Asthma, which is a chronic lung disease, causes narrowing and inflammation in the airways of the person with the effect of triggering factors. The disease, which causes symptoms such as wheezing, cough, shortness of breath and chest tightness, can be seen in almost every age group.
What is Asthma?
When the person breathes through their mouth or nose, the inhaled air is drawn down along the trachea. In the region of the lungs, the trachea divides to the right and left. After this point, the oxygen in the air reaching the thinner branches like tree branches in the lungs is mixed with the blood and oxygenation of the tissues and organs necessary for life is ensured. The bronchus is the name given to the area between the part where the trachea divides into two and the lungs.
When the disease, which progresses in attacks, is triggered, the muscles around it are suppressed due to the swelling of the airways. This prevents the entry and exit of the air taken into the lungs through respiration. The airways and bronchial tubes in the lungs become chronically inflamed. Therefore, it causes symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and chest tightness. Symptoms and severity of symptoms often differ from person to person. In other words, while asthma is mild in some people, the attacks that occur in some people can be fatally severe. Asthma, which is thought to be caused by genetic and environmental factors, often begins in childhood.
It is usually triggered by factors such as physical activity, house dust, air pollution and cigarette smoke. Asthma is a disease that can be easily managed with the right treatment methods. Asthma, which, if left untreated, causes permanent damage to the lungs; It can cause many different unwanted conditions such as growth retardation, premature birth or preeclampsia (pregnancy poisoning).
What Causes Asthma?
Such as wheezing, cough, shortness of breath and chest tightness The disease that causes symptoms can be seen in almost every age group. Asthma, which develops in attacks, is seen in 7% of adults and 15% among children in our country. The disease, which is thought to affect approximately 300 million people worldwide, is a serious public health problem.
br>When it is not taken under control, it causes a decrease in the quality of life of the person. Asthma treatment does not completely eliminate asthma. In other words, treatment is aimed at eliminating symptoms and increasing the patient's quality of life. Thus, the person can keep asthma under proper control and lead a healthy life. Before moving on to the diagnosis and treatment methods of asthma, it should be well understood what asthma is.
Asthma can be defined as a lung disease caused by the combination of genetic and environmental factors. The causes of asthma, which causes respiratory problems by causing redness, swelling and narrowing of the airways, may differ from person to person. Some of the factors causing asthma can be listed as follows:
- Having a family history of asthma,
- Mother's smoking during pregnancy,
- Mother's malnutrition during pregnancy,
- To be born with a low birth weight,
- Exposure to allergens during infancy,
- To have had severe respiratory disease in infancy,
- Often Exposure to heavy cigarette smoke,
- Working in occupations exposed to dust and chemicals,
- Obesity,
- Exposure to air pollution or exhaust fumes.
What is Allergic Asthma?
Allergic asthma, especially seen in spring and summer seasons, is the most common type of asthma. Some of the allergens may cause symptoms such as sneezing and watery eyes in some people, while they may cause an asthma attack in others. Allergic rhinitis, which is more common in women but affects approximately 25% of the entire population, can lead to allergic asthma if left untreated.
In this disease, which causes symptoms similar to non-allergic asthma, allergic factors such as pollen, dust, mites and animal dander cause asthma to be triggered. In other words, allergens entering the respiratory tract cause the immune system to overreact. As a result of this condition, which causes the muscles around the airways to contract, the airways become inflamed.
As allergenic substances are present in almost every environment, the person must discover what the trigger is and take precautions accordingly. Factors causing allergic asthma contains pollen. Air pollution, cigarette smoke, chemical fumes, strong odors such as perfume and skin rashes can also trigger allergic asthma. In those with allergic asthma, emergency medical help may be required in case of complaints such as tightness in the chest muscles, speech difficulties due to shortness of breath, severe difficulty breathing or wheezing.
What are the Factors Triggering Asthma?
There are many factors that cause asthma to trigger. While these factors do not cause any symptoms in healthy people, they cause symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath and green sputum in asthma patients. Some of the factors that trigger asthma can be listed as follows:
- Intense physical activity,
- Cold weather,
- Sudden mood changes,
- Stress,
- Mold fungi,
- Pollens,
- House dust mites,
- Pet hair and skin debris,
- Smoking or being exposed to smoke,
- Air pollution,
- Exhaust gas,
- Viral upper respiratory tract infections,
- Some food products containing preservatives,
- Some types of drugs.
How to Diagnose Asthma
Asthma, attacks characteristically It is an ongoing disease. Asthma-related complaints usually occur in the morning. There is no blood test for the diagnosis of asthma. Therefore, after consulting a physician with asthma symptoms, the physician first takes the patient's anamnesis. He then listens to the person's lungs by performing a physical examination. It looks for common asthma symptoms such as runny nose and nasal swelling. It then requests lung function tests, also known as asthma tests. First of all, the patient is asked to breathe forcefully in a tube connected to the computer.
In this test, known as the spirometry test, the amount of air that the patient takes in with the greatest effort is measured. Then, the patient is given a drug (Bronchodilator, BD) from the respiratory tract to relax the patient's respiratory tract muscles. The amount of air is measured by remeasurement with spirometry. In some cases, the physician performs bronchial provocation tests and introduces different concentrations of allergens or drugs into the patient's airways. after The patient is evaluated by repeating the spirometry test. In addition, different tests such as chest X-ray, allergy test and bronchoscopy can be performed to rule out other diseases. In the light of all the data, the person is diagnosed with asthma.
How is Asthma Treated?
Asthma is a disease that can be easily controlled before it causes permanent damage to the lungs at an early stage. Although it is not possible to completely cure asthma, there are treatment methods to reduce or completely eliminate asthma attacks. These types of treatment may differ according to the age of the person, their response to treatment, and the severity of the asthma experienced. The physician informs the patient about asthma triggers. Asthma is treated with medication.
Bronchodilator drugs are used to widen the bronchi, while anti-inflammatory drugs aim to reduce the number of attacks. Biological agents can be used in resistant cases. It is extremely important to use asthma medications in the dose and time determined by the physician. During the use of inhaled drugs, it is necessary to take a full breath and hold the breath for a while. The air in the lungs should be completely evacuated before reuse.
Asthma is an important health problem that can cause permanent damage to the lungs. Asthma can have complications such as fatigue, stress, anxiety, depression, learning problems, pneumonia, respiratory failure, partial or complete collapse of the lung.
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