Tag Archive for: symptoms of asthma

Everything You Need To Know About Asthma: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatments

/in

What is Asthma

Asthma is chronic condition in which airways to the lung is restricted because they are inflamed and narrowed. Inflamed airways are sensitive and can react to anything in the environment such as anything being inhaled. As a result, your airways narrow even more and they produce mucus which makes it harder for air to flow to the lungs.

Asthma Symptoms and Causes

Some common symptoms of asthma include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness or pressure. You may not have all of these symptoms or you may have different symptoms at different times. These symptoms may vary from one asthma attack to another, ranging from mild to severe. Some people with asthma may go extended periods of time without having any symptoms and others may have them everyday. Your asthma may become apparent during vigorous exercise or colds.

It is important to take note the symptoms of an actual asthma attack. An asthma attack is the episode in which bands of muscle surrounding the airways are triggered to tighten. This tightening is called bronchospasm. There tends to be rapid breathing, difficulty talking, a sweaty face, and possibly blue lips or fingernails.

Asthma Treatment

Asthma medication can help you live an active and normal life. There are two basic drugs that are used in asthma treatment:

Steroids and Other Anti-Inflammatory Drugs prevent asthma attacks and work by reducing swelling and mucus production in the pathway leading to your lungs. They airways tend to be less sensitive this way and less likely to react to the environment.

Bronchodilators relieve the symptoms of asthma by relaxing the muscles that can tighten around the airways. This helps to open up the airways.

Short-acting bronchodilator inhalers are often referred to as rescue inhalers and are used to quickly relieve the cough, wheeze, chest tightness, and shortness of breath caused by asthma. They are also used prior to exercise. These should not be used daily in the routine treatment of asthma. If you need to use a short-acting bronchodilator as a rescue inhaler more than twice a week, then your asthma is not optimally controlled.

Long-acting bronchodilators are sometimes used in combination with inhaled steroids for control of asthma symptoms or when someone has ongoing asthma symptoms despite treatment with a daily inhaled steroid.

Asthma inhalers are the most common and effective way to deliver asthma drugs to the lungs. They are available in different types that require different techniques for use. Some inhalers deliver one medication and others contain two different medications.

If you’re having difficulty using small inhalers, your doctor may prescribe an asthma nebulizer. This machine requires a mouthpiece or mask and is typically used for anyone who has difficulty using inhalers with spacers. The nebulizer changes asthma medications from a liquid to a mist, so that they can be easily inhaled into the lungs. This takes a few more minutes than using inhalers.

Asthma is a very important concept to have information on regarding your own health and people close to you. It’s a common health issue and almost anyone can have it. It is vital to take the time to know about it and to acquire the best treatment option if you have it. That’s where we can help! Schedule an appointment with our pulmonary specialists, who can walk you through the appropriate treatment plan to help you deal with your asthma and get back on your feet.

5 Tips For Eliminating Asthma Triggers When Gardening

/in

Maintaining a garden is one of the best activities to undertake during the Springtime. Unfortunately for those who suffer from asthma or allergies, springtime gardening can provoke a lot of unwanted symptoms of asthma and may even trigger an asthma attack.

If you suffer from asthma but want to enjoy gardening, there are ways you can take to avoid running into any of your asthma triggers. Don’t let asthma stop you from enjoying the great outdoors — or even just your backyard.

Here are 5 tips for eliminating asthma triggers when gardening.

1. Wear Protective Clothing

Wearing long sleeves during the spring or summer doesn’t sound ideal, but sports sections have great clothing options that will help you stay cool and fresh no matter the coverage. Wearing long sleeves, as well as gloves, sunglasses, and even a surgical face mask if necessary will help protect your arms, hands, and face from asthma and allergy triggers like dirt, mold, and pollen.

2. Garden With Female Trees And Shrubs To Minimize Your Pollen Exposure

While most plants are both male and female, there are some plants called dioecious that grow either male or female. The female plants shed no pollen and if any pollen strays in from neighboring plants, the female plant will absorb and trap the pollen. Some of these trees and shrubs include: Cottonwood, Willow, Ash, Mulberry, Holly, Juniper, and Red Maple.

3. Stick To Potted Plants

If you’re not too sure about the whole “going outdoors” thing yet, you can always do a bit of gardening on your porch or patio by using potted plants. Not only is selecting pretty potts fun, it also gives your deck or house a beautiful touch. You can try planting allergen-ridding houseplants like Devil’s Ivy or English Ivy, Weeping Fig, Snake Plant, or a Peace Lily. Or for outdoors you can try succulents and cacti, begonias, bougainvilleas or lilies.

4. Get Low Pollen Lawn

The lawn you’re working on can have a lot of allergy triggers, so if you’re looking to garden, you may want invest in some fresh sod that produces little to no pollen. These allergy-free grasses include: Bermuda Grass Hybrids, Buffalo Grass, and St. Augustine Grass. If you can’t do this just yet, then keep in mind what the low and high pollen times are before going outside. For example, grass pollen is released from May onward, typically in the morning and then less as the day goes on.

