What Is An Asthma Trigger
A trigger is anything that irritates your airways. Asthma is caused by two types of triggers.
- Allergic trigger: cause allergic reactions. Allergic triggers include things like dust mites, pollens, moulds, pet dander,
- Non-allergic trigger: are usually irritants. Non-allergic triggers include things like smoke, cold air, certain air pollutants, intense emotions
Learn more about different types of asthma triggers and how to manage them.
Caring For Your Mdi And Chamber
For most MDIs, remove the canister and rinse the plastic holder with warm running water once a week to prevent the holes from getting clogged. Shake well and let air dry. There are some medications in which the inhaler cannot be removed from the holder. These usually need to be cleaned by wiping the mouthpiece with a cloth or cleaning with a dry cotton swab. Refer to the patient instructions that come with your inhaler.
Clean the chamber about once a week. Remove the soft ring at the end of the chamber. Soak the spacer in warm water with a mild detergent. Carefully clean and, rinse, and shake off excess water. Do not hand dry. Allow to completely air dry. Do not store the chamber in a plastic bag.
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What Is An Asthma Attack
When you breathe normally, muscles around your airways are relaxed, letting air move easily and quietly. During an asthma attack, three things can happen:
- Bronchospasm: The muscles around the airways constrict . When they tighten, it makes your airways narrow. Air cannot flow freely through constricted airways.
- Inflammation: The lining of your airways becomes swollen. Swollen airways dont let as much air in or out of your lungs.
- Mucus production: During the attack, your body creates more mucus. This thick mucus clogs airways.
When your airways get tighter, you make a sound called wheezing when you breathe, a noise your airways make when you breathe out. You might also hear an asthma attack called an exacerbation or a flare-up. Its the term for when your asthma isnt controlled.
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Why Are More Children Getting Asthma
No one really knows why more and more children are developing asthma. Suggestions include the following:
- Children are being exposed to more and more allergens such as dust, air pollution and second-hand smoke.
- Children arent exposed to enough childhood illnesses to build up their immune systems.
- Lower rates of breastfeeding have prevented important substances of the immune system from being passed on to babies.
Why Is My Asthma Worse At Night
Asthma that gets worse at night is sometimes called nighttime asthma or nocturnal asthma. There are no definite reasons that this happens, but there are some educated guesses. These include:
- The way you sleep: Sleeping on your back can result in mucus dripping into your throat or acid reflux coming back up from your stomach. Also, sleeping on your back puts pressure on your chest and lungs, which makes breathing more difficult. However, lying face down or on your side can put pressure on your lungs.
- Triggers in your bedroom and triggers that happen in the evening: You may find your blankets, sheets and pillows have dust mites, mold or pet hair on them. If youve been outside in the early evening, you may have brought pollen in with you.
- Medication side effects: Some drugs that treat asthma, such as steroids and montelukast, can affect your sleep.
- Air thats too hot or too cold: Hot air can cause airways to narrow when you breathe in. Cold air is an asthma trigger for some people.
- Lung function changes: Lung function lessens at night as a natural process.
- Asthma is poorly controlled during the day: Symptoms that arent controlled during the day wont be better at night. Its important to work with your provider to make sure your asthma symptoms are controlled both day and night. Treating nighttime symptoms is very important. Serious asthma attacks, and sometimes deaths, can happen at night.
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Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes
As pregnancy is an important risk factor for poor asthma outcomes, all pregnant women with bronchial asthma should be considered at high risk for exacerbations that can lead to maternal and fetal complications. All high-risk women who are pregnant and asthmatic should be managed by pulmonologists and obstetricians in an interprofessional fashion to protect the mother and fetus . For pregnant women who remain compliant with their medications, the prognosis is good.
What Is A Peak Flow Meter And Why Use One
A peak flow meter measures how fast you can push air out of your lungs when you blow out as hard and as fast as you can. This is called peak flow.
Your peak flows measure how open the airways are in the lungs. Your peak flow may drop early even before you feel bad. This drop tells you that your asthma may be getting worse. Measuring your peak flow may help you learn what caused or triggered the drop, helps decide which medicines to add or take away and when you may need emergency care.
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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.
Bronchial Asthma: Symptoms Triggers And More
Reza Samad, MD, is a board-certified pulmonologist and assistant professor of medicine in New Jersey.
Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your breathing. All types of asthma impact the tubes that move air in and out of your lungs, called bronchial tubes or bronchi. These tubes become swollen and inflamed in people with asthma, earning this condition its name.
This article will explore the different asthma types, what sets them apart, and how to manage them.
Westend61 / Getty Images
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What Is Asthma Should You Be Concerned
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease in which a persons airways inside the lungs become narrow and swell. The airways turn red due to the disease and grow extra-sensitive to certain triggers from the environment. When faced with such triggers, the airways swell even more and secrete large amounts of mucus. This condition makes it difficult for a person to breathe and trigger coughing, wheezing and breathlessness.
What Are The Different Types Of Asthma
Asthma is classified into specific types based on how or when it is induced in a person. It is beneficial for you to understand the specific type of ailment, to follow its treatment correctly.
- Child-onset Asthma
- Occupational Asthma
- Night-time Asthma
This disease has varying effects on its patients. The diverse symptoms and risk factors of Asthma make it complicated for understanding.
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Risk Factors In Childhood
Phenotypes of asthma
Although some 50% of preschool children have wheezing, only 10%15% have a diagnosis of true asthma by the time they reach school age.13,60 Commonly described phenotypes in early infancy and childhood are transient wheezing, nonatopic wheezing, late-onset wheezing and persistent wheezing.61 Only transient wheezing in early infancy has been well characterized, with decreased airflow rates on pulmonary function testing at birth,56,60,62 onset of wheezing within the first year and resolution by mid-childhood with no lasting effects on pulmonary function.
The other 3 phenotypes have been described primarily by age of onset in cohort studies, and their genesis in early infancy is largely unknown. The majority of children with persistent wheezing experience their first symptoms before age 3. By 3 years, they have abnormal lung function that persists to adulthood,13,60,61 and by adolescence, most have atopy. Of children with nonatopic and late-onset wheezing, some experience remission, whereas others experience persistent symptoms and atopy.63
Distinguishing among these different phenotypes in early childhood is critical to understanding the role of risk factors and their timing in early infancy.
Breastfeeding
Lung function
Family structure
Socio-economic status
Antibiotics and infections
Allergic sensitization
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke
Exposure to animals
Gene-by-environment interactions
Sex and gender
Favorite Blogs About Living With Asthma
The Asthma Allergies Children blog is the work of two physicians, both trained in allergies and immunology. The blog covers topics like medication adherence, cost of care, doctors pet peeves, integrative medicine, new research, and other news. For timely takes on noteworthy topics, check it out.
Stephen Gaudet was born with severe asthma more than 60 years ago and started his blog back in 2004. The blog chronicles the trials and tribulations asthma has caused him, as well as the victories. To date, Gaudet has completed 21 races and nine marathons . Read more about his debilitating diagnosis and how he has overcome it.
Additional reporting bySari Harrar.
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What Is Asthmatic Bronchitis
Asthmatic bronchitis refers to the incidence of acute bronchitis in a person with asthma. Acute bronchitis is a respiratory disease that causes inflammation in the bronchi, the passageways that move air into and out of the lungs. This inflammation results in respiratory congestion and shortness of breath. Asthma is a disorder that causes inflammation of the airways, leading to shortness of breath, chronic cough, chest tightness, and wheezing.
Acute bronchitis is a common respiratory disorder in the United States. Infants, young children, and elderly people have the highest risk of developing acute bronchitis. Acute bronchitis is commonly caused by upper respiratory viral infections. If you have asthma, your risk of acute bronchitis is increased because of an increased sensitivity to airway irritation and inflammation. Your risk of acute bronchitis is also increased if you smoke or are exposed to air pollution.
The signs and symptoms of asthmatic bronchitis vary among individuals, depending on the severity of the infection. Treatment for asthmatic bronchitis includes antibiotics, bronchodilators, anti-inflammatory drugs, and pulmonary hygiene techniques such as chest percussion and postural drainage .
Healthy lifestyle practices, including good hand washing, drinking plenty of fluids, following a well-balanced diet, getting plenty of rest, and avoid smoking, can help prevent or improve asthmatic bronchitis.
