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Asthma (Az-muh) is a chronic disease that affects your airways. The airways are the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways are inflamed (swollen). The inflammation (IN-fla-MAY-shun) makes the airways very sensitive, and they tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating. When the airways react, they get narrower, and less air flows through to your lung tissue. This causes symptoms like wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing, especially at night and in the early morning.
Signs and symptoms
In some individuals asthma is characterized by chronic respiratory impairment. In others it is an intermittent illness marked by episodic symptoms that may result from a number of triggering events, including upper respiratory infection, stress, airborne allergens, air pollutants (such as smoke or traffic fumes), or exercise. Some or all of the following symptoms may be present in those with asthma: dyspnea, wheezing, stridor, coughing, and an inability for physical exertion. Some asthmatics who have severe shortness of breath and tightening of the lungs never wheeze or have stridor and their symptoms may be confused with a COPD-type disease.
Increased shortness of breath or wheezing.
Disturbed sleep caused by shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing.
Chest tightness or pain.
Asthma Attack Symptoms
Do you know the early warning signs of an asthma attack? Read more about asthma attack symptoms so you can prevent an emergency.
Unusual Asthma Symptoms
Sometimes asthma symptoms include sighing, fatigue, and rapid breathing, not coughing or wheezing. Learn more about unusual asthma symptoms so you know when to use treatment
Drugs can cause sleepiness or fatigue in several ways. Some drugs, such as antihistamines for allergies and colds, do so by depressing the central nervous system. Others initially act as stimulants, but ultimately leave you tired because they keep you awake at night. Among these drugs are theophylline, used to treat asthma and other upper respiratory problems, and nicotine patches to help smokers quit. Still other medications can cause muscle weakness, including certain anti-arrhythmic agents (drugs that normalize an irregular heartbeat).
"The results are particularly relevant as rhinocojunctivitis is known to be a marker for subsequent development of asthma. Thus hay fever patients who suffer asthma symptoms maybe at risk of worsened asthma outcomes and developing clinically diagnosed asthma if they do not seek treatment," said Prof Albrecht Bufe, lead investigator of the study."
Astigmatism is a condition where the cornea has an irregular shape that causes problems with vision. The cornea, the clear covering of the lens and iris, serves as a protection to the eye and helps transmit light thru the eye. The cornea is normally spherical in shape, but those with astigmatism may have their cornea more oval shaped. This oval shaping causes light to scatter instead of focusing to a single point as it passes thru the cornea and results in blurred vision.
If you've ever looked at the images produced but those wavy mirrors at carnivals, you'll have some idea of how astigmatism can distort your vision.
Astigmatism is characterized by distortions in your field of vision, often noted as the blurring of lines. Astigmatism is also a common cause of eyestrain and headaches, especially with prolonged reading or lengthy sessions at the computer. Astigmatism causes blurring of your vision at all distances, so objects close up and even those far away will be blurred. Often present at birth, astigmatism affects many people, although not all cases are severe enough to require corrective treatment.
Astigmatism is usually discovered during routine eye exams when your doctor checks your eye's refraction and visual acuity using standard eye charts. Refraction is the ability to properly focus light rays on the retina and can be measured in a number of ways. Some doctors will ask a series of questions and conduct a visual acuity test, while others will use a keratoscope or keratometer to measure the curvature and shape of your cornea to determine your degree of astigmatism.
Astigmatism can be corrected thru the use of corrective lenses, involving either glasses or contact lenses. Astigmatism can also be corrected with refractive eye surgery.
Corrective Lenses for Astigmatism
Corrective lenses are a conservative method of dealing with astigmatism. Glasses and contact lenses are able to counter the effects of the irregularly shaped cornea and provide vision considerable improvement.
Ortho-K is an alternative method that uses special contact lenses that actually reshape the cornea. These special lenses are worn only at night and they gradually reshape the cornea by applying pressure in the right way.
LASIK Surgery for Astigmatism
A common misconception is that LASIK eye surgery doesn't apply to astigmatism, but that's false.
LASIK eye surgery is by far the most commonly selected procedure for refractive eye surgery. During the LASIK procedure, a small incision creates a corneal flap and an excimer laser is used to reshape the cornea. The excimer laser is different from other lasers in that it doesn't produce heat. Once the procedure has been completed, the corneal flap is repositioned normally and the healing process begins. Most people can notice quite an improvement in vision immediately upon completion of the procedure.
LASIK surgery is quick and painless, usually being performed on an out-patient basis. In most cases, you'll notice an immediate improvement in vision and the procedure is virtually painless, taking only a few minutes to complete.