5. Invite Wild Birds & Hummingbirds

When making a garden allergen and asthma trigger free it’s advisable to take all the help you can get, even from the wildlife! All you have to do is invite wild birds into your garden by placing feeders around the yard (just make sure the squirrels can’t get to it)! The birds won’t only eat the seeds in the feeder, they’ll also eat the insects in your garden, who’s damage and feces causes mold spores to spread throughout.

More Information

If you’re serious about getting into your garden this spring but are hesitant to get out there because of your asthma, make sure to try out these tips but always remember that the best way to manage your symptoms of asthma is through treatment and medication. So, before you get out there, make sure to speak to your pulmonary specialist about your asthma triggers. To learn how our pulmonary center can help you, or to book an appointment with one of our pulmonary specialists, contact us today!

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Asthma: The Main Differences

/in

Most people are familiar with what asthma is and what it looks like, but did you know there are different types of asthma? Today we’ll walk you through two asthma types (extrinsic and intrinsic) and explore the similarities and differences between them.

Asthma – What Does It Mean?

Having asthma means having inflamed air passages that drastically narrow the airways which, as a result, limit the amount of oxygen that’s able to get into the lungs. Severe asthma presents with a number of unpleasant symptoms, and can even lead to an inability to talk and move actively. Regardless of what type of asthma you have, the majority of symptoms you experience will be the same. 

What Are The Main Symptoms Of Asthma?

The most common symptoms of both extrinsic and intrinsic asthmas are the following:

  • Coughing
  • Wheezing
  • Shortness of breath
  • Rapid breathing
  • Chest tightness

While the majority of people diagnosed with asthma experience almost all of the abovementioned symptoms, you might not have them all, or you may experience something in addition to the symptoms listed above. All patients are different and can develop individual asthma complications. The complete suite of your symptoms will depend on your age, weight, physical condition, stress level, lifestyle, and a number of other varying factors.

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Asthma: What Is The Actual Difference?

Probably many of you didn’t even know that asthma has two types: extrinsic and intrinsic, also referred to as allergic and non-allergic asthma. Although they’re two different types, the difference is pretty easy to explain.

1.    What Causes Allergic Vs. Non-Allergic Asthma?

Extrinsic asthma is simply asthma caused by an allergic reaction, especially a chronic one. If your asthma is allergic, you will have higher levels of IgE (Immunoglobulin E) present in your blood test. On the other hand, intrinsic asthma, as you might’ve guessed already, is triggered by various non-allergic factors like stress, cold or dry air, smoke, anxiety, viruses or infections, and more. 

2.    What Type Is The Most Common?

More than 25 million people in the US suffer from asthma. Extrinsic asthma is definitely the more common of the two diseases since around 60% of all asthma sufferers have an allergic condition.

3.    Who Is More Prone To Each Type?

Based on extensive research, experts in the medical world have been able to identify certain characteristics that are associated with sufferers of each asthma type. For example, allergic asthmatic patients are usually younger, while non-allergic ones tend to be older. This is explained by the fact that it’s harder to get non-allergic asthma while you are relatively young, as your organism is still strong and able to withstand many factors that would cause an older patient to get asthma. Surprisingly gender is also a factor, as the research claims that females are at higher risk to obtain a non-allergic type of asthma compared to males.

4.    How Are Both Types Diagnosed?

Even though extrinsic and intrinsic asthmas have the same major symptoms, the diagnosis and treatment stages do differ for both conditions. In order to identify intrinsic asthma, your doctor will have to order a lung X-ray and blood work in addition to a thorough physical examination. Sometimes your physician will also want to perform a spirometry, peak flow, or lung function tests in order to figure out more details about your condition. After that, your doctor will have to perform an analysis on what factor(s) cause your non-allergic asthma. When it comes to diagnosing extrinsic asthma, your physician will likely order all of the abovementioned tests as well as a skin prick test, to see what your body perceives as an allergen. 

5.    How Is Each Asthma Type Treated?

After your doctor identifies the influencing factor(s) contributing to your intrinsic (non-allergic) asthma, recommendations for your specific triggers have to be made. These can include changes to your environment, nutrition, and lifestyle. Additionally, you may be prescribed various medications, including antibiotics and steroids, that are aimed at your infection and inflammation. If your asthma is triggered by stress or anxiety, psychological counseling may be required to treat your non-allergic asthma.

Extrinsic (allergic) asthma treatment is usually a tandem treatment approach and often consists of treatment for your asthma as well as your allergies. Asthma treatment will involve medications to reduce the inflammation which we’ve described above. At the same time, allergy treatment will depend on the allergen you are reacting to, as well as the severity of the symptoms. Note that some corrections in your nutrition and lifestyle can also be required, in addition to traditional allergy medicine.

Think You Might Be Suffering From Asthma?

There are lots of asthma resources online, both credible and non-credible, so don’t panic or rush to do a self-diagnosis after reading one or even dozens of them. Always remember that any condition requires professional diagnosis. If you experience any symptoms of extrinsic or intrinsic asthma, you can make an appointment with any of our experienced pulmonary specialists. They’ll walk you through all stages of the disease, from education to diagnosis and treatment.