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How Many Types Of Asthma Are There

Will I Have To Take Medicine All The Time

Asthma: The Types And Treatments – Dr. Mark Dykewicz

Maybe not. Asthma is a chronic condition that is controllable. Unfortunately, there is no cure for asthma. For that reason, you may have asthma symptoms when exposed to triggers. This is the case even if you dont have symptoms very often. Your triggers can change over time, and your treatment will depend on two things: how severe your asthma is, and how often you have symptoms. If your asthma is controlled, your treatment will focus on managing symptoms and treatment of episodes when they happen.

If your symptoms happen at certain times and you know what caused them, you and your doctor can use this information to determine the best treatment. If, for example, you have seasonal asthma because of a specific pollen allergy, you may take medicines only when that pollen is in the air. But asthma that specific is not common. Many people with asthma take some form of medicine most or all of the time.

Health Conditions That May Mimic Asthma

A variety of illnesses can cause some of the same symptoms as asthma. For example, cardiac asthma is a form of heart failure in which the symptoms mimic some of the symptoms of regular asthma.

Vocal cord dysfunction is another asthma mimic. Many recent reports have drawn attention to a peculiar syndrome in which abnormal vocal cords cause wheezing that is frequently misdiagnosed as asthma. This is most common in girls and young women who have loud and dramatic episodes of wheezing that do not respond to medications that open the airways.

Smolley, L. Breathe Right Now, Dell, 1999.

Bruce, D. The Sinus Cure, Ballantine, 2007.

Schachter, N. Life and Breath, Broadway Books, 2003.

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: “Distinguishing Between Asthma and Heart Disease,” “Vocal Cord Dysfunction in Children,” “Occupational Asthma: Tips to Remember.”

American Lung Association: “Facts About Hay Fever.”

American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology: âAsthma Attack.â

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America: âAsthma,â âAsthma Action Plan,â âThunderstorms and Asthma: An Unexpected Connection.â

National Asthma Council Australia: âThunderstorm Asthma,â âThunderstorm Asthma Advice — Those Who âWheeze and Sneezeâ Urged to Take Extra Care.â

Asthma Australia: âThunderstorm Asthma.â

Victoria State Government, Better Health Channel: âEpidemic Thunderstorm Asthma.â

National Asthma Council Australia: âBe Prepared For Thunderstorm Asthma.â

Common Types Of Asthma

  • Allergic asthma caused by allergens such as pollen, dust, food items, and mould
  • Non-allergic asthma caused by irritants such as viruses, air particles from smoke, cleaning products, perfumes, and aerosol products
  • Occupational asthma caused by workplace triggers such as chemicals, animal proteins, fumes, etc.
  • Exercise-induced asthma usually caused by physical activities
  • Nocturnal asthma symptoms that worsen at night, possible cause includes dust mites, heartburn or sleep cycle
  • Learn more about the types of asthma here.

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    How Do Asthma Treatments Work

    Asthma treatments work in these ways:

  • They relax the muscles that tighten around the airways. They relieve the squeeze. They can be short- or long-acting. By opening the airways, they help remove and reduce mucus. These medicines are bronchodilators or beta agonists.
  • They reduce the swelling and mucus inside the airways. These medicines are anti-inflammatories .
  • Bronchodilators

    Bronchodilators can be short- or long-acting. If you use short-acting bronchodilators more than two days a week, talk with your doctor about your asthma control. You may need to make changes to your treatment plan to better control your asthma.

    Anti-Inflammatories

    Anti-inflammatories come in many different forms. They are also called controllers because they help to control or prevent asthma symptoms. They reduce swelling and extra mucus inside the airways. They will not relieve sudden symptoms.

    Other Types of Medicines and Treatments

    Single Maintenance and Reliever Therapy

    The 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Management Guidelines recommends single maintenance and reliever therapy, also known as SMART. SMART uses one inhaler that has two medicines as a quick-relief and controller medicine. When on SMART, you can either take your medicine only as needed to relieve sudden symptoms, or you can take it daily as a controller and as needed for quick relief. This is based on your age and the severity of your asthma.

