Asthma

Asthma is one of several chronic diseases. Chronic means the diseases are long term and incurable. Asthma causes the airways in an individual’s throat to constrict and inflame. This causes irritation and constant coughing. When a person’s asthma symptoms increase, they go through an asthma attack which is also known as a flare-up. There is no exact asthma cause. Usually, people get asthma due to their genes and their environmental or living conditions. Although asthma occurs in all age types, children and infants are more prone to bacteria and allergens.

Asthma causes

As mentioned earlier, asthma causes are not exactly known, but some of the causes that trigger the asthma symptoms are listed below:

• Allergens in the air (allergens are substances that cause allergic reactions)
• Pollens (from flowers)
• Dust mites (from the family of ticks and spiders. These organisms are too small to see without a microscope)
• Mould spores (when mould increases in number, it creates spores. It is present everywhere and is inevitable)
• Cockroach or rat waste particles 
• Infections in the respiratory tract (cough and cold)
• Some medicines, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen (Motrin® or Advil®) and naproxen (Aleve® or Naprosyn®)
• Air pollutants (smoke from cigarettes, cars, factories, etc.)
• High emotional or mental stress
• Preservatives added in food and beverages (processed food in factories and soft drinks)
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a disease where the acids in the stomach travel in the wrong direction and climb back into the throat.
• Smoke from tobacco 
• Chemicals like nail paint removers or cleaning products 
• Pet fur like cats and dogs cause irritation to the throat

Asthma: symptoms

The symptoms of asthma are listed below:

• Chest feels constricted and tightened 
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Nasal congestion 
• Coughing randomly 
• Shortness of breath after only a few minutes of work like running or weight lifting
• Whistle like sounds produced when breathing out 
• Hard to get a good night’s sleep due to continuous coughing 
• Use of the inhaler more often than normal 
• Excess mucus in the throat
• Constant feeling of tired all day every day
• Frequent mood swings, getting easily upset
• Pale and sweaty face/body
• Blue lips or nails 

Types of asthma

There are basically seven types of asthma:

Adult-onset asthma: It is asthma that is diagnosed in adults older than 20 years of age. It is a serious disease because the death rate for adults is higher than for children.

Asthma: symptoms = coughing (at night, especially); Wheezing (whistle sound when  breathing out).

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB): This happens when the airways in the lungs narrow down, which causes difficulty in breathing while exercising. People with EIB find it hard to exercise for more than 30 minutes. 

Asthma: symptoms = Usually, the symptoms start after 5-10 minutes of exercise without stopping—trouble breathing normally and chest pain. Symptoms are severe in environmental conditions that have drier air.

Occupational asthma: This is a disease that can be acquired at work/workplace, e.g., in factories or garages (smoke emissions from cars).

Asthma: symptoms = Dry or scratchy throat, runny nose, fever. All of these symptoms occur after going to the workplace.

Asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS): COPD is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and it occurs when a person smokes. Smoke causes damage to the lung tissues and airways. ACOS is just a mix of the two diseases. It is an easier way for doctors to address the disease the person has and provide effective treatments.

Asthma: symptoms = Excess mucus; frequent coughing; shortness of breath. 

Non-allergic asthma:  Asthma that acts up in extreme conditions. High heat, stress more than usual, being sick is a cause of the attack.

Asthma: symptoms = stress; difficulty breathing; constriction in the chest. All of these only in certain conditions, not always.

Allergic asthma: It is a breathing problem. When the person inhales an allergen, it causes the throat to swell up, breathing less and painfully.

Asthma: symptoms = Stuffy nose/nasal conjunction; irritation in eyes, nose, rashes on the body, and difficulty breathing. 

Paediatric asthma: This is asthma that is diagnosed in children. Childhood asthma is difficult to deal with for the parents and children. The one suffering from it does not have any knowledge of all the aspects of their asthma, like what causes it or what they should do when not under supervision and face an attack. It is incurable, and the children mature with asthma in them, they learn to adapt to their disease and take measures to prevent any sudden and harmful attacks.

Asthma: symptoms = Frequent cough when the child has a fever, especially during the night; coughing because of cold/dry air and exercise; whistling sound when they breathe out; fatigue; chest pains.  

Conclusion 

Asthma is a chronic disease that occurs in children as well as adults. Usually, the disease’s symptoms are shown in a child’s early years. There are cases where people have asthma, but they have no symptoms. This shows that people should regularly visit the doctor for a complete checkup of their bodies. Asthma can be both life-threatening and not harmful, in few people, the severity of asthma is high, and so for them, it can be fatal, while others do not have severe asthma, here as the disease is not very high risk, people can usually live normal lives with proper precautions, else the severity can increase.