagnose and;treat your asthma, if your symptoms dont respond to a first-line therapy of inhaled corticosteroids and short-acting bronchodilators, Asciuto recommends that you see a lung specialist or allergy and asthma specialist.
Q: What Does A Person With A Preexisting Lung Condition Need To Know About Covid
Dr. Connolly: A person with pre-existing lung diseases, such as asthma;or COPD, generally has less respiratory reserve than a person with no lung issues. Because of this, these individuals are more vulnerable and generally have a harder time if their lungs are impacted by an acute infection.
However, while we initially assumed that people with lung diseases would be disproportionately impacted by this virus, what we’re actually seeing in our patient population is that COVID-19 appears to be targeting other groups more consistently particularly people who are obese, diabetic or have vascular disease such as hypertension.
We still don’t fully understand why people with preexisting lung conditions don’t make up a larger majority of current COVID-19 cases as initially anticipated. Preliminary data suggest that people with asthma may make less of the receptor that the virus uses to invade the body, called ACE2, making it more difficult for the virus to gain entry into the host. In addition, ongoing maintenance therapy with inhaled steroids, such as budesonide, may also confer an advantage for people with chronic lung conditions.
Also Check: Homemade Inhaler Spacer
Treating Asthma Chest Pain
Before treating your symptoms, your doctor will want to make sure your chest pain is caused by asthma and not any other conditions.
If you experience chest pain due to asthma, your physician will probably prescribe an individualized treatment plan. Follow their instructions carefully to lessen your chances of developing symptoms.
When youre having an asthma attack, you may be told to use an emergency or rescue inhaler to relax your airways and improve your symptoms. In one study, using inhaled albuterol resulted in improvement in 70 percent of children and adolescents with asthma-induced chest pain who performed exercises on a treadmill.
Chest Pain As A Sign Of Acute Asthma
So, say I dont pull myself away from those cards. In fact, lets give another example. I have a lot of boxes in my basement. So, say I decide to go through those boxes in order to clean out the basement. Lord knows this has happened before. I become passionate about the project. I am finding some old things I havent seen in 30 years. I am having a lot of fun.
Now, ;I notice the tickling, then the chest pressure, but I do not pull myself away. I continue sorting things out. I find a pile of old pay stubs and decide to see how much I made back in 1988 ;.
So now its been over an hour, and my chest is tight. I ignore this. After a while, my chin starts to itch . I am rapt in the project and having fun, so I delay and delay and delay. I want to get the project done. Then the anxiety/panic hits. This is when I start to break things or rip important papers, such as the cover of my yearbook from Madison Elementary in 1976. When this happens is the cue that I cleaned too long, and must finish the project later, or let someone else do it.
What is the treatment for this? ;The treatment, again, is following your asthma action plan. For me, this entails getting away from the dust mites, treating myself with albuterol, and probably taking a benadryl. Then I wait until my breath comes back, which it usually does in an hour or so.
Also Check: Dealing With Asthma Attack
How Is The Condition Diagnosed
To diagnose asthma, your physician will question you about your symptoms, perform a physical exam, and conduct lung function tests. You also may be tested for allergies.
Your internist or family physician may refer you to an allergist or pulmonologist for specialized testing or treatment.
After middle age, most adults experience a decrease in their lung capacity. These changes in lung function may lead some physicians to overlook asthma as a possible diagnosis.
Untreated asthma can contribute to even greater permanent loss of lung function. If you have any asthma symptoms, dont ignore them, and dont try to treat them yourself. Get a definitive diagnosis from your health care provider.
You May Like: Is Asthma A Type Of Copd
Chest Pain After An Asthma Attack
So its 24 hours later. My breathing is normal, but my chest is sore and stiff. This is normal after an asthma attack, especially if it was bad enough that your accessory muscles were utilized to help yo inhale. They hurt because they normally aren’t used, and when they are used small muscles fibers on these muscles are torn, causing pain and stiffness the next day.
This is no different than the pain and soreness you feel after a good, strong workout, the kind of workout you do to make your muscles bigger and stronger. Of course, in our case, we dont want our accessory muscles getting bigger and stronger. Still, because I used them yesterday, they hurt today.
