About Chemical Irritants And Asthma
Chemical irritants are found in some products in your house and may trigger asthma. Your asthma or your childs asthma may be worse around products such as cleaners, paints, adhesives, pesticides, cosmetics or air fresheners. Chemical irritants are also present in schools and can be found in commonly used cleaning supplies and educational kits.
Chemical irritants may exacerbate asthma. At sufficient concentrations in the air, many products can trigger a reaction.
Do You Know What Type Of Asthma You Have
Asthma is a disease that affects your airways, which carry air in and out of your lungs. The type of asthma you have depends on your specific triggers.
Thanks to advances in asthma research, doctors have been able to identify the different types of asthma. The five most common types of asthma are: exercise-induced bronchospasm;, allergic asthma, cough-variant asthma, occupational asthma, and nocturnal or nighttime asthma. EIB occurs after physical exertion. Its not always easy to determine which type of asthma you have. Proper diagnosis and regular communication with your doctor can help you to determine the best course of action.
Asthma is a chronic lung disease, so its important to receive treatment as soon as possible to ensure that your condition doesnt worsen.
What Are Common Side Effects With Asthma Medications
Inhaled asthma medications are usually well-tolerated with few side effects when used as prescribed; however, there are a few precautions.
- Inhaled corticosteroids can cause oral thrush, a fungal infection of the mouth.
- Rinsing your mouth with water after using the inhaler or using a spacer device might help prevent thrush.
- Contact your doctor if you notice white patches in your mouth, which could be the beginning of a thrush infection.
Inhaled quick-acting medicines like albuterol can also cause side effects like: shakiness, nervousness, difficulty sleeping or a fast heartbeat, among others.
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Natural Selection And Evolution
Mutations alter an organism’s genotype and occasionally this causes different phenotypes to appear. Most mutations have little effect on an organism’s phenotype, health, or reproductive . Mutations that do have an effect are usually detrimental, but occasionally some can be beneficial. Studies in the fly suggest that if a mutation changes a protein produced by a gene, about 70 percent of these mutations will be harmful with the remainder being either neutral or weakly beneficial.
studies the distribution of genetic differences within populations and how these distributions change over time. Changes in the in a population are mainly influenced by , where a given allele provides a selective or reproductive advantage to the organism, as well as other factors such as , , , and .
Over many generations, the genomes of organisms can change significantly, resulting in . In the process called , selection for beneficial mutations can cause a species to evolve into forms better able to survive in their environment. New species are formed through the process of , often caused by geographical separations that prevent populations from exchanging genes with each other.
Organisms were chosen, in part, for convenienceâshort generation times and easy made some organisms popular genetics research tools. Widely used model organisms include the gut bacterium , the plant , baker’s yeast , the nematode , the common fruit fly , and the common house mouse .
What Causes An Asthma Attack
An asthma attack can happen when you are exposed to asthma triggers. Your asthma triggers can be very different from someone elses asthma triggers. Know your triggers and learn how to avoid them. Watch out for an attack when you cant avoid your triggers. Some of the most common triggers are tobacco smoke, dust mites, outdoor air pollution, cockroach allergen, pets, mold, smoke from burning wood or grass, and infections like flu.
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Spacers For Asthma Medication
It is recommended that all people with asthma, regardless of age, use a spacer when taking medication via a metered-dose inhaler .
Spacers help to improve the delivery of asthma medication to the lungs and minimise side effects from medications. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about spacers and how they might help you manage your asthma.
;which demonstrate how to use a puffer and spacer.
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What Causes An Asthma Flare
Things that can cause you to have an asthma flare-up are called triggers. Different kids have different triggers. Common triggers include:
- breathing in things that cause allergies , such as dust, pollen, dander from animals, and mold
- breathing in things that irritate your airways, like cigarette smoke, perfume, and chalk dust
- infections, like a cold or the flu
- breathing in cold air
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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.
The Impact Of Asthma On Daily Life
Asthma is often under-diagnosed and under-treated, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
People with under-treated asthma can suffer sleep disturbance, tiredness during the day, and poor concentration. Asthma sufferers and their families may miss school and work, with financial impact on the family and wider community. If symptoms are severe, people with asthma may need to receive emergency health care and they may be admitted to hospital for treatment and monitoring. In the most severe cases, asthma can lead to death.
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How Does Asthma Get Diagnosed
The main tests used to help diagnose asthma are: FeNO test you breathe into a machine that measures the level of nitric oxide in your breath, which is a sign of inflammation in your lungs. spirometry you blow into a machine that measures how fast you can breathe out and how much air you can hold in your lungs.
