What Is Meant By Asthma ?

What is meant by Asthma?

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease that is usually characterized by chronic airway inflammation that can affect children and adults. Asthma is characterized by shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, expiratory flow disorders that occur due to chronic inflammation, airway hyperresponsiveness (bronchospasm), mucus hypersecretion, and airway remodeling whose symptoms can vary at different times.

The exact cause of asthma is not yet known. Researchers think some interaction of genetic and environmental factors can cause asthma, most often occurring early in life.

These factors include:
• Tendency to develop allergies, called atopy (AT-o-pe)
• Parents who have asthma
• Certain respiratory tract infections during childhood (ARI)
• Contact with some airborne allergens or exposure to some viral infections in infancy or early childhood as the immune system develops

Typical Symptoms and Characteristics of Asthma to Watch Out for
Asthma is a disease that does not only attack one age group, so it is important to anticipate the possibility of asthma occurring. Asthma is chronic inflammation of the airways that causes narrowing and hyperactivity of the airways. Even though it is one that cannot be cured, asthma must still receive intensive treatment to avoid severe asthma attacks.

The following are symptoms or characteristics of asthma that people should be aware of, including:
Asthma Symptoms:
1. Cough
2. Shortness of breath
3. Breathing sounds or wheezing
4. Chest feels heavy

Typical characteristics of asthma:
1. Often occurs when there are trigger factors, such as house dust mites, animal dander, weather changes, tiredness or physical exhaustion, reactions to certain medications, and even flower pollen.
2. Asthma symptoms often worsen at night or early in the morning
3. Asthma symptoms can recur and in between there are attack-free periods
4. The symptoms that appear can subside with treatment and sometimes they can subside without treatment or spontaneously.

By knowing the symptoms and characteristics of asthma in the points above, people who experience asthma can immediately go for an examination to the nearest health facility, to get treatment as early as possible from health workers, so that the potential for severe asthma can be immediately minimized.

How to Diagnose Asthma
Asthma is diagnosed based on history, physical examination and supporting examinations. Supporting examinations that can be used to diagnose asthma include:
1. Spirometry Test. This test is carried out with the aim of measuring lung performance based on air volume and the total amount of air exhaled
2. Airway provocation test. An airway provocation test is performed to confirm the diagnosis of bronchial hyperreactivity or asthma
3. Peak flow meter test
4. Nitric oxide test


Asthma Treatment
Bronchial asthma sufferers are advised to regularly use asthma control medication, and avoid a number of asthma trigger factors in order to minimize the occurrence of asthma attacks. The types of asthma control drugs commonly prescribed by doctors for people with bronchial asthma are:
1. Short Term Asthma Control Medication
Short-term asthma control drugs are used to relieve acute asthma attacks that appear or recur suddenly. The short-term asthma control drug that is widely used is salbutamol.

2. Long-Term Asthma Control Medication
Meanwhile, long-term asthma control drugs are usually given to patients with chronic asthma or persistent asthma. The goal of this treatment is to control the severity of symptoms and prevent the risk of recurrence of asthma attacks.

Asthma Prevention
• Quit smoking
• Avoid exposure to cigarette smoke, dust, air pollution, irritating odors such as perfume, insect spray, laundry detergent
• Do not keep animals such as birds, dogs and cats
• Use synthetic mattresses and pillows or if these are not available, use a cover made from synthetic materials
• Try not to use carpets in the house/bedroom
• Dry and fluff the mattress regularly 

That's an explanation of bronchial asthma that you need to know. Don't hesitate to consult a doctor if you experience any complaints that could lead to asthma.