Allergies and asthma can disrupt daily life and create symptoms like fatigue. But you can control them with medicine and by understanding your triggers.
Allergens such as pollen, cat dander or dust mites may trigger asthma in certain people. When your immune system overreacts to these allergens, symptoms like sneezing or wheezing occur resulting in further asthma attacks.
Symptoms
Common symptoms of allergic asthma are wheezing, breathlessness and chest tightness. While these may come and go over time, if they become severe and uncontrollable seek emergency health care as you could have a life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis that requires immediate medical intervention.
Allergies and asthma share many similarities, yet the key difference between them lies in that allergy symptoms are caused by allergens like pollen, dust mites, pet dander or mold spores while asthma results from inflammation in the airways. Furthermore, non-allergic asthma may be brought on by physical exertion while allergic asthma involves an immune response against specific allergens that trigger symptoms.
Allergic asthma results when your immune cells release histamines and leukotrienes to narrow and swell your airways, leading to symptoms like breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing.
Allergens can include mold spores or cockroaches in the environment, while smoking cigarettes, strong smells, cold air or foods containing histamines or sulfites (like beer and wine) or medications including aspirin and acetaminophen may trigger allergy attacks. Seasonal triggers might include pollen or mold spores while year-round causes could include pet dander or household dust.
Diagnosis
Healthcare professionals can diagnose allergic asthma by discussing symptoms and the person’s medical history. People living with this condition tend to have a family history of allergies or respiratory diseases such as hay fever or eczema; additionally, healthcare providers will use a stethoscope to listen for breathing sounds during an exam.
Your immune system may overreact to allergens like pollen from trees, grasses and weeds; pet dander; mold spores. When individuals with allergic asthma inhale these substances, their airways become inflamed causing swelling which narrows passageways making breathing harder than before.
Allergic asthma symptoms typically appear after inhaling allergens or another irritant, such as physical activity, cold air, smoke or respiratory infections. As opposed to other forms of asthma, symptoms caused by allergic asthma tend to be caused by an overreaction of your immune system and may even worsen when exposed to unusual allergens like smoke, pollen or perfumes that would normally not be found in nature.
Healthcare professionals can assist an individual in identifying their allergy triggers and devising ways to avoid or manage them, such as hiring someone to cut the grass for pollen-sensitive individuals or regularly washing bedding and pillows to limit animal dander exposure. Individuals can also utilize symptom trackers as a way of tracking symptoms when they occur and their cause.
Treatment
Asthma can be a lifelong condition, but there are ways to control it. Learning what triggers your symptoms and working closely with your healthcare provider to find an approach that meets your individual needs will be key in keeping asthma under control.
As soon as someone with allergic asthma breathes an allergen like dust mites, pet dander, pollen or mold spores into their lungs, their immune system releases chemicals which narrow airways and produce excess mucus – such as histamines, leukotrienes and cytokines – eventually leading to permanent changes such as thickened airway walls and decreased lung function.
While allergen avoidance may help, there are also medications available to manage allergy-induced asthma. An inhaler is one of the fastest relief treatments, though nasal sprays without sleepy effects, saline rinses, and stronger antihistamines may provide temporary relief as well. Some individuals benefit from long-term treatments known as immunotherapy that lower immune responses against specific allergens – it may take the form of allergy shots or tablets dissolving under the tongue.
Other treatments options for allergic asthma may include long-acting control medications like inhaled steroids and long-acting bronchodilators such as ipratropium bromide (Spiriva Respimat). Biologic medicines targeting the source of allergy asthma also exist, such as omalizumab (Xolair), which acts by binding to IgE in order to stop swelling in the lungs.
Prevention
An individual living with allergic asthma may experience symptoms due to many different triggers, including smoke, air pollution, dust mites and strong smells; cold air; exercise; respiratory illnesses like colds or flu; pet dander or mold allergies may aggravate symptoms further while pollen from trees, grasses or weeds can aggravate them further still.
By being aware of their triggers, patients can work with their physician to reduce allergy and asthma symptoms. Dust mite allergy sufferers can decrease exposure by covering their beds with sheets that cover airtight covers on mattresses and pillows; air pollution exposure can be decreased by staying indoors when air quality falls, keeping houses and cars ventilated properly, or staying active outdoors when air quality decreases.
Asthma can be effectively managed with medications (inhalers) taken as prescribed; such as short-acting beta agonists, ipratropium and oral or injection corticosteroids. There are also medications known as leukotriene modifiers such as montelukast (Singulair).
Persons living with allergic asthma should get the pneumococcal vaccine to reduce the risk of pneumonia, in addition to receiving their annual vaccination against tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough (pertussis) and zoster. Furthermore, getting an influenza vaccination every year may provide added protection as influenza can worsen asthma for days or even weeks.
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