What Is The Treatment For Asthma
Asthma symptoms can be treated with a variety of prescription medications that provide quick relief as well as long term control. Lifestyle changes can also reduce symptoms, especially if asthma is triggered by allergies to substances in the environment or to certain foods . Regular vaccinations for influenza and pneumonia are strongly recommended for older adults with asthma.
Keep in mind . . . Short-term use of oral steroids are helpful to treat acute asthma symptoms, or flare ups; however, long-term use of oral steroids is usually avoided in older asthma patients. Over time, oral steroids can cause severe side effects, such as weakening of bones, ulcers, or high blood pressure.
People with asthma should develop a written asthma management plan with their physician. An asthma management plan outlines specific treatment and lifestyle practices, including what to do when asthma symptoms flare up or become out of control.
Older asthma patients should be sure to ask their physician about any aspect of their asthma treatment that they do not understand. Keeping the physician informed about how well treatment is working is important. Patients need to tell their physician if they are having trouble remembering to take their medications, or if they are having difficulty using devices such as an inhaler.
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What Is Asthma Symptoms Causes Diagnosis Treatment And Prevention
Asthma is a common chronic lung disease in which the lungs’ bronchial tubes, or airways, become inflamed.
Want to know more about asthma? Read on to learn what experts know about this breathing disorder, why some people develop it and others dont, lifestyle changes that can help you manage asthma, and how to avoid complications linked to the condition.
My Child Is Having Trouble Using An Inhaler What Should I Do
Children, especially those under 5 years of age, may need to use a spacer device or nebulizer to help with the process of breathing in their asthma medication. The technique of using a metered-dose inhaler can be hard for small children to master.
- Spacer devices have a chamber that receives the aerosol before it is inhaled.
- Nebulizers are an electronic machine that converts liquid medication into a fine mist breathing treatment to ease inhalation.
- Spacers are portable, while nebulizers are available for home or portable use.
- Spacers and nebulizers are also useful for anyone who prefers to use these tools to ease inhalations.
- Your doctor, nurse or pharmacist can order these for you or let you know how to access one.
Learn how to use a nebulizer here and more about using spacers here. If you still aren’t sure, ask your pharmacist, nurse or doctor.
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About Dust Mites And Asthma
Dust mites are tiny bugs that are too small to see. Every home has dust mites. They feed on human skin flakes and are found in mattresses, pillows, carpets, upholstered furniture, bedcovers, clothes, stuffed toys,;fabric, and fabric-covered items.
Body parts and droppings from dust mites can trigger asthma in individuals with allergies to dust mites. Exposure to dust mites can cause asthma in children who have not previously exhibited asthma symptoms.
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Whats An Asthma Attack
When you breathe normally, muscles around your airways are relaxed, letting air move easily. During an asthma attack, three things can happen:
- Bronchospasm: The muscles around the airways constrict . When they tighten, it makes the airways narrow. Air cannot flow freely through constricted airways.
- Inflammation: The airway linings become swollen. Swollen airways dont let as much air in or out of the lungs.
- Mucus production: During the attack, your body creates more mucus. This thick mucus clogs airways.
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How The Treatment Goals Are Attained
Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet for asthma. While treatment can control symptoms safely and effectively for most patients most of the time, it is not a simple matter of the doctor writing a prescription and the patient taking the medication. Successful treatment of asthma is likely to require several steps on the part of physician. These include:
- Confirmation of the diagnosis
- Characterization of the asthma with regard to:
- Chronicity
- Severity
- Identification of triggers
- Identification of the components of airway obstruction
The diagnosis of asthma is suspected when a patient has a history of recurrent or chronic shortness of breath, labored breathing, or cough in the absence of any other obvious reason. The diagnosis is confirmed by obtaining evidence that there is airway obstruction that reverses either spontaneously or as a result of treatment with anti-asthmatic measures. The procedures used to make the diagnosis include a careful history, measurement of pulmonary function , and therapeutic trials of medication.
Triggers of asthma, those identifiable factors that commonly worsen symptoms include:
- Viral respiratory infections ;
- Airborne allergens ;
- Inhaled irritants ;
- Cold air
- Exertion
Patients with an intermittent pattern of asthma require only intervention measures.
