Asthma: Causes, Symptoms and Complications

In the recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the air pollution, contributing to the 50% of the global total disease burden, especially in the major developing countries like China and India. Pollutants in the air, particularly from the vehicle exhaust, aggravates to the worsening respiratory problems and increase the likelihood of new onset of asthma.

Asthma, which is the most significant public health respiratory disease affects about 1 – 18% of the population in various countries. Asthma ranks as the second most prevalent disease and second leading cause of mortality among the chronic respiratory diseases.

According to a recent study, each year 16 million paediatric asthma cases occur, and 4.5 million premature deaths were attributable to air pollution. Now, let us get to know what causes this threatening disease and what complications it can lead to.

What is Asthma?

The word “Asthma” originates from the Greek, meaning “short of breath” which causes chronic inflammation of the airways, making them narrow and more difficult to breath through.

To understand asthma, you firstly need to understand how the breathing system works. Typically, with every breath you take, air flows through your nose or mouth, down through your throat, and into your airways, finally making it to your lungs.

There are several tiny passageways in your lungs that help to get oxygen from the air into your blood. Those air passages become narrow and causes inflammation and tightening of the muscles around the small airways, making it difficult to breath. Hence, it is important to understand who is a pulmonologist and consult them as earlier as possible if you feel the symptoms of asthma.

Symptoms of asthma

A person who has asthma may experience,

• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain or tightness in chest
• Difficulty in sleeping
• Coughing, especially at night
• Fatigue

These symptoms vary from person to person, and you might not have all these signs at the same time. When these symptoms become severe, it leads to “asthma attack.” Attacks might occur at any moment and can range from being mild to even life threatening.

Causes

Although the exact cause of asthma remains unknown, we know that genetics, the environment, and the individual behaviour all play a role. Some of the plausible causes include,

Allergies

Allergies happen when a person's body becomes sensitive to a certain substance. Once sensitization has happened, the person will be more likely to have an allergic reaction every time they come in contact with the substance.

Most cases of asthma are due to allergies and these asthma attacks are commonly triggered by an individual inhaling an allergen.

Genetics

One can develop the risk of asthma or other allergic disorders if there is a family history of an allergic disease.

Environmental Factors

People can develop asthma after being exposed to materials that irritate the airways. Some of these are allergens, toxins, fumes, and second- or third-hand smoke. These can be especially harmful to babies and young children, whose immune systems are not fully developed yet.

Complications of asthma

While asthma can usually be managed, it continues to be a serious disorder with significant consequences.

This is why, if your symptoms are worsening, it is important that you stick to your treatment plan. The long-term complications include,

• Feeling exhausted all the time
• Stress, worry or depression
• Lung infections (Pneumonia)
• Puberty delays

Some of the serious complications are,

Medication side effects

In some cases, asthma medications can lead to:

• Increased heart rate
• Hoarseness
• Itching in the throat
• Insomnia

Asthma Attack

An asthma attack suddenly occurs when muscles around your airways constrict, leading to the sudden worsening of asthma symptoms. This tightening is called bronchospasm. During an asthma attack, the airway lining can swell or become irritated, and the body may generate more mucus than usual. All these factors such as bronchospasm, inflammation, and mucus production cause asthma attack symptoms like trouble breathing, wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and trouble doing normal daily activities.

Treatment

There is no cure for asthma right now, but treatment can help you control your symptoms so you can live a normal, active life.

The most common treatment is using inhalers, which are devices that let you breathe in medicine. If your asthma is severe, you may also need pills and other treatments.

The main types of inhalers are;

• Reliever Inhalers – used to relieve asthma symptoms quickly and temporarily for a fleeting period.
• Preventive Inhalers – used in a daily basis to avoid the onset of asthma symptoms.

You may order any type of inhalers through online.