What is asthma?
Asthma is a chronic
lung disease that causes the airways in the lungs to get inflamed and
narrow making it difficult to breath. Asthma symptoms causes
shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness. The
range of asthma symptoms can vary from mild to severe and can occur
rarely to every single day. During an asthma attack, the symptoms get
worse and it is extremely difficult to breath. Asthma can affect all
age groups and often begins in childhood. However, that is not always
the case. There are multiple different types of asthma. Here we will
describe the different types of asthma that can affect people.
Types of Asthma
- Adult-Onset
Asthma: Some people do not have signs of asthma until they are
adults. In this case, it is known as adult-onset asthma. There are
many factors that can cause adult-onset asthma. Sometimes, adults
manage to avoid their asthma trigger for years and are only exposed
once they reach adulthood. For instance, if pet dander triggers
asthma for a person, they may have not come into contact with a pet
until they have a roommate with a pet. Additional, sometimes a viral
infection may unmask asthma symptoms in patients.
- Allergic
Asthma: Not every person who has allergies will have asthma and not
everyone who has asthma will have allergies. However, allergens or
triggers such as pollen, dust, and pet dander can trigger asthma
symptoms and asthma attacks. A common sign of allergic asthma is
cough especially at night or respiratory infections. Factors that
intensifies allergic asthma are irritants in the air, stress, drugs,
certain food additives, and weather conditions. An allergist can
identify if a patient has allergic asthma by doing tests to help
make a diagnosis.
- Asthma-COPD
Overlap: The majority of people who have asthma do not have or
develop COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD is a
chronic lung disease that causes breathing problems because of the
obstruction of airflow. A person with asthma-COPD overlap occurs
when these two disease exist together.
- Exercise-Induced
Bronchoconstriction: This type of asthma is also known as
exercise-induced asthma. Asthma symptoms occur when the airways
narrow and the patient experiences difficulty breathing as a result
of physical activity.
- Nonallergic
Asthma: Asthma induced by extreme weather, stress, or illness is
usually nonallergic asthma and not the other types of asthma.
- Occupational
Asthma: This form of asthma usually occurs as a result of an
individual’s work conditions. Triggers that lead to occupational
asthma include chemical fumes, dust or other air irritants.
How To Prevent Asthma
One of the goal of
managing asthma is to have an asthma action plan in place to assist
in the management and prevention of serious asthma symptoms. The
action plan includes the monitoring of the asthma, things that
trigger asthma, and which treatment would be best for the patient.
How Our Team Can Help
Our team at Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Medical Group can assist you in identifying the type of asthma you have. We will also work with you to ensure that you receive appropriate treatment and care. Give us a call today at 805-658-9500!