When Should A Person See An Allergist
If an individual is having difficulty breathing or is coughing and wheezing, an allergist can help determine the cause of the condition and provide treatment that controls or eliminates the symptoms. Individuals should see an allergist if, breathing difficulties are interfering with daily activities, breathing problems are decreasing the quality of life, or shortness of breath, wheezing or coughing especially at night or after exercise. An allergist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of asthma and allergies. We have additional years of fellowship training and have passed Board Certification examinations.Although no cure exists for asthma, effective treatments are available. We learn more about asthma every year and newer, more effective drugs are developed. As a result, most people with asthma live normal, productive lives. Research is continuing, and the outlook is bright. For personalized information about asthma please contact our office for a consultation.
Asthma Causes And Triggers
When you have asthma, your airways react to things in the world around you. Doctors call these asthma triggers. They might cause symptoms or make them worse. Common asthma triggers include:
- Infections like sinusitis, colds, and the flu
- Allergens such as pollens, mold, pet dander, and dust mites
- Irritants like strong odors from perfumes or cleaning solutions
- Air pollution
- Strong emotions such as anxiety, laughter, sadness, or stress
- Medications such as aspirin
- Food preservatives called sulfites, found in things like shrimp, pickles, beer and wine, dried fruits, and bottled lemon and lime juices
Bronchial Asthma: A Complex Disease
Bronchial asthma is a chronic disease characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness to a series of allergens or irritants. Coexistence of airway inflammation and remodelling has led to the hypothesis that the disease is inflammatory in nature, although the relationship between the inflammatory process and AHR has not been consistently shown. For example, studies examined by Brusasco etâal. revealed that markers of inflammation correlated with AHR in no more than 50% of the cases. In addition, pharmacological interventions have shown that inflammation can be modified independently of AHR and vice versa. It is significant that, despite a multitude of studies on cellular and molecular lung biology and immunology, the precise pathogenesis of asthma still remains unknown. In this review, we examine the disease from a different perspective. Specifically, we suggest that the pathogenesis of asthma can be better understood if we start from the principle that the lung is a complex organ and any chronic disease affecting it will also become complex.
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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.
Asthma Is A Chronic Inflammation Of The Bronchial Tubes
An important medical discovery several years ago was that some inflammation is present in the bronchial tubes of persons with asthma even when they feel well and when their breathing is normal. The cause of this chronic inflammation is not known, although in many instances it has the appearance of an allergic type of reaction. The inflammation may be mild, so mild that it does not cause narrowing of the bronchial tubes. But the persistent or chronic presence of the inflammation probably is what makes the bronchial tubes capable of narrowing abnormally. The bronchial tubes in asthma are said to be“twitchy” or easily sent into spasm or narrowing. What makes the bronchial tubes“twitchy” or vulnerable to a variety of stimuli in the world around us-whether it be dust or exercise or cat dander or cold air-is thought to be the persistent presence of inflammation in the bronchial tubes.
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Researchers Now See Both The Forest And The Trees With 3d Imaging Method
- Date:
- Oregon Health & Science University
- Summary:
- A new study implicates remodeling of nerves in the airways as a key contributor to heightened sensitivity and airway constriction in patients with asthma. The results provide new insight into a little-understood factor in the development of asthma, a condition that affects about 235 million people worldwide. The study is the first to demonstrate that inflammatory cells can alter nerve structure in the lungs to cause disease.
A new study implicates remodeling of nerves in the airways as a key contributor to heightened sensitivity and airway constriction in patients with asthma.
The study published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The results provide new insight into a little-understood factor in the development of asthma, a condition that affects about 235 million people worldwide. The study is the first to demonstrate that inflammatory cells can alter nerve structure in the lungs to cause disease.
Airway nerves sense inhaled particles, such as pollen and smoke, in the environment and help regulate airway constriction. In asthma, these nerves become more sensitive, causing patients to develop symptoms of wheezing and cough. Although previous research had shown that two-thirds of patients with asthma have an overabundance of a type of immune cell, called eosinophils, the effects of eosinophils on airway nerves were not fully understood.
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How Asthma Is Treated
While there is no cure for asthma, there are a number of treatments that can help control the condition.
