Asthma

Asthma

Overview

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the lungs. As a result of inflammation, the airways become hyper-responsive and narrow easily when stimulated by a wide range of triggers. This makes it more difficult to breathe freely. Asthma is a serious condition that may have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life.

In the UK, 3.4 million people are estimated to have asthma. This includes 1.5 million children (aged between 2 and 15 years) and 1.9 million adults (age 16+ years). ¹

Symptoms and Diagnosis

In a person with asthma, the airways narrow in response to external stimuli such as pollen, dust mites, animal fur, smoke, cold air, and exercise. The smooth muscles of the bronchi (windpipes which supply air to the throat) go into spasm, and the tissues lining the airways swell from inflammation and secrete mucus. This leads to a narrowing of the airways which means that the person has to exert more effort to breathe in and out.

Asthma symptoms may vary from person to person – mild for some and severe for others. Typical symptoms include wheezing, coughing, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, night-time awakening, or a combination of these symptoms.

If a doctor suspects that a patient has asthma, based on reported symptoms, they will carry out a physical examination and breathing tests, known as spirometry tests.

Treatments

Drug treatments allow most people with asthma to lead relatively normal lives. There are two main kinds of asthma treatment relievers and preventers.² Relievers are taken to relive asthma symptoms, they relax the muscles surrounding the narrowed airways making it easier to breathe again.² Preventers help to control the swelling and inflammation in the airways and help to reduce the sensitivity of the airways to asthma triggers.²

Treatment should be tailored to the individual, if side effects occur, it is important to discuss these with your doctor who can look at changing the dose or switching to an alternative therapy.

What else can I do?

Identify and avoid your personal trigger factors. Common triggers include dust, feathers, cockroaches, animal dander and irritating fumes such as cigarette smoke. Often attacks triggered by exercise can be avoided if medication is taken before exercising.

For further information

Asthma UK
Summit House
70 Wilson Street
London
EC2A 2DB
Tel: 020 7786 4900
www.asthma.org.uk

References:

1. National Asthma Campaign. National Asthma Audit 1997/98
2. http://www.asthma.org.uk/about/plan03.php accessed 12^th December 2005.

Medical Information/Conditions. While there may be information on this website related to certain medical conditions and their treatment, should a medical condition exist, promptly see your own physician or health care provider. We do not offer personalized medical diagnosis or patient-specific treatment advice. Indeed, only your doctor or other health care professional, as a learned intermediary, can determine if a product described in this, or any, website is appropriate for you.

Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis

In recent years there has been growing recognition of the close association between asthma and allergic rhinitis. Both conditions frequently overlap and involve the same tissues and common inflammatory processes¹. Allergic rhinitis is a disease of the upper airways characterised by the inflammation of the nasal passages. Many patients with asthma also have allergic rhinitis. Survey results have shown that up to 80% of asthma patients had co-existing allergic rhinitis¹.

SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSIS

The symptoms of allergic rhinitis can include a blocked, itchy and runny nose and sneezing1. In severe cases, these symptoms may adversely affect a person's social life and work.

Allergic rhinitis can be seasonal, perennial or occupational:

Seasonal rhinitis or hay fever is triggered by pollen in the air and fungal spores at differing times of the year¹.
Perennial rhinitis occurs all-year round and is usually triggered by allergens like dust mites or animal dander¹.
Occupational rhinitis is a result of exposure in the workplace to some kind of air-borne irritant that may cause either an allergic reaction or non-allergic hyper-responsiveness¹.

TREATMENTS

Treatment of allergic rhinitis has traditionally focused on the use of antihistamines. For patients with both allergic rhinitis and asthma, an ideal management strategy combines the treatment of both conditions².

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?

Identify and avoid your personal triggers, e.g. indoor allergens such as house mites and outdoor allergens such as pollen or moulds².

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

www.allergyuk.org

References

1. Bousquet J, van Cauwenberge P, Khaltaev N., “Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma”, ARIA Workshop Report., Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2001; 108:S147-S334

2. Bousquet J, van Cauwenberge P et al., “Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma Initiative, A Pocket Guide for Physicians and Nurses”, 2001

Medical Information/Conditions. While there may be information on this website related to certain medical conditions and their treatment, should a medical condition exist, promptly see your own physician or health care provider. We do not offer personalized medical diagnosis or patient-specific treatment advice. Indeed, only your doctor or other health care professional, as a learned intermediary, can determine if a product described in this, or any, website is appropriate for you.

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