Allergic asthma is a serious health condition that can dramatically decrease quality of life. Early diagnosis is crucial in order to provide effective treatment; this may involve monitoring symptoms and recording potential triggers; conducting lung function tests such as spirometry; and conducting allergy testing on common allergens like dust mites, pollen, pet dander or mold.
Symptoms
Allergic asthma symptoms include wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. The overreaction of your immune system to allergens such as pollen, dust mites, pet dander and other airborne pollutants causes these reactions, so it’s crucial that people identify their triggers and work with a specialist to avoid them.
When an allergen enters a person’s system, their immune system recognizes it as a threat and releases chemicals such as histamine to fight it off. These substances cause their nasal cavities, sinuses and lungs to swell with extra mucus production that makes breathing difficult by blocking off airways.
An individual with allergic asthma may experience these symptoms during a flare up, which is an exacerbation of their condition. A flare up could be brought on by factors like colds, exercise, cigarette smoke or viral infections – among others.
If a flare up goes untreated, it may result in bronchospasm – in which the muscles surrounding the lungs tightening, restricting breathing ability and oxygen flow from lungs to body. Mucus production also increases during attacks, further constricting lung capacity and making breathing difficult.
An allergy specialist can also assist in managing exposure to allergens by administering allergy immunotherapy – this form of therapy trains your body to accept allergens more comfortably with time, and may come in the form of shots or tablets which dissolve under your tongue.
Diagnosis
It remains unknown what causes allergic asthma, though we know when exposed to allergens their immune systems trigger an adverse reaction that narrows airways and overproduces mucus – making breathing more difficult than usual. Furthermore, asthmatic individuals may exhibit overactive responses from certain inflammatory cells known as eosinophils and leukotrienes that release substances which tighten muscles surrounding airways leading to further constriction and tightening; leading to further narrowing. All this results in a vicious cycle of inflammation, constriction and mucus production that leads to chronic symptoms as well as long-term airway remodeling.
Allergic asthma can affect anyone, with genetics and allergen exposure both playing key roles in its development. People who have had allergies or hay fever in the family are at an increased risk, as are those living or working in environments polluted with smoke, chemical fumes or dust pollution who face greater exposure risk of allergic asthma as well.
Healthcare professionals can diagnose allergic asthma through taking an in-depth medical history and physical exam, along with ordering blood tests to measure specific IgE antibodies to common allergens, as well as provocation tests and lung function tests. With provocation tests, a healthcare provider administers potential asthma triggers while closely observing for signs of an allergic reaction, such as wheezing or shortness of breath.
Treatment
First step to treating allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis, is avoiding allergens that could trigger them. Some individuals may need medication to control asthma symptoms and prevent flare-ups.
Your healthcare professional will evaluate you by asking about your past medical history, family background and symptoms. He or she may perform lung tests such as spirometry and fractional exhaled nitrous oxide (FeNO) analysis to measure how effectively your lungs are working.
Allergy tests are usually administered through skin prick testing or blood analysis to help your doctor pinpoint which allergens you’re sensitive to and to provide treatment recommendations. A healthcare provider may also recommend allergy immunotherapy, where gradually increasing amounts of allergens are gradually exposed over time so as to reduce immune reactions over time and help your asthma symptoms improve over time.
Leukotriene modifiers like montelukast (Singulair) provide medications to treat both allergies and asthma simultaneously, providing quick relief in sudden cases like wheezing or tightness of chest. Rescue inhalers offer quick relief for sudden problems like wheezing or tightness; these inhalers open airways and reduce inflammation without treating an allergy directly.
Regular maintenance medications, like inhaled steroids, can prevent inflammation and manage symptoms over the long-term. These can be taken either using a puffer or mask. Newer drugs that target cells, pathways and proteins linked to allergic asthma have also undergone clinical trials, but haven’t become available just yet.
Prevention
Although allergic asthma cannot be cured, treatment can ease symptoms and decrease attacks. Individuals can help by avoiding triggers like pet dander (dried skin flakes) and mold spores as well as taking regular asthma control medicines and using saline nose rinses to decrease mucus production in the airways and decrease allergy triggers.
Cooperating with healthcare professionals to develop an asthma action plan is an invaluable way to stay on top of asthma and allergy symptoms. Such plans provide useful strategies for minimizing exposure to common allergens like dust mites, animal dander and pollen while providing strategies to avoid potential triggers like environmental phenols present in many consumer products or paper receipts from thermal printers as well as some soup and salad dressing brands that use food grade phenol linings.
Healthcare professionals may suggest allergy immunotherapy, a preventive therapy which involves gradually training your body to accept allergens over time. This treatment often comes in the form of allergy shots or tablet-like substances that dissolve under your tongue, offering more long-term control than medicines taken orally such as steroids inhalers or antihistamines. Other strategies that can help include avoiding smoke and fumes as well as staying indoors during peak pollen or mold seasons.
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