Treatment is based on two important goals, which are:
- relieving symptoms
- preventing future symptoms and attacks
For most people, this will involve the occasional or, more commonly, daily use of medications, usually taken using an inhaler. However, identifying and avoiding possible triggers is also important.
You should have a personal asthma action plan agreed with your doctor or nurse that includes information about the medicines you need to take, how to recognise when your symptoms are getting worse, and what steps to take when they do so.
These symptoms are often worse at night and early in the morning, particularly if the condition is not well controlled. They may also develop or become worse in response to a certain trigger, such as exercise or exposure to an allergen.
Read our page on the causes of asthma for more information about potential triggers.
Speak to your GP if you think you or your child may have asthma. You should also talk to your doctor or asthma nurse if you have been diagnosed with asthma and you are finding it difficult to control the symptoms.
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Is All Asthma The Same
Asthma is quite variable. Symptoms can range from trivial and infrequent in some to severe, unrelenting, and dangerous in others. Even when severe, however, the airway obstruction is usually fully reversible, either spontaneously or as a result of treatment. This means that symptoms can be relieved, airway obstruction can be reversed, and pulmonary function can be made normal.
There are different patterns of asthma. Some people have only an intermittent pattern of disease. They have self-limited episodes of varying severity followed by extended symptom-free periods. The individual episodes are frequently triggered by viral respiratory infections . This is particularly common in young children in whom viral respiratory infections are frequent . Others have these intermittent symptomatic periods brought on by vigorous exertion, cold air, or specific environmental exposures. This pattern is intermittent asthma.
More prolonged periods of symptoms occur in people who have asthma from seasonal outdoor inhalant allergens. This may be from grass pollen on the West Coast or mold spores from molds that grow on decaying vegetation in the Midwest. Through a knowledge of the aerobiology in your area and allergy skin testing, your physician can attempt to identify whether the symptoms fit into this pattern of disease. This pattern is seasonal allergic asthma.
Causes And Triggers Of Asthma
Asthma is caused by swelling of the breathing tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. This makes the tubes highly sensitive, so they temporarily narrow.
It may happen randomly or after exposure to a trigger.
Common asthma triggers include:
- allergies
- smoke, pollution and cold air
- exercise
- infections like colds or flu
Identifying and avoiding your asthma triggers can help you keep your symptoms under control.
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Having An Asthma Action Plan
You and your doctor will also put together an asthma action plan. This is a personalised set of instructions that includes a list of your usual asthma medications and doses, guidance on what to do in different situations , and your doctors contact details.
What Happens To The Body In A Person Diagnosed With Asthma
The underlying mechanism of asthma is usually a chronic inflammation of the airways, which is exacerbated by triggers .
Airway Hyperresponsiveness describes the predisposition for the airways to respond to triggers in an exaggerated and reactive way. It involves an increased sensitivity to triggers as well as an excessive constriction of the airways when exposed to them .
When exposed to triggers, the airways undergo physical changes that result in intermittent airway narrowing. These are:
- Bronchoconstriction: The smooth muscle in the wall of the airways contracts, becoming tighter and narrower. This muscle contracts more easily and strongly in people with asthma.
- Inflammation and swelling of the airway walls, reducing space.
- Excessive mucus production, which blocks the inside of the airways.
There is no single reliable test to diagnose asthma. Diagnosis is based on the individuals history, physical examination, considering other diagnoses and noting variable airflow limitation. Spirometry is the recommended method for confirming the diagnosis, assessing severity and monitoring asthma .
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Asthma: A Respiratory Tract Infection
Asthma is a disease which affects the respiratory system of the human organism. Asthma makes the airways more constrained and makes it more narrowed down through certain symptoms like wheezing, lack of proper breath, tightness of the chest and coughing, prolonged termination of breath, fast heart beat, chest inflation etc. Asthma is generally caused due to environmental pollution. Asthma reduces and constricts the airways as a result of which the patient suffers from normal way of breathing. The term Asthma’ is usually a Greek word which means sharp breath.
The symptoms of asthma can sometimes range from mild to severe life threatening. Moreover, it is to be estimated here that the symptoms of asthma can be solely controlled through the use of certain drugs and through changes in the life style. Asthma is generally caused by inflammation of breathing or the bronchial tubes which is present in the lungs. The most common cause of asthma is environmental pollution. Exposure to the environment of cotton and flour dust, smoke, smoke and to a wide range of chemicals further increases the risk of asthma. Generally, the most common symptom which is associated with asthma can be felt with the tightness sensation in the chest.
