Bronchial Asthma Symptoms and Treatment

Bronchial Asthma Symptoms and Treatment

Read on to know more about the various symptoms and treatments for Bronchial Asthma...
Bronchial Asthma is a disease of the lungs where an obstruction or disturbance in the ventilation of the respiratory passages evokes a feeling of shortness of breath. This leads to paroxysms which constrict the bronchial air passages.

Causes

There can be several causes of Bronchial Asthma. The main cause is a raised level of resistance to the airflow in the bronchial passages. Although the muscles of these passages work harder, they are unable to support the activity of breathing and gas exchange. The result is an attack of bronchial asthma where there are spasms of the bronchial muscles, a swelling of the bronchial wall and an increase in the secretion of mucous.

Other causes of bronchial asthma are: respiratory infections, cold air, exercise, smoke, pollutants, stress, anxiety, and allergies from food or drugs.

Sometimes, Bronchial Asthma is also triggered by pollen, dust, fungi or mold.

Symptoms

The main symptoms are wheezing breath which includes a whistling sound in the chest, and shortness of breath.

An increased secretion of mucous occurs during the asthma attack. This can also happen in the periods between two asthma attacks.

In general, a person suffering from an asthma attack will find it difficult to breathe and feel a lot of pain in the chest area.

Treatment Options

As such there is no cure for Asthma. But a patient can definitely learn how to manage it.

The first step is to control the environment. Living in an environment which is free from dust, smoke, pets, pollutants and allergens will ensure that the asthma attacks remain in control.

The patient must also wear a mask covering his nose and mouth every time he cleans the home or dusts the furniture.

People suffering from asthma should ensure that their clothes, bedding, furniture etc do not collect dust and dirt. They can also consider using an air conditioner to regulate the atmosphere and the humidity in their surroundings.

There are also medical treatments available for asthma patients. They can use inhalers based on their doctor's recommendations. There are also a variety of pills and tablets which they can take, based on the doctor's prescriptions, to keep a control over the asthma.