    What Are The Different Types Of Asthma

    Which Are the Most Common Types of Asthma â Anti

    There are two kinds of asthmaallergic and nonallergic. Both types cause the same asthma symptomslike wheezing, shortness of breath and mucus production. But allergic and nonallergic asthma have different triggers, and the treatments for each can be different. So it’s important to identify which kind of asthma you have it’s the first step toward getting better control over your condition.

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    What Causes Allergic Asthma

    The cause of asthma isnt known. However, for those with allergic asthma, the reason symptoms start is related to allergens. This is the main difference between allergic asthma and other types of asthma allergens are inhaled and trigger asthma symptoms. When you experience severe asthma symptoms, its called an asthma attack.

    Will Medicine Help Me Sleep Better

    Yes, if you have nighttime asthma symptoms. Many people wake up with asthma symptoms such as coughing or wheezing. You can control nighttime symptoms by taking asthma medicines as directed by your doctor.

    Removing triggers where you sleep may help you sleep better. Many people are allergic to dust mites and mold found in bedding materials. Using mattress or pillow encasements can help contain those allergens. Dehumidifiers can also be helpful to reduce the humidity in your home that dust mites and mold need to exist. Using air cleaners in your bedroom may also help reduce your exposure to allergens and irritants .

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    Diagnosing Asthma In Children Younger Than 6

    It can be hard to tell whether a child under age 6 has asthma or another respiratory condition, because young children often cannot perform a pulmonary function test such as spirometry. After checking a childs history and symptoms, the doctor may try asthma medicines for a few months to see how well a child responds. About 40% of children who wheeze when they get colds or respiratory infections are eventually diagnosed with asthma.

    Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Diseases

    Different Types of Asthma

    The Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases contributes to WHOs work to prevent and control chronic respiratory diseases. GARD is a voluntary alliance of national and international organizations and agencies from many countries committed to the vision of a world where all people breathe freely.

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    Things To Keep In Mind

    There are some important things to know about allergy shots. Testing positive to an allergen on a skin test does not, by itself, diagnose an allergy and does demonstrate the severity of the allergy. Testing negative on a skin test, usually means you are not allergic to that allergen.1 While the test showed that I was allergic to cats, dogs, and horses, it did not trigger the severe response that I had experienced prior to the test. Also, I tested negative to cinnamon, and I love cinnamon!

    Allergy tests are uncomfortable, but they can tell us a lot about our allergies not everything though. There is no test that will tell you the severity of your allergy, but knowing what you are allergic to is just as helpful. If you are curious about different types of allergy testing and have more questions on how to proceed, contact your primary care physician or an allergist. If your allergies are affecting your asthma, the more you know the better you can protect yourself.

    Nonallergic Asthma Shares Symptoms Of Other Types Of Asthma But Triggers Differ

    Any form of asthma that is not triggered by allergies is termed nonallergic asthma. While the symptoms of nonallergic asthma are more or less identical to those of allergic asthma, the triggers are different.

    Some common triggers in people with nonallergic asthma include:

    • Infections
    • Exercise
    • Stress
    • Changing weather conditions

    The treatments for nonallergic asthma are often the same as those for allergic asthma, although the formulations of some inhaled or oral medications may differ.

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    Can Medicine Alone Help My Asthma

    Not usually. Although medicines help a lot, they may not be able to do the job alone. You have to avoid the things that cause or trigger your asthma symptoms as much as you can. Asthma triggers can be found outside or inside your home, school, or workplace.

    Improving the indoor air quality in your home is an important part of asthma control. Your indoor air can be more polluted than outside air. Our interactive Healthy Home can show you ways to improve the indoor air quality of your home. A healthier home can reduce your exposure to allergens and irritants.

    Other Types Of Asthma

    Asthma

    You may also hear other asthma types mentioned, such as nocturnal asthma or cough-variant asthma. Nocturnal asthma is asthma that gets worse at night. It may wake you from sleep. This type is very common. Your doctor may adjust your medications to give you more asthma control at night. Cough-variant asthma has persistent coughing as the main symptom, rather than wheezing. This type is treated the same way as other types.

