Asthma is a common condition which affects millions of people. It often starts in childhood, but it can happen for the first time at any age.
If you have asthma, your airways become irritated and inflamed. As a result, they:
• become narrower
• produce extra mucus
The effect is that it becomes more difficult for air to flow into and out of your lungs
Causes of Asthma
The cause of asthma isn’t always clear. However, there are often triggers that can result in a flare up of symptoms. Some of the common triggers include:
• respiratory infection – such as a cold or flu
• irritants – such as dust, cigarette smoke and fumes
• chemicals (and other substances) found in the workplace – this is called occupational asthma
• allergies to pollen, medicines, animals, house dust mites or certain foods
• exercise – especially in cold, dry air
• emotions – laughing or crying very hard can trigger symptoms, as can stress
• medicines – certain medicines can trigger asthma
In children, asthma is more common in boys than in girls but in adults, women are more likely to have asthma. Asthma often runs in families.
If you smoke during pregnancy, your baby is more likely to get asthma. If you smoke and have young children, they are more likely to get asthma. Premature or low birth weight babies are also more likely to develop asthma.
In Case You Have An Attack, What To Do?
If you have an asthma attack, you should take the following steps.
• Take your reliever treatment immediately, preferably with a spacer.
• Sit down (don’t lie down) and try to relax.
• Wait five to 10 minutes – if there is no improvement repeat one puff of your reliever treatment every minute for five minutes until your symptoms go away.
• If your symptoms don’t go away, you should call your doctor or get an ambulance immediately, but continue taking your reliever, preferably with a spacer, every few minutes until help arrives.
• If you go to hospital, take your asthma treatments with you.
Basic Treatment of Asthma
There isn’t a cure for asthma. However, treatments are available to help manage your symptoms. Your treatment plan will be individual to you, combining medicines and asthma management in a way that works best for you.
*Inhalers
Inhalers contain gas or dry powder that propels the correct dose of medicine either when you press the top down or when you inhale. The medicine is inhaled into your airways. You will need to use your inhaler correctly in order for it to work properly, so ask your doctor or health care provider for advice.
There are two basic categories of inhaler medicines that are used for asthma:
• relievers – to treat your symptoms
• preventers – to help prevent your symptoms
You should use relievers when your asthma symptoms occur. They can be short or long-acting. Short-acting relievers (known as bronchodilators) contain medicines that work to widen your airways and quickly ease your symptoms.
If you’re given a preventer, you should use it every day – even if you don’t have symptoms. Preventers usually contain a steroid medicine that work to reduce the inflammation of your airways. It can take up to 14 days for preventer medicines to work, but once they do, you may not need to use your reliever inhaler at all.
A long-acting reliever can be added to your treatment if your symptoms aren’t well controlled with a regular steroid (preventer) and occasional use of a short-acting reliever.
*Spacers
If you use a gas propelled inhaler, you may also be given a spacer. Spacers are devices that can help you use your inhaler correctly and are particularly helpful for children – children as young as three can learn to use an inhaler with a spacer, and for babies and very young children a face mask can be attached. A spacer is a long tube which clips onto the inhaler. You breathe in and out of a mouthpiece at the other end of the tube.
It’s easier to use because it allows you to activate the inhaler and then inhale in two separate steps. Using a spacer also reduces the risk of getting a sore throat from using a steroid inhaler. When used correctly they can be as effective as nebulisers in the treatment of an acute asthma attack.
Nebulisers
Nebulisers make a mist of water and asthma medicine that you breathe in. They can help to deliver more of the medicine to exactly where it’s needed. This is particularly important if you have a severe asthma attack and you require emergency treatment in the home or hospital setting. However, if you use a spacer with your asthma medicines it may be just as effective as a nebuliser at treating most asthma attacks.
If your child has asthma, ask your doctor for advice as a nebuliser may not be suitable.
How to Control your Asthma
If your asthma is under control you are more likely to have a better quality of life and be more able to do the things you want to.
Is your asthma under control?
Three questions can help you to identify whether your symptoms are under control or not:-
In the last month:
• Have you had difficulty sleeping because of your asthma symptoms (including cough)
• Have you had your usual asthma symptoms during the day (cough, wheeze, chest tightness or breathlessness)
• Has your asthma interfered with your usual activities, such as: housework, work, school etc)
If you have answered yes to any of the above questions it may be that your asthma is not controlled as well as it could be.
Signs that your asthma is not well controlled may include:
• Waking at night with coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath or a tightness in the chest
• Having to take time off work because of your asthma
• Finding it difficult to breathe, and breathing short shallow breaths
• Needing more and more reliever treatment
• Finding that your reliever does not seem to be working
• Having to take your reliever more frequently than every four hours
• Feeling that you cannot keep up with your usual level of activity or exercise
If you notice any of these symptoms you should follow your personal asthma action plan, as this should help you to get your symptoms back under control. If this does not work, you should see your doctor. This may involve looking at your medicines, triggers and lifestyle to see if anything can be changed.
How to Live with Asthma
Medicines are only part of your treatment for asthma. You will also need to deal with the things that make it worse. Keep a diary to record anything that triggers your asthma – this can help you to discover a pattern. Using a peak flow meter to monitor your lung function can also help. If you have repeatedly low readings in a certain situation (for example, at the end of a working day, after exercise or after contact with an animal) this may indicate the trigger.
Stop smoking because it is good for your health and will improve your asthma symptoms.
With good management and appropriate treatment, most people with asthma lead completely normal lives.
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