Will It Ever Go Away
Asthma has a variable course. Many children with asthma see it improve or appear to go away as they get older. This can happen any time in childhood or adolescence. If asthma was only intermittent in nature and triggered by viral respiratory infections , there is an excellent likelihood that asthma will be much less of a problem as the child gets older. Sometimes the nature of the asthma changes with age. A young child may have asthma initially only from viral infections. As the child ages, asthma may occur less from viral infections , but inhalant allergy may become an important contributor to the asthma. If asthma persists into adult life, or returns later in adult life after a period of remission, persisting asthmatic symptoms may not be readily explainable by any environmental factors.
Whatever the course, however, asthma is virtually always controllable with acceptably safe measures. While ongoing medical evaluation of asthma should assess whether the disease is still active and continues to need treatment, it is not wise to withhold treatment in the hope that asthma will go away by itself. That may indeed occur, but it may not, and there can be considerable avoidable suffering and disability in the interim.
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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 healthcare provider may order a chest X-ray, blood test or skin test. Your provider may order spirometry. This test measures airflow through your lungs.
What Are Common Triggers For Asthma
A trigger is something that provokes a response from your body. In the case of asthma, your body sees these triggers as a threat and releases chemicals to combat them and these chemicals, in turn, can cause an;asthma attack.
Different things can act as triggers for different people, but common asthma triggers include;exercise,;illness;and allergens such as;pollen. Triggers can also come from certain medications, the weather, stress, smoke and even some foods.
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What Are Some Common Medications Used To Treat Asthma
Asthma is treated and controlled primarily with two types of medications:
- Inhaled corticosteroids are used to control lung swelling over the long-term
- Quick-relief beta2-agonists like albuterol are used as “rescue” inhalers when symptoms occur.
Quick-relief inhalers don’t reduce lung swelling and should not be used in place of long-term, inhaled corticosteroid treatment.
- A long-acting beta2-agonist bronchodilator and corticosteroid combination, such as Advair , may be needed in more severe asthma. Bronchodilators help your breathing by relaxing the smooth muscle around the lung airways.
- Other brands of fluticasone and salmeterol include AirDuo Digihaler, AirDuo Respiclick, and Wixela Inhub.
- Warning: The use of long-acting beta-2 agonists without a corticosteroid is associated with an increased risk of asthma-related deaths.
There are many other long-term asthma control drugs available, including: cromolyn inhalation, oral theophylline, tiotropium , fluticasone and vilanterol and omalizumab .
What Are Asthma Symptoms
Asthma can be distinctive for everyone. Symptoms of asthma can also fluctuate over time, with some or no symptoms when asthma is well-controlled. The most obvious symptom is wheezing. This is a scratchy or hissing sound when you breathe. Extra symptoms include:
- Shortness of breath
- Dust bits and chemical fumes
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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:
- easy bruising ;
- 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.
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What Is An Obstructive Lung Disease
Asthma is an obstructive lung disease. An obstructive lung disease is one in which airflow in the smaller airways is impeded or obstructed, making it difficult for you to exhale which can cause asthma. Basically, it is hard for the air to get out of your lungs.
In a person with obstructive lung disease, the lungs expand normally and the air usually has no problem traveling into the lungs. The problem starts because the air cannot get out through narrowed airways. It takes longer to breathe out than in.2 Before you have finished exhaling, you feel the need to inhale. When this happens usually during asthma attacks in people with severe asthma some air gets stuck in your lungs at the end of the breath. This is called air trapping.2 Air trapping makes it hard for the next breath to get in. Once this cycle starts, it becomes harder and harder to breathe.
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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 Types Of Asthma Are There
Healthcare providers identify asthma as intermittent or persistent . Persistent asthma can be mild, moderate or severe. Healthcare providers base asthma severity on how often you have attacks. They also consider how well you can do things during an attack.
Asthma can be:
- Allergic: Some peoples allergies can cause an asthma attack. Molds, pollens and other allergens can cause an attack.
- Non-allergic: Outside factors can cause asthma to flare up. Exercise, stress, illness and weather may cause a flare.
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What Are Signs And Symptoms Of Adult Onset Asthma
Regardless of age, asthma symptoms can include:
;;;;;;;;;;; Dry cough, especially at night or in response to specific triggers
;;;;;;;;;;; Tightness or pressure in the chest
;;;;;;;;;;; Wheezing a whistling sound when exhaling
;;;;;;;;;;; Shortness of breath after exercise or physical exertion
;;;;;;;;;;; Difficulty breathing
;;;;;;;;;;; Colds that go to the chest or hang on for 10 days or more