Guide To The Different Types Of Asthma

Asthma is a term used to describe a long-term lung condition that causes the airways inside of an individual's lungs to become narrowed, inflamed, and swollen. Characteristic symptoms of asthma include chest tightness, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. A patient can experience symptoms several times each day, or once every few months in milder cases. Individuals affected by asthma experience episodic attacks where their symptoms become worse. Asthma attacks can be triggered by several things, with the most common being cold air, exercise, allergies, and infections. Many cases of asthma begin in childhood, but individuals of any age can develop asthma. Some cases of asthma are idiopathic, while others are caused by an abnormal immune system response. Asthma treatment focuses on decreasing symptoms and preventing asthma attacks.

There are several different types of asthma. Get to know them now.

Exercise-Induced Asthma

The type of asthma frequently triggered by strenuous physical activity is referred to as exercise-induced asthma. An individual affected by exercise-induced asthma may start to have symptoms during or shortly after physical activity. Without proper treatment, a patient can experience symptoms such as wheezing, chest tightness, pain, poor athletic performance, coughing, activity avoidance, fatigue during exercise, and shortness of breath for sixty minutes or longer. These symptoms are the result of the bronchoconstriction that occurs in affected individuals. The exact mechanism of what causes this bronchoconstriction is unclear, but excess mucus production and inflammation are known to play key roles in the process.

Untreated exercise-induced asthma can cause an affected individual to perform poorly in activities they would usually enjoy, have a lack of beneficial physical activity, and experience life-threatening breathing difficulties. Diagnosis of exercise-induced asthma is made with a physical examination and spirometry tests. Treatment may include the use of pre-exercise medications and long-term control medications.

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