There is no cure for asthma, but medications can help control symptoms and avoid flare-ups. These include inhaled steroids that reduce inflammation as well as bronchodilators to open airways.
Your doctor may also suggest immunotherapy, a treatment which gradually makes your body less sensitive to allergens over time. It may come in the form of allergy shots or sublingual immunotherapy tablets that dissolve under your tongue (sublingual immunotherapy).
Symptoms
People living with allergic asthma have sensitive airways that respond adversely to substances known as allergens. Breathing these triggers causes airway inflammation and irritation, leading to excess mucus production that makes breathing hard. Coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath may all occur whenever exposed to a trigger; whether regularly or intermittently.
Allergens can be found anywhere, such as dust mites, pet dander (skin flakes from animals), mold spores and cockroach allergens (feces, saliva and body parts). Seasonal allergies like hay fever may also trigger asthma symptoms; keeping a symptom diary to identify triggers is helpful in managing asthma symptoms more effectively and improving quality of life.
Wheezing is one of the primary symptoms of an allergic asthma attack, occurring when airways narrow and become inflamed. Other symptoms may include coughing (dry or wet) that produces mucus. In more serious cases, symptoms can become so severe as to lead to life-threatening asthma attacks resulting in low blood pressure that causes sudden drops that make breathing impossible – resulting in sudden loss of consciousness and panic attacks.
Non-allergic asthma can also be triggered by exercise, cold air, respiratory infections or exposure to tobacco smoke – but its cause differs significantly from allergy-induced asthma.
Diagnosis
Asthma attacks occur when airways become swollen and constricted, making breathing more difficult and potentially leading to life-threatening symptoms like wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath or wheezing; medical treatment must be sought immediately if an asthma attack does occur.
Healthcare professionals begin by gathering information on symptoms and what triggers them in order to assess whether someone has seasonal or year-round allergies. A doctor may order lung function tests called spirometry as well as allergy tests designed to detect allergens triggering symptoms through skin prick tests or blood testing procedures.
Healthcare providers also often conduct extensive family history reviews. Individuals whose families have had conditions such as eczema, hay fever or rhinitis are at greater risk for allergic asthma.
Healthcare professionals will then develop a personalized treatment plan. This may include medications such as inhaled steroids and bronchodilators to decrease inflammation and open airways. Allergy immunotherapy may also help people become less sensitive over time by gradually exposing the body to small doses of an allergen over an extended period.
Treatment
An allergen triggers an asthma attack when its immune system overreacts by producing inflammatory mediators that lead to swelling and narrowing of airways, leading to symptoms like chest tightness, wheezing and shortness of breath.
Individuals living with allergic asthma can work closely with healthcare providers to develop a treatment plan that reduces its frequency and severity, by pinpointing what triggers their asthma attacks and finding ways to limit exposure to those substances – whether that means hiring someone to cut the grass if pollen is an issue, staying indoors more often if dander or mold are an issue, or using allergy shots (immunotherapy) to desensitize immune systems against certain allergens.
Long-term control medications help minimize inflammation and keep symptoms under control, either taken as tablets or through an inhaler (known as nebulizer). Common long-term asthma medications include bronchodilators to open airways and steroids to reduce inflammation; leukotriene modifiers help block production of chemicals which inflame airways during an allergic response, while quick-acting inhalers may be prescribed when needed to treat acute episodes of asthma.
Prevention
Allergens such as mold, dust mites, pollen and pet dander can trigger asthma symptoms in some people. But other things can also irritate or trigger asthma attacks: viral respiratory infections, exercise, air pollutants (like pollen or smoke), stress management techniques such as breathing deep into a chamber with air filter, certain drugs (aspirin or certain high blood pressure medicines) or weather conditions.
Avoid allergens and follow a treatment plan for asthma to alleviate allergic asthma symptoms. Your healthcare provider may recommend allergy tests to identify what triggers asthma or allergies; such as skin prick tests where needles containing different allergens are poked into the surface of your skin to check for red or itchy bumps that indicate your immune system has responded negatively to an allergen.
Your healthcare professional may also suggest allergy immunotherapy, whereby gradually exposing yourself to allergens over time in order to build tolerance and desensitize your immune system against them, thus decreasing reactions and the severity of asthma symptoms.
Regular physical activity is beneficial to everyone, but especially so for people living with asthma. Studies show that those who engage in regular exercise are twice more likely to achieve better control of their asthma than those who don’t exercise regularly. If you suffer from asthma, take your medicine as prescribed and keep a quick-relief inhaler on hand at all times.
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