Allergic asthma develops when your immune system overreacts to allergens such as dust mites, pet dander, pollen or mold and causes your airways to narrow and produce mucus, leading to symptoms like coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.
Avoiding allergens, keeping track of symptoms and working closely with a healthcare provider are among the best ways to treat allergic asthma. You may also require asthma control and quick-relief medicines administered through an inhaler or nebulizer device.
Symptoms
Allergic asthma is a respiratory condition triggered by inhaling allergens like animal dander, mold spores and pollen that causes your immune system to overreact and narrowing of airways, often with symptoms including coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. People living with allergic asthma may also feel fatigued or as though something is “squeezing” their chest.
Allergens can be found anywhere – your home, car and yard are no exceptions. Allergens come from pets’ fur, pee or saliva; people’s dander; plants like trees, grasses, weeds, flowers or mold; as well as seasonal allergies caused by tree, grass or ragweed pollen which tends to peak between spring and fall seasons; mold spores may be responsible too as well as mildew spores from mold or the feces of cockroaches which all present allergy causing potentials!
If you think you have allergic asthma, your doctor will conduct an in-depth medical and family history examination, along with conducting physical exams and performing allergy tests such as skin and blood allergy testing to identify seasonal or year-round allergies that trigger allergic asthma symptoms. Treatment options could include asthma control medicines as well as quick relief medicines you inhale via an inhaler/nebulizer device; additional remedies include antihistamines/decongestants/sniff drops that help to reduce mucus production or nasal spray/rinses to help manage symptoms.
Diagnosis
Pollen, pet dander, dust mites and mold are the same factors that trigger allergy symptoms — as well as asthma symptoms — but these same triggers also contribute to asthma symptoms in children and adults alike. Around 90% of children and 50% of adults diagnosed with asthma also have allergies.
Healthcare professionals can diagnose allergic asthma by interviewing individuals about their symptoms and health history as well as performing a physical exam, using tools like stethoscopes and listening for any changes to how lungs sound, along with ordering lung function tests or allergy testing (skin or blood) as necessary.
An allergic asthma diagnosis occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens like pollen from trees, grasses and weeds; mold; pet dander or feathers from animals; or mold. When responding to these substances, inflammation and swelling occur within the airways resulting in symptoms which need medical intervention such as antihistamines or steroids to alleviate.
People living with allergic asthma can often ease their symptoms by identifying and avoiding their allergens, such as grass cutting during peak pollen times or installing air purifiers at home and work, using air purifiers when pollen levels rise or avoiding places with large concentrations of animal dander. Furthermore, medications like inhalers/nebulizers, oral allergy medicine or immunotherapy (allergen shots) may also help manage or even completely get rid of allergy. It’s important to keep in mind that it is impossible to “outgrow” allergic asthma indefinitely or completely change one’s lifestyle without medication and therapy (allergen shots). Ultimately though despite efforts aimed at diminishing its impact it cannot completely overcome it’s presence – it must continue.
Treatment
Medication may help alleviate symptoms associated with allergic asthma, including quick-relief medications to treat flares, controller medicines that prevent symptoms in the long term and biologics that target cells and proteins that contribute to inflammation in the airways.
Healthcare professionals begin with an in-depth patient history analysis and may conduct skin or breathing tests as necessary. Additionally, they will inquire as to what causes your symptoms to improve or worsen; factors like cold air or exercise could trigger allergic symptoms and asthma flare-ups which will all be considered when creating a treatment plan.
An essential medication for managing allergy-induced asthma is a quick-relief medicine called a rescue inhaler. These quick-acting drugs work within minutes to open your airways and make breathing easier.
Short-relief medications include short-acting beta agonists and long-acting muscarinic antagonists (also referred to as anticholinergics). Beta agonists come in tablet, capsule and liquid forms to be taken orally while long-acting muscarinic antagonists are available as inhalers that can be used on an ongoing basis.
Other quick-relief medications include corticosteroids, which work to decrease airway inflammation to control allergies and asthma. Since oral and inhaled steroids carry higher risks of side effects when taken for extended periods, they should only be prescribed short term to treat sudden allergy-induced asthma attacks. Another form of treatment involves immunotherapy – regularly injecting allergens over time so as to alter how your immune system responds.
Prevention
Occasional medications may help alleviate allergy symptoms and reduce airway inflammation in those suffering from allergic asthma. Working closely with healthcare providers, people will first identify what triggers their symptoms – it could be something like pet dander or pollen for instance – then work towards either eliminating these allergens altogether or finding ways to manage them effectively. A log can be especially helpful here: keeping track of when symptoms arise as well as what seems to help or worsen them can also be extremely helpful in this process.
Corticosteroids, among other asthma medications, may help reduce inflammation and swelling of the airways. Some can be given through inhalers or nebulizers while others taken orally; healthcare providers can also prescribe other therapies, such as leukotriene modifiers that inhibit production of pro-inflamatory mediators like cytokines that promote constriction and thickening of airway walls.
Patients suffering from allergy asthma should work to limit exposure to triggers that could exacerbate symptoms, including exercise, cold air, tobacco smoke and respiratory infections. Healthcare providers may recommend allergy immunotherapy treatments that gradually build tolerance of allergens such as injections or tablets that dissolve under the tongue – this approach has proven successful at improving quality of life, productivity and healthcare costs.
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