A chronic condition that damages the airways of the lungs is called asthma. Breathing difficulty and wheezing are the most common symptoms of asthma.
Prevalence
According to the findings in 2017, about 7.9% of people are suffering from asthma in U.S. Australia has the highest rate of patients with asthma as the ratio is 21.5%. After Australia, Sweden has the highest rate of 20.2% patients. The lowest rate of asthma was found in Vietnam with a 1.0% ratio and china with a percentage of 1.4. Around 5-10% of the population is affected by asthma around the world that includes 7 million children.
Types of Asthma: (1)
Here are few types of asthma but the trigger of asthma are mostly the same. Triggers of asthma are mostly airborne pollutants, the smoke of cigarettes, and viruses.
Childhood Asthma:
Children develop the most chronic condition of asthma. Asthma can attack children at any age but the rate of asthma condition is more common in children than adults. According to a recent finding, children between the age of 5 to 14 years are most likely to develop asthma. About 9.7% of children of this age are affected by asthma. Some common triggers in childhood asthma are:
- Colds and respiratory infections
- Cigarette smoke
- Second-hand smoke of tobacco
- Allergens
- Air pollutants that include particle pollution of both indoors and outdoors
- Exposure of a child to cold air
Adult-onset Asthma
As we know asthma can develop at any age including adulthood. According to a study conducted in 2013, adults have persistent symptoms as compare to children. Some triggers that develop adulthood asthma are:
- Respiratory illness
- Stress
- Obesity
- Smoking
- Allergies
- Exposure to allergens
- Hormonal factors
Occupational asthma:
When an individual is exposed to an allergen or an irritant at their workplace they may develop asthma. Here are some workplaces where workers can expose to allergens.
- Bakeries
- Flour mills and kitchens
- Hospitals and other setups of healthcare
- Pet shops and zoos
- Laboratories where animals are kept.
- Farms and other settings of agriculture.
Following are the places where symptoms of asthma can be triggered:
- Car repairing and manufacturing
- Engineering
- Place where metalwork is done
- Woodwork and carpentry
- Electronics
- Industries of assembly
- Hairdressing salons
- Indoor swimming pools
- People with a high risk of developing asthma are those who:
- Smoke
- Having allergic rhinitis
- Have a history of asthma
Seasonal Asthma
This type of asthma is triggered in a certain environment every year. For example, it can be triggered with cold air in winters or with pollen grains in summers. People suffering from this type of asthma will still have asthma throughout the year but symptoms are observed during the season.
Causes:
The exact cause of asthma is not known that living in the same environment some people can develop asthma while others don’t. The cause of asthma is a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Triggers:
Signs and symptoms of asthma can be triggered by certain allergens. Triggers of asthma may vary from person to person and some most common triggers are:
- Airborne allergens like pollen and dust.
- Infections in the respiratory system such as common cold
- Physical activity
- Cold air
- Irritants or pollutants in the air like smoke.
- Asthma can be triggered by certain medications commonly includes aspirin, beta-blockers, NSAIDs like naproxen and ibuprofen.
- Emotions and stress
- It can be triggered with sulfites and preservatives that are added to food and beverages such as dried fruits, processed potatoes, and wine.
- It can also be triggered by GERD that is a gastric condition in which acids of the stomach are backed up into the throat.
Sign and symptoms
Sign and symptoms of asthma may vary from person to person.. Common sign and symptoms of asthma may include:
- Shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing
- Pain and tightness in the chest
- When exhaling they have wheezing, which is more common in children.
- Trouble in sleeping due to shortness of breath and coughing.
- The respiratory virus can worsen the attack of coughing or wheezing during cold or flu
Signs that give warning about the worsening of asthma are:
- More Frequent and bothersome signs and symptoms of asthma are:
- Increased difficulty in breathing can be measured by the device that is used to check how your lungs are working known as the peak flow meter.
- When one required a quick-relief inhaler more than often.
Situations in which sign and symptoms of asthma can flare up are:
- Exercise-induced asthma: it can get worse when the air is too cold and dry.
- Occupational asthma: triggers by chemical fumes and gases at the workplace.
- Allergy-induced asthma: it is triggered by airborne substances like pollen, spores, waste of cockroaches, or by the dry particles shed by the pets.
Treatment (2)
Medications:
Right medication depends upon on:
- Age
- Symptoms
- Trigger of asthma and
- Medication that suits you to treat asthma.
Inhaled corticosteroids:
They include:
- Fluticasone propionate
- Budesonide
- Beclomethasone
- Fluticasone furoate
- Leukotriene modifiers
- These medications include
- Montelukast
- Zafirlukast
- Zileuton
Combination inhalers:
These medications include the drugs such as:
- Fluticasone- salmeterol
- Budesonide- formoterol
- Formoterol- mometasone
- Fluticasone furoate- vilanterol
Theophylline:
It is a daily pill that relaxes the muscles and keeps the airways open. But this medication is not used as other medications for asthma and requires blood tests.
Quick-relief medications:
Types of quick-relief asthma medications include:
Short-acting beta-agonists
They include: Albuterol and levalbuterol.
Anticholinergic agents
Anticholinergic medications include ipratropium and tiotropium that act immediately to relax the airways and make a person breathe easily.
Oral and intravenous corticosteroids:
These medications include prednisone and methylprednisolone that reduce the inflammation of airways that is caused by severe asthma.
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