Asthma: What can be done?

What can be done?

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease resulting from chronic inflammation of the airways. To diagnose it, it is necessary to consult a doctor, based on the symptoms that the patient himself experiences.

First, those with asthma experience difficulty breathing, wheezing, wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing. These symptoms vary over time and in intensity. Furthermore, there is a limitation to the flow of air that the patient can exhale, because expiration is impeded by the thickening of the bronchial walls and the presence of mucus in the airways due to inflammation.

People with asthma usually have more than one of the symptoms listed, but not necessarily all of them. Usually, the symptoms are more severe during the night or upon awakening, they become more acute in the case of concomitant viral infections and are triggered above all by physical exercise, allergens, cold air, and even excess rice.

In the presence of these symptoms, it is necessary to be alert, suspecting the presence of asthma and therefore contacting the doctor for the appropriate investigations and appropriate therapies.

What exactly causes asthma?

Even today, asthma has no known cause: it is probably the result of the interaction between various factors, such as diet, environmental status, and genes. Also according to WHO data, there is a 50% increase in asthma cases every 10 years: a significant increase that could have to do with ever-increasing urbanization. We live more and more in highly polluted areas, in environments where there is little air circulation and where, on the contrary, dust, mites, and other domestic allergens are concentrated (secretions from cockroaches, animal hair, feathers, etc.). With an apparent paradox, also the excessive cleaning of the environment, sometimes accompanied by the administration of vaccines and antibiotics, can lower the resistance faculties of the child's organism: we, therefore, speak of a hygiene hypothesis.

Among the risk factors for the development of asthma there also seems to be pregnancy at a young age or malnutrition of the expectant mother during pregnancy. In general, an unbalanced diet can be compared to pathology, in particular the lack of vitamins C and E and Omega-3 acids. 

Obesity also appears to have a negative influence. As for infants, the risk of developing asthma increases if they are premature, bottle-fed, or too low at birth. In Italy in particular, asthma is always more frequent in Mediterranean areas, with a greater prevalence in areas where the average temperature increases and the temperature range decreases.

Asthma symptoms can include:

 

• Stingy cough, is sometimes present as the only symptom, especially at night, when waking up or following an effort. It is a somewhat variable signal: it can persist or appear only in some moments. It may be accompanied by numerous sneezes or a stuffy nose sensation;
• wheezing, in some cases wheezing :
• sense of oppression and suffocation in the most serious cases.

In addition, asthma may include itching in the neck or chest as an initial symptom, especially in younger patients.

These asthma symptoms do not strike at the same time, may emerge at different times, and vary in intensity. If they are particularly violent, we speak of a real asthma attack. This can come on suddenly and gradually, with symptoms slowly worsening.

If the shortness of breath is particularly severe, sweating from gasping for air and understandable anxiety may occur, as can an increase in heart rate.
Since the airflow is obstructed, the wheezing of the breath decreases, but the lack of oxygen supply can cause the patient to lose speech due to shortness of breath, drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, cyanosis of the lips or fingers, and finally fainting all signs that must urgently lead to treatment.

Rarely, the treatment is not effective and it is equally rare that the crises are so sudden as to not allow the treatment to be taken.