Ethics Approval And Consent To Participate
The study was reviewed and approved by Independent Ethic Committee in Kazakhstan and by Local Ethic Committees in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Ukraine , according to the local legal requirements. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant before any procedures or data collection related to the study.
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Asthma Causes And Risk Factors
According to the World Health Organization , nearly 15-20 million Indians suffer from asthma. Despite the increasing numbers of asthmatics, the discussion and knowledge about Asthma causes and risk factors remain underrated in the country. Lets talk about the complex disease and remove the guess-work.
Study Area And Population
Rationale and design of the CORE study have been described previously .
CORE study is a multinational, cross-sectional population-based epidemiological study carried out in major cities Kiev, Ukraine Almaty, Kazakhstan Baku, Azerbaijan, from the first half of 2013 till the end of 2015. The study enrolled subjects who were18 years old, had 10 year of residence in selected city and provided a written informed consent for participation in the study.
Subjects who were not able to answer the study questionnaires were excluded from the study. Subjects in whom spirometry could not be performed were also excluded .
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What Are The Risk Factors For Asthmatic Bronchitis
A number of factors that occur in conjunction with asthma increase the risk of bronchitis. Not all people with asthma who are exposed to risk factors will get asthmatic bronchitis, however.
Infection is usually the cause of asthmatic bronchitis.
Risk factors or triggers for the exacerbation of asthma include:
Short-term asthma medications help in the event of an asthma attack.
Doctors do not tend to treat acute bronchitis with antibiotics, as the cause is usually a viral infection. Expectorants can help thin mucus in the airways, making it easier to cough it up.
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What Is Good Asthma Care
Your doctor or nurse will tailor your asthma treatment to your symptoms. Sometimes you may need to be on higher levels of medication than at others.
You should be offered:
- care at your GP surgery provided by doctors and nurses trained in asthma management
- full information about your condition and how to control it
- involvement in making decisions about your treatment
- regular checks to ensure your asthma is under control and your treatment is right for you
- a written personal asthma action plan agreed with your doctor or nurse
It is also important that your GP or pharmacist teaches you how to properly use your inhaler, as this is an important part of good asthma care.
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What Are The Risk Factors For Bronchial Spasms
Youre at higher risk of developing asthma, a common cause of bronchial spasms, if you have another allergic condition. For example, if you have food allergy or eczema, youre more likely to develop asthma. Youre also more likely to experience it if you have a close relative with asthma or other allergic conditions.
Heavy smokers are at greater risk of developing asthma and most other lung problems, including acute bronchitis, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. Inhaling secondhand smoke also increases your risk of these conditions. Frequent exposure to air pollution or chemicals in your home or workplace can also increase your chances of developing them.
Older adults, young children, and anyone whose immune system is impaired face greater chances of developing respiratory infections. These infections can lead to acute bronchitis and bronchial spasms.
Smoking And Passive Smoking
According to modern concepts, smoking is one of the main factors affecting the occurrence and course of bronchial asthma. Tobacco smoke contains a large number of substances that have a toxic, irritant effect , a carcinogenic effect. In addition, tobacco smoke dramatically reduces the function of the local bronchopulmonary defense system, primarily the ciliary epithelium of the bronchial mucosa . Ultimately, inflammation of the mucous membrane, sensitization and hyperreactivity of the bronchi develops under the influence of tobacco smoke components, which contributes to the development of bronchial asthma. The same negative impact has also passive smoking staying in a smoked room and inhaling tobacco smoke. Passive smokers absorb the same amount of nicotine and other toxic substances of tobacco smoke from the smoke-free air of the premises, as the active smoker. Passive smokers are also more likely to have food and pollen sensitization compared to people living in premises where no one smokes.
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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.
Deterrence And Patient Education
All patients who are asthmatic and pregnant should receive asthma health education on adherence to medications, proper usage of an inhaler device, a written asthma action plan, asthma trigger avoidance, and smoking cessation counseling when appropriate, and a monthly revision and adjustment of their asthma medications according to its control together with treatment of bronchial asthma exacerbation when present.
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Causes And Types Of Asthma
An asthma diagnosis means you have chronic swelling and inflammation in the bronchioles. Also referred to as wheezing or bronchial asthma, this condition can run in families or be triggered by allergies and irritants.
There are different types of asthma, which are classified by the cause of the condition or what triggers symptoms.