What Are The Complications Of Asthma
Poorly-controlled asthma can have a negative effect on your quality of life. Complications may include:
- being less productive at work or while studying
- an inability to exercise and be physically active
- reduced lung function
- poor mental health
Taking your medications exactly as prescribed is important. If you feel that your asthma is affecting your quality of life, contact your doctor for a medicines review.
What To Do If You Have An Asthma Attack
If you think you’re having an asthma attack, you should:
Never be frightened of calling for help in an emergency.
Try to take the details of your medicines with you to hospital if possible.
If your symptoms improve and you do not need to call 999, get an urgent same-day appointment to see a GP or asthma nurse.
This advice is not for people on SMART or MART treatment. If this applies to you, ask a GP or asthma nurse what to do if you have an asthma attack.
Asthma: 10 Common Questions Answered
For most parents and kids, spring means sunny warm weather, outdoor sports and more outside playtime. For many others, spring also means more asthma flare-ups more time outside means more exposure to asthma triggers, and more sports means more exercise-induced asthma.
Although childhood asthma is common, many people really dont know much about it. So we thought wed answer some common questions about what asthma is and how its treated.
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Make Life Sweeter For A Coughing Cat
All coughing is caused by something your job is to find what that is and take steps to prevent it from being a problem. There are a few things you can do to help keep your kitty cough free:
- Cut stress keep feeding, play and general life as routine as possible for your kitty. Cats often get sick when their schedules are out of whack.
- Maintain a healthy weight feeding a high quality, appropriate diet and keeping your cat active will help prevent many health issues, including coughing.
- Test for internal parasites that could be causing the cough.
- Switch to a dust free litter, preferably something unscented to minimise irritation.
- Run an air purifier or humidifier to improve the air quality and filter out possible irritants.
- Eliminate household sprays such as plug-in room fresheners, hairsprays, deodorants and insect sprays. If you cant eliminate these things then at least make sure youre not spraying them near your cat.
- Dont expose your cat to cigarette smoke, especially if he has asthma.
- Keep up with regular vaccines and include worming in this routine, especially if you live in a mosquito infested area.
- Dont overlook hairballs but also dont assume. If your cat is coughing but has nothing to show for it, the problem is likely to be something else.
Whats going on with your coughing cat? If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them in the box below
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Managing Your Work Life With Asthma
Asthma can affect your ability to do some jobs and work in certain environments. But it shouldnt stop you from doing your job.
According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology , as much as 15.7 percent of all asthma in adults is work-related. Any number of things youre exposed to every day at work may trigger symptoms, including cleaning products, paint, dust , mold, insects, and cigarette smoke.
If you are experiencing asthma flares at work, the AAAAI advises working with your doctor and employer to identify your triggers and take measures to avoid your exposure as soon as possible, since long-term exposure to allergens could lead to permanent lung damage.
Let your supervisor know if youre experiencing a problem, says Grayson. They may be able to take measures, like asking coworkers near you not to wear strong perfumes if thats a trigger, finding alternative chemicals or materials, ventilating your workspace, or eliminating sources of mold.
The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal law that gives people with disabilities the right to ask for accommodations in cases where policies, practices, or conditions leave you at a disadvantage . The ADA mandates that employers must make reasonable accommodations to allow employees to work safely, though in some cases, there may be limited options, Williams explains .
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How To Manage Your Asthma Flare Up
If you notice your asthma symptoms worsen, the first you need to reach out for is your inhaler. The typical dose is around three to four puffs every 20 minutes, for up to three doses in total. If you have a home nebulizer, a dose would be one treatment.
Your doctor will likely have given you an asthma management plan to give you more control over your symptoms. Here what you need to know.
- If youre feeling fine , just keep taking your anti-inflammatory medication
- If youre starting to show mild symptoms of a flare up use your quick-relief rescue medication in addition to the anti-inflammatory drugs youre taking
- If your symptoms are getting severe, use your quick-relief rescue medication as you seek emergency care
- Dont lie down if you have a flare up instead, do some breathing exercises to help the air stay in your lungs passageways for longer
- Go for a medical check-up from time to time to ensure that your medication is still working as it should or get it adjusted if need-be
Care Advice For Asthma Attack
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Other Asthma First Aid Directions
Not everyone with asthma uses the same reliever medication.