What is the treatment for this? ;As with the pain and soreness due to any other workout, this pain and soreness will go away in a day or two. If you want to take a Tylenol or something that is up to you and your doctor to determine. As for me, I just wait it out. Actually, as for me, I dont let myself get this bad anymore. Of course, if you are as familiar with this thing we call asthma as I am, sometimes it happens even when we dont plan on it. So thats why we take our daily asthma controller medicines, have asthma action plans, and avoid our asthma triggers the best we can.>
So, I shared my experience with asthma-related chest pain. For me, it is a common early warning sign. Every asthmatic is different. So, do you ever experience it? Let us know in the comments below?
Don’t Miss: What Is The Safest Inhaler For Asthma
Allergic Asthma: Symptoms And Treatment
Ashley A. Sullivan, MSN FNPStudent, Samuel Merritt University, Oakland, CaRN, California Pacific Medical Center
Natalya M. Kushnir, MDDirector, Allergy and immunology Clinic of East BayBerkeley, CA
H. Henry Li, MD, PhDFAAAAI, FACAAIInstitute for Asthma and AllergyWheaton and Chevy Chase Maryland
Michael A. Kaliner, MD FAAAAIMedical Director, Institute for Asthma and AllergyChevy Chase and Wheaton, MarylandProfessor of Medicine, George Washington University School of MedicineWashington DC
Chest Tightness In Asthma Symptoms
When you have chest tightness due to your asthma, you may feel like you can’t easily push air in and out of your chest. With asthma, mild chest tightness can be present all or most of the time, but it may worsen in response to asthma triggers and in the hours or minutes before an asthma exacerbation.
Not all people who have asthma experience chest tightness. But there is a type of asthma described as chest tightness variant asthma in which this symptom is especially frequent.
Symptoms of chest tightness include:
- A feeling that your chest is constricted, as if there’s a band around it
- A sense that you’re trying to push against your chest from the inside as you breathe
- A struggle to fully exhale
- Difficulty inhaling
When the feeling of chest tightness triggers anxiety, your sense of not being able to move air through your lungs can worsen.
Don’t Miss: Can Green Tea Cause Asthma
Q: What Happens To The Lungs During A More Severe Case Of Covid
Dr. Connolly: For some people, the infection becomes more serious and the lung tissue itself becomes swollen and filled with fluid and debris from dead cells which is clinically referred to as pneumonia.
This fluid build-up can affect a person’s oxygen levels, and pneumonia can be mild, moderate, severe or even life-threatening, depending on how impaired gas transfer becomes and how difficult it is to breathe.
If the transfer of oxygen into the blood stream is reduced, a person will often need supplemental oxygen and very close monitoring in a hospital setting.
In very serious cases, a person may need to be placed on ventilator support in the ICU.
Early on during the pandemic, there were a lot of unknowns about how contagious the virus could become during various medical interventions. Time and experience has taught us a lot about this virus, and now we’re able to more safely use several noninvasive breathing and oxygen devices, as well as techniques such as prone positioning before we have to resort to full life support with a ventilator.
Feel Better Live Better
A pulmonologist is a doctor who specializes in diseases of the lungs and respiratory system. The right care can make the difference between difficulty breathing and feeling better. By visiting pulmonologist at Ocean Pulmonary Associates, you can expect an accurate diagnosis, a treatment plan that works and educational information to help you manage your disease
Also Check: Is Eczema Related To Asthma
What Causes An Asthma Cough
An asthma cough still remains a condition, which is not completely understood. Therefore, its causes are also unclear. However, it seems like an asthma cough develops mostly after the following instances:
- Exposure or breathing in cold air
- Regular exposure to allergens and pollutants
- Any upper respiratory tract infection, particularly sinusitis
- Regular intake of aspirin
- Consuming beta blockers for treating heart disease, heart failure, migraines, palpitations, high blood pressure, and other medical conditions
You need to be aware that beta blockers are also found in some eye drops that are used for treating certain eye problems like glaucoma. Regularly using these eye drops can also trigger an asthma cough.
In fact, allergies have been proven to have a clear connection with asthma. Many studies have shown that nearly 85% of all patients with asthma tend to have some form of nasal allergies. There seems to an immunological link associated with an asthma cough as well because of the fact that allergies are a resultant of our immune system causing an overreaction to an allergen that generally will not cause any reaction.
While anyone can get cough variant asthma at any time in their lives, it is usually more common in children who already have childhood asthma.Certain people, though, are at a higher risk for developing an asthma cough. Some of these risk factors that doctors assess and take into consideration before making a diagnosis of cough variant asthma include:
How Do We Breathe
MyAsthmaCentral.comthere are no pain receptors in your lungs!!!; howUnconscious breathingHow do we inhale during normal breathing?Diaphragm:;External Intercostal MusclesScalenemight;How do we exhale during normal breathing?normally;Conscious breathing;extra effortWhat are accessory muscles of breathing?
