Typical symptoms include shortness of breath, chest tightness, coughing and wheezing. But not all people experience these symptoms. In some, the only symptom may be a chronic cough, especially at night or after exercising.
These normally begin within minutes of exposure to triggers such as allergens or environmental irritants, cold air and certain medications and may last for a few minutes. More serious episodes may last for hours or even days. These flare-ups can occur at any time but often strike during the early morning hours. Nocturnal asthma may begin two to three hours after you sleep and may cause you to wake up gasping for breath.
Others experience restlessness during sleep, fatigue, an itchy or scratchy throat, itchy or watery eyes, and nasal and sinus congestion.
Asthmatics wheeze and cough because their airways are inflamed and filled with mucus. This makes it difficult for air to move in and out of the lungs. That's the reason why asthmatics find it hard to breathe. These symptoms are caused by the body's over-reaction to normally harmless substances like pollen, sudden weather changes, or indoor and outdoor airborne allergens.
While wheezing (a musical whistling sound during breathing) is one of the symptoms of asthma, not all asthmatics wheeze. In fact, some people don't have any symptoms and may not be aware that they have asthma. They may just feel tired most of the time, lack energy or seem to run out of breath easily. In most children, cough is the only symptom of asthma.
To help your doctor diagnose asthma, take note of your symptoms and tell your doctor about them. Observe when they occur, what you were doing at that time, how long they lasted as well as other pertinent information.
If your symptoms follow exposure to certain asthma triggers and occur at night or after exercise, you probably have asthma, more so if you have a family history of the disease. This will be confirmed through breathing and allergy tests or other laboratory tests.
Your doctor will also check how well you respond to asthma medications, especially short-acting bronchodilators that quickly relieve asthma attacks. To prevent further attacks, your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory medicines that stop inflammation and mucus production.
What are common asthma triggers and how can you avoid them? Find out in the third part of our series. Don't miss it!
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Asthma patients, who suffer with a lung and airways disorder which makes them both more sensitive, often find that their condition means that they also have a greater sensitivity to other substances that they may be allergic too. Certain substances trigger an attack which has the affect of causing their airways to contract making breathing difficult.
To date, the most effective asthma treatment remains that of prevention which is something an asthma sufferer needs to learn as soon as possible so that if an asthma attack is about to happen it is recognized immediately. The most recognized asthma symptoms are those of breathing problems, a tightening of the chest, persistent coughing and of course wheezing.
Even though it isn't present in every asthma case, the most noticed is the wheezing which seems to produce a whistle like sound when the sufferer breathes out. This is a symptom not just of asthma but tends to be a common condition with everyone who has a lung disorder it is just most noticeable in asthma sufferers.
Another common symptom is coughing which is often worse at night or early in the morning but fortunately, this cold-induced asthma symptom is visible along with other, more straightforward symptoms. It is for this very reason that a diagnosis of asthma may take a while as even the patient may think he has a cold or the flu. Although a very important symptom is that the skin usually appears bluish in color indicating less oxygen supply where treatment is very essential.
Although these symptoms are important, the main concern is ensuring that the airways remain open which may have started to close owing to a reaction with an irritant or other allergy inducing substance. When an asthma patient starts a bout of rapid breathing they will normal take medication in the form of an inhaler to help stop the problem but this doesn't always work.
The problem with severe attacks is that there is difficulty getting sufficient oxygen to the vital organs which can of course lead to death and emergency treatment may required at this point. It may be the case that a previous history of allergies within the family may be the basis of asthma but whatever the cause, it is still responsible for a large number of deaths each year and for over 20,500,000 Americans to have this awful condition.
For the asthma sufferer, finding out what triggers the asthma is the most important thing to achieve as this way preventing attacks becomes much easier. Avoiding the asthma triggers is necessary but it is possible that there are other irritants which could cause problems so an asthma sufferer must remain vigilant.
Both Janet Martin & Lindelwa Maseko are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Janet Martin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Womens Health, Pregnancy Problems and Asthma. Sharon Bell is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premiere online news magazine