Some people use a different blue reliever called Bricanyl which comes in a different type of inhaler called a Turbuhaler.
See the asthma first aid steps for those using Bricanyl.
Other people use a dual-purpose reliever. A dual-purpose reliever contains budesonide and formoterol together, and is used as-needed.
The combination of budesonide and formoterol in the dual-purpose reliever, when used as-needed, relieves symptoms and reduces risk of experiencing serious asthma flare-ups. It does this by relaxing tight airway muscles and treating inflammation in the airways.
Note: you may also be prescribed these medicines as a preventer. Always follow your doctors instructions on your asthma action plan about what to use in an asthma flare-up or asthma attack.
What Are The Treatments For Asthma
If you have asthma, you will work with your health care provider to create a treatment plan. The plan will include ways to manage your asthma symptoms and prevent asthma attacks. It will include
- Strategies to avoid triggers. For example, if tobacco smoke is a trigger for you, you should not smoke or allow other people to smoke in your home or car.
- Short-term relief medicines, also called quick-relief medicines. They help prevent symptoms or relieve symptoms during an asthma attack. They include an inhaler to carry with you all the time. It may also include other types of medicines which work quickly to help open your airways.
- Control medicines. You take them every day to help prevent symptoms. They work by reducing airway inflammation and preventing narrowing of the airways.
If you have a severe attack and the short-term relief medicines do not work, you will need emergency care.
Your provider may adjust your treatment until asthma symptoms are controlled.
Sometimes asthma is severe and cannot be controlled with other treatments. If you are an adult with uncontrolled asthma, in some cases your provider might suggest bronchial thermoplasty. This is a procedure that uses heat to shrink the smooth muscle in the lungs. Shrinking the muscle reduces your airways ability to tighten and allows you to breathe more easily. The procedure has some risks, so its important to discuss them with your provider.
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Is Magnesium Sulfate Effective
The scientific evidence supporting the use of magnesium sulfate in the treatment of severe asthma is mixed.
Authors of a 2013 study recruited 508 children from British hospitals who had severe flare-ups of asthma that had not responded to standard inhaled treatment.
The researchers randomly assigned the children to receive either nebulized magnesium sulfate or a placebo, in addition to standard asthma medications.
They concluded that nebulized magnesium sulfate in combination with standard treatment did not produce a clinically significant improvement in the childrens asthma symptoms.
However, the authors noted that children with more severe asthma symptoms showed the most significant response to magnesium treatment.
In 2014, another large British trial set out to establish how effectively magnesium sulfate could reduce asthma symptoms.
The authors recruited 1,109 adults with severe acute asthma and randomly assigned participants to receive either IV magnesium, nebulized magnesium, or standard therapy alone.
The researchers were reportedly unable to demonstrate a clinically worthwhile benefit of magnesium sulfate treatment. However, they found some weak evidence that IV magnesium sulfate could reduce the number of hospitalizations due to asthma attacks.
The findings of a systematic review, published in the same year, were more positive. The researchers analyzed data from 14 trials that had compared IV magnesium sulfate treatment to placebos in adults with acute asthma.
When To See A Doctor For A Dry Cough
An occasional dry cough is rarely a cause for concern, but persistent coughing can indicate an underlying medical condition that may be more serious. A dry or sometimes tickly cough is a cough that does not bring up any phlegm or mucus. Dry coughs may cause a tickling sensation and are often due to irritation in the throat.
Asthma: Not all diagnosed with asthma will experience a dry cough. Cough-variant asthma does not produce classic symptoms, like shortness of breath or wheezing. Instead, a chronic and dry cough is the main symptom. This cough is especially likely after exposure to irritants like cold air or ambient smoke.
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After An Asthma Attack
You should see a GP or asthma nurse within 48 hours of leaving hospital, or ideally on the same day if you did not need hospital treatment.
About 1 in 6 people treated in hospital for an asthma attack need hospital care again within 2 weeks, so its important to discuss how you can reduce your risk of future attacks.
Talk to a doctor or nurse about any changes that may need to be made to manage your condition safely.