    Sometimes you will also hear about ‘levels’ of asthma. These levels classify the condition by its severity. The levels include intermittent, mild, moderate or severe.

    • Intermittent asthma causes symptoms less than twice a week
    • Mild persistent asthma causes symptoms two or more days a week
    • Moderate persistent asthma causes symptoms at least every day and wakes you up one or more nights a week
    • Severe persistent asthma causes symptoms every day and wakes you up every night.

    Work with your doctor to find out which type of asthma you have, so you can develop the asthma treatment plan that’s best for your particular condition. Remember that it’s likely you have more than one type.

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    What Is The Main Cause Of Asthma

    Several factors may cause asthma. Based on the triggers that cause an asthma episode, asthma can be classified as:

    • Exercise-induced asthma: Exercise can worsen the symptoms of asthma. Simple exercise may exacerbate the symptoms in people with highly inflamed airways.
    • Nocturnal asthma: Aggravation of asthma at night is common in people with nocturnal asthma.
    • Occupational asthma: Exposure to dirt, chemicals, and irritants in the workplace can induce asthma.
    • Steroid-resistant asthma: Some severe cases of asthma may not respond to steroid therapy .
    • Allergic asthma: Allergens such as pollen, mite, dust, mold, latex, and pets can trigger asthma in some people.
    • Nonallergic asthma: Extreme weather, stress, and infections such as sinusitis, colds, and the flu could be some of the trigger factors that induce nonallergic asthma.
    • Aspirin-induced asthma: Aspirin may induce asthma symptoms in some people.
    • Eosinophilic asthma: High levels of white blood cells called eosinophils can cause this type of asthma.

    Asthma may also be triggered by

    • Air pollution
    • Gastroesophageal disease
    • Intense emotions such as anxiety, laughter, sadness, or stress
    • Sulfites, which are used as a food preservative in shrimp, pickles, beer, wine, dried fruits, and bottled lemon and lime juices

    Regulation Of The Pulmonary Circulation Helps Restore The Ventilation/perfusion Ratio

    Pulmonary circulation depends on the pulmonary vascular resistance , gravity, alveolar pressure, and the hydrostatic pressure gradient provided by the right heart. The PVR, in turn, is influenced mainly by two factors: the inflation of the lung and the reaction of the arterioles to the partial pressure of oxygen in the blood.

    The PVR, which determines blood flow, is affected by three separate variables: the alveolar gas pressure that compresses the capillaries, the resistance of alveolar vessels , and resistance of extraalveolar vessels. Unlike the systemic circulation, the capillaries in the lungs accounts for about 40% of the PVR. At lung volumes greater than the FRC, capillaries are stretched and compressed, and the resistance of the alveolar vessels increases. At lower lung volumes, the extraalveolar vessels are not held open by their tethers to the alveolar tissues, and their resistance increases. These effects contribute to a biphasic relationship between PVR and lung volume. The PVR is minimum around the functional residual capacity, FRC.

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    Types Of Asthma Inhalers

    The medicine inside an inhaler goes straight into the airways when you breathe in. This means that you need a much smaller dose than if you were to take the medicine as a tablet or liquid by mouth. The airways and lungs are treated, but little of the medicine gets into the rest of the body.

    The proper medicine name is called the generic name. Different drug companies can use the generic medicine and produce different brands – the proprietary medicine names. There are many different brands of inhalers. Inhalers can have generic names and be produced by different drug companies too. For some medicines there are different inhaler devices that deliver the same medicine. This means that there are many types of inhaler available on prescription, all of which are produced in different colours. This can be confusing.

    Because there are lots of different-coloured inhalers available, it is helpful to remember their names, as well as the colour of the device. This might be important if you need to see a doctor who does not have your medical records – for example:

    • In A& E.
    • If you are on holiday.
    • Outside the normal opening hours of your GP surgery.

    It might be helpful to keep a list of the names of your medicines and inhalers in your wallet or purse. This information will prevent mistakes and confusion.

