Do You Suffer From These Tell-Tale Symptoms Of Asthma?

These days Asthma has become a common disease. But, before we start discussing about Asthma, we all should first know, what is asthma and how it is caused. Asthma is a condition that affects the airways, the small narrow tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs.  A person with asthma when comes in contact that irritates their airway (pollen, dust and pollutants), the muscles around the lining tighten making them narrower and that results inflammation. At times, a sticky mucus or phlegm builds up which results in further blockage.

Asthma symptoms may not be the same with everybody. One may not have all the symptoms at one go while others may have different symptoms at different times. The symptoms may vary from one attack to another – being mild during one and severe during another. Also, some people suffering from Asthma might have no symptoms for extended periods, interrupted by periodic symptoms known as “asthmatic attack.” Others may have asthma symptoms everyday. In addition, some people have asthmatic attacks only while exercising or with a viral infection such as flu/cold. In general, mild asthma attacks are more common than severe attacks. For the mild attacks it takes a few minutes or hours for the air passage to clear up, but severe attacks long for last and require immediate medical assistance. Thus it is extremely crucial to detect, recognize and treat even mildest asthma symptom to prevent severe latter episodes and keep the condition under better control.

• Common Asthma symptoms include -
• Wheezing, which is a squeaky or whistling sound that happens when one breathes.
• Coughing especially in the night or in early morning, making it hard to sleep.
• Shortness of breath while exercising.
• Chest pain/tightness which is painful and it feels like something is squeezing or sitting on the chest.

The early signs of Asthma can serve as precursors or warning signs to stop an attack or prevent from getting worse. These early symptoms start much before the well-known symptoms and can be indicative that your condition could worsen. They are not severe enough to deter one's daily activities.

• Early warning signs of Asthma are -
• Shortness of breath
• Frequent cough, especially at night
• Wheezing
• Tiredness
• Extremely moody/grouchy
• Signs of a cold or allergies
• Lung function alterations as measured on a peak flow meter
• Trouble while sleeping

If you have any of the above symptoms, then visit a doctor.

An asthmatic attack occurs when the muscle bands of the airway are triggered to tighten. This episode is called 'bronchospasm.' During an attack, the lining of the air passages become inflamed or swell in size and the cell lining produces thicker and more mucus than normal. All of these result in breathing difficulty, coughing, wheezing, difficulty in performing normal day to day activities and shortness of breath. Other symptoms are:

• Rapid breathing
• Continuous coughing
• Difficulty in talking
• Severe chest pain
• Wheezing while breathing in and out
• Pale sweaty face
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Tightened chest and neck muscles, callled retractions
• Blue fingernail or lips

If not treated on time, severity of the attack can rapidly escalate. Without immediate treatment like an asthma inhaler or a bronchodilator, breathing can be more laboured and reading on a peak flow meter will probably be less than 50%. Under this condition immediately get transferred to a hospital. Withdrawal of wheezing is often mistaken as a sign of improvement and many fail to get prompt emergency care. Unfortunately if one doesn’t receive adequate treatment, eventually difficulty in speaking and development of a bluish color around the lips can be observed. This change in color is known as cyanosis and indicates lower oxygen levels in the blood. If still the patient is not treated, consciousness is lost and death occurs.

The usual symptoms like wheezing, shortness of breath does not happen to everyone. Sometimes individuals may have unusual symptoms which might not be even related to asthma. These symptoms include-

• Sighing
• Fatigue
• Rapid breathing
• Exercise induced Asthma – inability to exercise properly
• Nighttime Asthma – difficulty in sleeping
• Lack of concentration
• Anxiety
• Chronic cough without wheezing

It is important to bear in mind that symptoms of asthma can be mistaken for an ailment in themselves or for some other disease. The best method to diagnose this condition is to have a talk with a doctor for prescribed medication to prevent and treat Asthma effectively.