Asthma is a chronic respiratory illness that causes the airways that deliver oxygen to your body to constrict or get smaller. This may be caused from any number of factors that is often in response to common triggers such as dust, cold air, exercise or even a bronchial illness. Environmental odors such as those found in many work areas can also trigger work related asthma symptoms.

These symptoms may include a persistent dry hacking kind of cough. This cough may get worse when you sleep or exercise or even when you're out in cold weather.

One sign of asthma is the inability to breathe easily. This or when you try to force air into your lungs? This may be a sign of asthma and it's important to seek treatment as soon as possible. The reason for this is that although getting air into the lungs is important, exhaling the carbon dioxide and waste is also critical. An asthma attack can result in not only feelings of breathlessness but your body may literally poison itself by the inability of not being able to exhale completely.

If you have experienced any of these types of problems, you should go in for an asthma test as soon as possible. At this time, the medical professional will develop a full workup on your respiratory system using tests like the following:

Asthma and Respiratory Tests

Peak flow monitoring (PFM)- This is a test that a device is used in measuring the fasted speed that a person blows air out of his or her lungs. It is done to evaluate how well or badly the asthma is being controlled.

Spirometry- This is a test for asthma where a device is used to evaluate the function of the lung. Spirometry is also used to analyze how well or badly the lungs of the asthma patients take in, hold and use air. It is also used to evaluate the effectiveness or otherwise of the treatment.

Chest X-ray- This is a diagnostic asthma test which uses invisible electromagnetic energy beams. These beams produce the images of internal tissues, bones and organs into film for analyses by the doctor.

If it's been determined that you have asthma or another respiratory illness, the doctor will develop an effective treatment plan for your symptoms. There's no reason why someone diagnosed with asthma cannot live a long and healthy life. Usually the treatment program involves lifestyle adjustments in the medication regimen to limit severe asthma symptoms. The key to managing any serious illness is early diagnosis and treatment.