    In the treatment of asthma, the medicine inside inhalers can be grouped into relievers , preventers and long-acting bronchodilators.

    What Causes Asthma Attacks

    UCSF Pediatric Pulmonary Asthma Teaching English 3 Types of medications

    Exposure to certain irritants and substances can trigger signs of asthma attack. The most common asthma triggers are airborne substances, such as pollen, dust mites, pet dander, mould spores or particles.

    An asthma attack can begin abruptly or slowly. A mild asthma attack may seem to go away and return a couple of hours later. In cases like this, the second attack is often much worse than the first.

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    What Is An Allergy Test

    An allergy test is an exam or series of exams that are designed to understand what allergens cause an immune response in your body. They are usually administered after it is clear that a person has allergies or requested by the patient. As noted before, they are not the most comfortable tests to go through.

    Asthma A Disease With Many Variations

    Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, whose symptoms have very different manifestations from one individual to another. While someone with only mild symptoms can usually cope with everyday life without major problems, a more pronounced course of the disease giving rise to shortness of breath and recurring asthma attacks will severely restrict the lives of those afflicted. Even when the symptoms are kept at bay, severe asthma sufferers live in constant fear of a renewed attack.

    In order to know what makes the symptoms worse or what can trigger an asthma attack, everyone should know what type of asthma they have. This will help them to avoid the triggers or situations that might provoke asthma attacks.

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    What Happens During An Asthma Episode

    With normal breathing, the lungs airways are fully open and air can move in and out of the lungs freely.

    During asthma, the airway branches leading to your lungs become overly reactive and sensitive. The linings of the airways will swell and become inflamed, mucus will clog the airways, and muscles tighten around the airways . This results in airflow obstruction in the lungs, narrowing the airways and making it difficult to breathe.

    What Are Asthma Sub

    The Different Types of Asthma

    by Health Professional

    Asthma is now considered a heterogeneous disease, meaning every asthmatic is different and cannot be treated the same. Because of this, researchers found it useful to break asthma into subgroups .

    Subgroups are nice because they allow researchers to create guidelines tailored to each specific asthmatic. This makes it easier for physicians to help their asthmatic patients gain better control of their disease.

    Here are some examples of subgroups:

    1.Allergic Asthma. These patients develop adverse reactions to common allergens, such as dust mites, cockroach urine, pollen, mold, fungus, and animal dander. Treatment must focus on preventing and controlling both the asthma and allergy component, which can make it complicated to obtain optimal asthma control.

    2.Exercise Induced Bronchospasm. Their air passages spasm and narrow after exercising, resulting in shortness of breath and coughing. Many respond well to a pre-treatment of albuterol prior to exercising. Others respond well to daily inhaled corticosteroid therapy.

    3.Cross Country Skiing Induced Bronchospasm. Winter Olympians, especially those performing vigorous physical activity such as skiing, have an increased risk of developing asthma. A theory is that inhaling cold, dry air during vigorous exercise causes airway inflammation that causes airway remodelling, or a thickening of airway walls. These asthmatics are less likely to respond to corticosteroids.

    Two examples are listed here:

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    How Is Allergic Asthma Diagnosed

    There are several tests that your healthcare provider can do to diagnose allergic asthma. To pinpoint allergies, your provider may do a blood test or a skin test. In these tests, your provider is looking for the effect of the allergens on your body. For a skin test, possible allergens may be applied to small areas of your skin to see how you react to each one. This can be uncomfortable, but it will show your provider what might be causing the reaction.

    Your healthcare provider may also do a few tests to diagnose your asthma. These tests are used to make sure that its asthma thats causing your symptoms and no other medical condition. Tests to diagnose asthma can include:

    If you have allergic asthma, your symptoms are typically triggers by something you breathe in. Determining what allergen triggered your symptoms is another part of the diagnosis process for allergic asthma. Try to keep a journal or notes of what happened when you experienced asthma symptoms. If you were outside by freshly cut grass, it could be a pollen allergy. If you were petting a dog, it could be pet dander. Figuring out what you inhaled when your symptoms started can help your provider create a plan to control your allergic asthma.

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