Asthma: Symptoms, Triggers And Types

Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease that affects the airways in your lungs. It is a condition that makes your airways narrower, and swollen, and may produce extra mucus. Asthma makes a person unable to breathe and performing activities difficult. The exact cause of asthma is not clear, however, exposure to certain factors triggers the development of asthma. Triggering factors can be different in different people. 

Symptoms of asthma include difficulty breathing, coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and pressure or tightness in the chest. Based on different criteria, there are different types of asthma such as adult-onset asthma, occupational asthma, allergic asthma, non-allergic asthma, pediatric asthma, exercise-induced broncho-constriction, etc.  There is no permanent cure for asthma. But following a healthy lifestyle, avoiding exposure to triggering factors, taking medicines, and using inhalers regularly helps to make breathing easier and to reduce the symptoms associated with asthma.

Symptoms Of Asthma

The symptoms of asthma vary from person to person. The common symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing 
• Chest pain and chest tightness
• Coughing especially at night
• Difficulty to sleep because of shortness of breath, wheezing, and coughing
• Rapid breathing
• Difficulty to talk
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Getting infections frequently

Triggering Factors Of Asthma

Exposure to certain irritating substances can cause you to get asthma. Healthcare providers call these substances ‘triggers’ which can initiate or worsen your health conditions. Understanding in detail about these triggering factors and avoiding exposure to them will help you to prevent asthmatic attacks. These substances vary in different individuals, which means a substance that triggers you doesn’t cause any irritations for someone else. Some people may start showing symptoms soon after exposure to the triggering substances, but some people may take a longer period to exhibit the symptoms. The triggering factors are:

• Dust
• Pollen grains
• Air pollution: This includes factory emissions, car exhaust, wildfire smoke, cigarette smoke, and more.
• Dust mites
• Exercise: Some people get asthma soon after they perform exercises
• Pests
• Pets: The hair of cats, dogs, and other animals triggers asthma in some people.
• Occupational exposure to cleaning products, dust from flour or wood, or other chemicals.
• Tobacco smoke
• Strong or intense smell from perfumes

Types of Asthma

 A. Based on the cause and severity of symptoms, healthcare providers classified asthma into 2 types:

• Intermittent asthma: This type of asthma comes and goes in between. You can feel better in between the asthma episodes.
• Persistent asthma: This type of asthma shows symptoms much of the time. You may have mild, moderate, or severe symptoms. 

B. Based on the causes of asthma, it is classified into:

• Allergic: In this type, exposure to allergens such as dust, pollen, pet danders, smoke can cause asthma attacks
• Non-allergic: In this type, outside factors like stress, illness, climate change, or exercise trigger asthma.

C. Based on the onset of symptoms, asthma is classified into 2 types:

• Childhood asthma: In this type, asthma starts in infancy or childhood, at any time before 5 years of age. 
• Adult onset asthma: In this type, asthma starts after 20 years of age.

D. In addition to the above types, there are 3 more types of asthma. These include:

• Exercise-induced asthma: in this type, asthma is triggered after exercise
• Occupational asthma: This type of asthma occurs in people who are exposed to irritating substances from the workplace such as cleaning products, dust from flour or wood, or other chemicals
• Asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS): This happens when you have both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This condition makes breathing very difficult.

Treatment of Asthma

The  National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) has classified asthma into 4 stages based on the severity of symptoms shown before treatment. This helps to plan treatment accordingly.

• Intermittent asthma: this type is seen the most commonly in people. An asthma attack occurs 2 times in a week or 2 nights per month, the symptoms will be mild and don’t cause any difficulties in performing routine activities
• Mild persistent: In this type, asthmatic attacks occur more than twice per week, but not daily, and up to 4 nights per month.
• Moderate persistent: In this type, the symptoms occur daily and at least 1 night every week, but not nightly. They may limit you to performing some daily activities.
• Severe persistent: In this type, symptoms occur several times every day and most nights, and they limit your ability to perform daily activities.

Based on the type of asthma, your age, triggering factors, and severity, asthma treatment includes 4 types of medicines. They are quick-relief medications, long-term control medications, a combination of quick-relief and long-term control medications, and biologics.

Quick relief medications
As the name suggests, these medicines provide quick relief and help you to breathe easier once you have asthmatic attacks. In general, bronchodilators are used.

Long-term asthma control medications:
The use of these medicines, such as anti-inflammatory medicines, anticholinergics, and long-acting bronchodilators helps to reduce the severity and onset of asthma. 

Biologics
Doctors prescribe biologics if your asthma symptoms do not reduce even after avoiding the triggering factors and taking medications. 

When to see a doctor
In general, asthma attacks can be managed by using medications and inhalers. Even if you do not  feel better after taking medicines or your symptoms are getting worse over time, you need to contact your healthcare provider immediately. The warning signs of a potential asthma attack include:

• Cough that gets worse
• Difficulty to breath even after using inhalers
• Severe tightness in your chest
• Not able to be active without wheezing
• Skin becomes pale
• Trouble in talking, breathing, and walking
• Symptoms not getting better after taking medication

Conclusion

Asthma is a respiratory disease that affects your airways and makes breathing difficult. Anyone can get asthma at any age. Having a genetic history, obesity, smoking, exposure to certain substances (like smoke, pollen, dust, and chemicals), and smoking are considered risk factors for developing asthma. There is no permanent treatment to cure asthma, Once the symptoms of asthma get worse it is known as asthmatic attacks. Avoiding the triggers, reducing exposure to allergens, taking vaccinations at the right time, and following a healthy lifestyle will help to reduce the onset of asthmatic attacks.