Also Check: How To Make Asthma Go Away
Care Advice For Asthma Attack
My Chest Feels Tight And Heavy
This one is usually how I feel when my asthma is acting up. For me, an asthma attack feels like I am wearing a really tight corset while trying to breathe through a coffee stirrer straw. I personally don\t wheeze and my chest gets really tight like I am wearing a corset that is four sizes too small. When the airways constrict it leads to the tight feeling.
Also Check: Is Asthma A Pre Existing Condition
Is That Chest Tightness And Shortness Of Breath From Exercise Induced Asthma
OR is it angina, in which blood flow to the heart is reduced due to clogged arteries?
The symptoms of angina and exercise induced asthma have some overlap.
Asthma symptoms typically include chest tightness, shortness of breath and wheezing, says Angel Coz, MD, FCCP, board certified pulmonologist, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
While they can happen at rest, they are more frequent during exercise. The symptoms can resemble those of angina that also tend to be aggravated by exertion.
However, asthma symptoms will typically be relieved by asthma inhalers, whereas angina will not.
Moreover, angina is usually associated with other presenting symptoms like arm discomfort, lightheadedness, nausea or diaphoresis . Angina is relieved by nitroglycerin.
Nitroglycerin for angina episodes comes in the form of a very small pill that the patient places beneath the tongue.
The drugs job is to dilate blood vessels. When the vessels in the heart are dilated, more blood flows through them, providing symptom relief.
- Angina thats triggered by physical activity or exercise is called stable angina.
- When it occurs at rest, it is called unstable angina. It can even occur during sleep and awaken the patient.
Also keep in mind that EIA typically presents with a distinctive wheezing sound, and this is absent during a bout of angina.
What Are The Most Common Asthma Symptoms
The most common symptoms of asthma are:
Experiencing one or more of these symptoms could mean you have asthma. Its more likely to be asthma if your symptoms keep coming back, are worse at night, or happen when you react to a trigger such as exercise, weather or an allergy.
Could it be asthma?
If youre experiencing symptoms of asthma, book an appointment with your GP as soon as possible. Theyll be able to work out whether its asthma or something else, such as a chest infection, gastric reflux, or a bad cold.
If you think your child might have asthma, we have more information on spotting the symptoms in children.
Coughing
A cough that keeps coming back is a symptom of asthma. Its more likely to be asthma if your cough is accompanied by other asthma symptoms, like wheezing, breathlessness or chest tightness.
Not everyone with asthma coughs. If you do cough its usually dry, or someone with uncontrolled asthma might have thick clear mucus when they cough. The right treatment can mean youre cough-free most of the time.
Wheezing
Wheezing is a high-pitched whistling noise coming from your airways, mostly when you breathe out.
Some people feel their asthma isnt taken seriously because they dont wheeze. You may still have asthma even if you haven’t noticed a whistling sound – so dont put off seeing your GP.
Breathlessness
Chest tightness
Recommended Reading: A Common Pathological Finding In Patients With Asthma Is
Asthma Symptoms Can Mimic Other Illnesses Or Diseases Especially In Older Adults For Example:
- Hiatal hernia, stomach problems, heart failure, or rheumatic arthritis can create asthma-like symptoms.
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has many of the same symptoms as asthma. COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, is very common in older adults especially those who are or have been smokers.
Read Also: What Essential Oils Are Good For Asthma
Chest Pain And Asthma Attacks: Signs And Response
- Reactions 0 reactions
Chest pain, or chest pressure, is a common symptom felt prior to, during, and after asthma attacks. So why do asthmatics experience such chest discomfort, what does it mean, and what can you do about it?
Disclaimer. Chest pain is kind of a generic symptom, and can refer to anything from a tickling or burning sensation or actual pressure, tightness, or pain in your chest. It can be caused by asthma, allergies, anxiety, gastrointestinal reflux, and it can also be;cardiac related. According to the Mayo Clinic, If you experience unexplained chest pain lasting more than two minutes, it is better to seek medical help than to try to figure out the cause on your own.
Also Check: Why Is Asthma Worse In Fall
What Is An Asthma Action Plan
Your healthcare provider will work with you to develop an asthma action plan. This plan tells you how and when to use your medicines. It also tells you what to do if your asthma gets worse and when to seek emergency care. Understand the plan and ask your healthcare provider about anything you dont understand.