For example, the dose of your treatment may need to be adjusted or you may need to be shown how to use your inhaler correctly.
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Why Are Homes So Polluted
Of concern for individuals with asthma and allergies: the most common problems were high levels of particle allergens and chemical pollutants.
Poor indoor air quality has been linked to a number of health effects. Chemicals and airborne allergens can trigger wheezing, shortness of breath, itchy eyes and runny noses. Nitrogen dioxide, from second-hand smoke and unvented gas stoves and furnaces, leads to eye, nose and throat irritation as well as respiratory infections in young children.
Formaldehyde can cause breathing distress and can nauseate, as can pesticides. Some chemicals, in instances of high-level exposure, can be cancer-causing.
So how did our homes get so polluted? The North American lifestyle is much to blame. We spend on average about 90 per cent of our time indoors, and 65 per cent of our time in our own residences. Home air is what we breathe most often, and which we readily pollute with products used to keep ourselves primped and our homes polished.
Anything with an added scent from shampoo to laundry detergent, fabric softener and all-purpose cleanser releases chemicals that hang on you and your clothes and linger in the air. That bouquet of lemon or citrus in products used to make our home sparkle in some cases will also mask dangerous chemicals in the cleaner, such as formaldehyde and ammonia.
Then we shower often and dont always use exhaust fans when cooking, creating humid environments in which mold and dust mites thrive.
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What Are Early Warning Signs Of A Psa Flare
Patients reported noticing when a flare was coming on, and this could be seen more clearly in patients who had had PsA for a longer time, indicating the understanding that comes with experience. Those patients with shorter disease duration were more likely to describe their flares as appearing with no warning. Once recognized as a pre-flare state, patients reported strategies for managing the pre-flare, adapting their activity level and lowering stress.2
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Whats 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 Steroid Tablets
Oral steroids carry a risk if they are taken for more than three months or if they are taken frequently . Side effects can include:
- muscle weakness
With the exception of increased appetite, which is very commonly experienced by people taking oral steroids, most of these unwanted effects are uncommon.
However, it is a good idea to keep an eye out for them regularly, especially side effects that are not immediately obvious, such as high blood pressure, thinning of the bones, diabetes and glaucoma.
You will need regular appointments to check for these.
Read further information:
When To Seek Medical Help
Often, a rescue inhaler is enough to treat an asthma attack.
If youre unable to get your asthma attack under control, you may need to seek emergency medical attention. Go to the nearest ER if you experience any of the following symptoms:
- extreme shortness of breath or wheezing, especially in the morning or at night
- needing to strain your chest muscles to breathe
- symptoms not subsiding after youve used a rescue inhaler
- having difficulty speaking
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What Causes Chronic Coughing
Smoking is a leading cause. Sooner or later, most cigarette smokers develop a chronic smokers cough. Chemical irritation is responsible but the same noxious chemicals that cause the simple smokers cough can lead to far more serious conditions, such as bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia, and lung cancer. The chronic cough is always a cause of concern for smokers.
A lingering cough is also a worry for nonsmokers. Fortunately, benign problems are responsible for most chronic coughs in nonsmokers. Benign or not, persistent coughing can cause worry, embarrassment, exhaustion, and more. Thats why chronic coughs should be diagnosed and treated before they linger too long.
Dozens of conditions can cause a recurrent, lingering cough, but the lions share are caused by just five: postnasal drip, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease , chronic bronchitis, and treatment with ACE inhibitors, used for high blood pressure. Many people have several of these conditions, but in nonsmokers, the first three, singly or in combination, account for nearly all chronic coughs. The major causes of long-term coughing are listed below.
What Should I Do If I Have A Severe Asthma Attack
If you have a severe asthma attack, you need to get immediate medical care.
The first thing you should do is use your rescue inhaler. A rescue inhaler uses fast-acting medicines to open up your airways. Its different than a maintenance inhaler, which you use every day. You should use the rescue inhaler when symptoms are bothering you and you can use it more frequently if your flare is severe.
If your rescue inhaler doesnt help or you dont have it with you, go to the emergency department if you have:
- Anxiety or panic.
- Bluish fingernails, bluish lips or gray or whitish lips or gums .
- Chest pain or pressure.
- Very quick or rapid breathing.
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