Contents:
- Medical Video: Asthma & Allergy Tip: Respiratory Allergies
- The relationship between allergies and asthma
- Causes of asthma
- Asthma and allergy symptoms
- Allergic shiner
- Diagnosis
- Treatment for allergic-triggered asthma
Medical Video: Asthma & Allergy Tip: Respiratory Allergies
If you suffer from both allergies and asthma, there may be treatments to treat both. Learn more about the relationship between allergies and asthma and how to protect yourself.
Many people think of asthma and allergies as two completely different things. Of course, both have symptoms that can include persistent coughing, but for the most part, asthma is considered a serious condition that requires routine care.
What many people don't realize is that allergies over time can trigger asthma symptoms. The pollen that causes you to sneeze can also cause persistent coughing and difficulty breathing.
The relationship between allergies and asthma
Allergy is actually the way your immune system is fighting against what it considers to be foreign substances that cannot enter your body. The biological system that protects you against this disease releases a chemical called histamine which causes allergic symptoms. Runny nose and sneezing is a reaction to foreign substances.
Likewise, people with asthma experience disorders in their respiratory tract. As a result, the respiratory tract becomes inflamed, making it more sensitive to everyday inhalants such as dust and pollen. Asthma sufferers can experience symptoms throughout the year or seasonally, as in allergy sufferers.
Causes of asthma
Allergies are not the only factor that can trigger an asthma reaction. Sports, stress, and even GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) can cause asthma attacks. In many patients, a combination of these factors can together trigger multiple asthma attacks several times.
Often those who suffer from asthma in the spring and autumn, when air allergens are in the worst condition, are induced allergic asthma patients. It's important to remember, that allergens come in various forms, from dust and other particles to the Christmas tree.
Asthma and allergy symptoms
Allergy symptoms include sneezing, runny nose, and headache. Although coughing can also appear in allergic sufferers, coughing is prolonged, and disturbing can be a sign of a more serious illness: asthma.
Asthma symptoms include a dry cough that includes wheezing. People with asthma will often experience difficulty breathing, including chest tightness.
For parents, pay attention if children breathe may be harder or faster than usual. Pay attention to changes in children's play habits, such as strenuous activity can be difficult for children with asthma.
For many people with asthma, symptoms can get worse at night. Those who suffer from asthma can also feel that very cold weather will worsen the symptoms.
Allergic shiner
Seen especially in children, allergic shiner−or bruises around the eyes−often associated with children who suffer from allergic-triggered asthma. Allergic shiner associated with increased blood flow under the eyes due to chronic sinus blockage. Blockage is the cause of this problem, but there's no need to worry.
Allergic shiner is a sign of allergic-triggered asthma because it is often the first symptom of a diagnosis of asthma. After the child is diagnosed with allergic-triggered asthma, parents will learn to see allergic shiner as a warning of an impending attack.
Diagnosis
Whether you feel asthma or maybe your child, there are some things you can prepare before a medical visit. Using a stethoscope, the doctor will listen to your breathing to detect signs of wheezing. You will be asked to breathe and exhale, slowly and deeply, several times.
Breathing exercises are a big part of the diagnosis of allergic-triggered asthma, with a lung test called spirometry used to detect decreased lung capacity. You will be asked to breathe into a device called a spirometer, which will measure your air volume, as well as the speed released.
Your doctor will also examine your nose, throat and respiratory tract, and ask a number of questions about your symptoms. Though Allergy tests cannot isolate asthma, it will be able to separate each allergen that might confuse allergy-induced asthma symptoms.
Treatment for allergic-triggered asthma
The first step to treating allergic asthma is to treat allergic reactions that trigger asthma. This can involve an allergy test to determine your specific allergy. Antihistamines can be used to reduce blockages and avoid histamine reactions in your body. It is also effective in reducing asthma symptoms. Corticosteroids are often prescribed in asthmatics, in the form of inhalations. Theophylline is a daily asthma pill that may be used by asthma sufferers to reduce swelling of the respiratory tract. By reducing inflammation, asthma patients caused by allergy induction may once again be able to breathe freely.