All asthma patients need proper treatment and medical attention so that the intensity of the disease gets mild and also if possible are diagnosed forever and thus enable the patient to lead a healthy life.
What Body System Does Asthma Affect
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Sensory neurons in the vagal ganglia moderate respiratory responses such as coughing, and earlier studies have shown that the nervous system modulates asthma symptoms. This allergy causes asthma-like symptoms: airway hyperreactivity and constriction of the airways.
Also, can asthma cause other health problems? In rare cases, asthma can lead to a number of serious respiratory complications, including: pneumonia a collapse of part or all of the lung. respiratory failure, where the levels of oxygen in the blood become dangerously low, or the levels of carbon dioxide become dangerously high.
Keeping this in view, how Does asthma affect the respiratory system and circulatory system?
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. The disease manifests as recurrent attacks of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. During an asthma attack, the muscles surrounding the airways contract, limiting the amount of air supply to the lungs.
Does asthma affect the brain?
Asthma primarily affects the lungs, but can impact brain function through direct and indirect mechanisms. Some studies have suggested that asthma negatively impacts cognition, while others have failed to identify asthma-related cognitive compromise.
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How Do Your Airways Work When You Have Asthma
When you have asthma, your airways aren’t able to function as well as they should.
- Wheezing
- Chest tightness
Asthma causes inflammation, or swelling, in the lungs. It can also cause squeezing, called bronchoconstriction , and extra sensitive or twitchy airways.
When something bothers your airways, you have trouble breathing. This is called an asthma attack or episode. It gets harder to breathe because the tiny muscles around your airways squeeze tightly and they have swelling inside.
Your airways will make more mucus inside your airways, which makes it even harder to breathe. These changes in your airways can cause coughing and wheezing.
There is no cure for asthma. But you can take steps to manage it. If you have asthma, it’s important to see an asthma specialist, like an allergist or pulmonologist, to come up with the right asthma treatment plan. Medicines and avoiding asthma triggers can help reduce swelling and relax tight muscles in your airways.
ASTHMA Care for Adults
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.
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How Smoking Affects The Alveoli
Smoking is an important risk factor for lung disease. Tobacco smoke affects the respiratory tract at every level. This includes the alveoli.
Cigarette smoke affects how the alveoli work. Smoke causes damage down to the molecular level. It disrupts your bodys ability to repair itself after an infection or trauma. If exposure to smoke continues, alveolar damage continues to worsen.
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Our Confidence With Asthma As We Age
Asthma affects each person differently, and thats not just including symptoms and triggers. Asthma can also impact your confidence. In fact, we found that there was a pretty dramatic change in confidence due to asthma based on age. Turns out, the younger you are, the less confident your asthma may make you feel.
While this may seem like bad news, we have a good takeaway: as you age, your confidence will grow!
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How Does Asthma Affect The Body
Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that causes your airways in the lungs to become narrow, resulting in inflammation and difficulty breathing. It also causes symptoms like wheezing, coughing, breathlessness, and chest tightness. Sometimes, it can even be life-threatening. There is no cure for asthma you can only try to reduce the frequency of asthma attacks and alleviate the symptoms.
Mayo Research Examines How Asthma Affects Immune System Increasing Risk For Nonrespiratory Conditions
Young Juhn, M.D. , focuses his research on determining how asthma affects the immune system specifically, the extent to which asthma epidemiology affects the risk and severity of communicable and noncommunicable diseases. Asthma patients have a much higher risk of asthma-associated comorbidity including pneumococcal diseases, otitis media, community-acquired pneumonia, Streptococcus pyogenes upper respiratory infections, influenza, breakthrough chickenpox and pertussis, according to Dr. Juhns research.
This makes sense because these conditions are all airway infections, and asthma has an altered airway architecture including epithelial innate immune dysfunctions, says Dr. Juhn, director of the Asthma Epidemiology Research Unit at Mayo Clinic and a consultant in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. But we wanted to learn whether asthma patients susceptibility also applied to nonrespiratory conditions including systemic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
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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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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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