Symptoms, causes, and treatments for Asthma
Asthma obstructs airflow to the lungs by narrowing and inflaming airways. Asthma is commonly diagnosed in children, and it’s rare for an adult to receive a new diagnosis of asthma.
Common asthma symptoms include:
Asthma has no singular, defined cause. It’s not fully understood why some individuals develop it and others don’t. A few commonly accepted possible causes are:
After initial diagnosis, asthmatics usually work on a management plan with a doctor to identify and control their triggers. Because there’s no asthma cure, it’s important, and often life-saving, to know about and plan for your unique triggers.
Common asthma triggers include:
If you’ve been diagnosed with asthma, you probably know about your triggers and have a prescribed inhaler on-hand for attacks.
Severe asthma episodes can be life-threatening. Breathing becomes severely inhibited or completely blocked.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends asthmatics create a plan with a doctor to control and manage their asthma and prevent serious attacks.
There are several asthma management plans published by medical organizations freely available online. One example, created by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, uses a green, yellow, and red zone format for asthmatics to quickly identify the severity of an episode.
Note that this is just one example of an asthma action plan, and you should schedule a visit with a doctor before committing to one plan over another, especially if you or your child’s asthma is newly diagnosed.
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Asthma Prevention Tips
Even though asthma is incurable, it’s such a common disease that several preventative treatment plans exist to manage and control the triggers unique to your asthma. If you haven’t already, talk with a doctor about developing a unique management plan. The following tips may also help prevent attacks in conjunction with your plan: