Life As An Asthmatic Part 4
What a busy week I've been having. As one who is job searching I've been on interviews like mad having a total of three this week with my last being today. I had some small issues the other night and I hoped and prayed that please let it just go away so that I could get through Wednesday, thankfully something must have worked. As promised this blog I am going to go over in more detail the various types of asthma that are out there. One thing I would like you to think about though, is the fact that it is possible that other types will come out at a later date, there are some types that are known that are new to the world of medicine themselves. Just to refresh here are the types of asthma again (http://www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/types-asthma) allergy induced, exercise induced, cough variant, occupational asthma, bronchial, and nocturnal (nighttime) asthma.
First off, we are going to go over allergy induced asthma. This type of asthma is the most common of all types, even those that do not have allergy induced asthma tend to have issues after dealing with things that are related to allergies. What allergy asthma is (http://www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/allergic-asthma) "If you have allergic asthma, your airways are hypersensitive to the allergens to which you've become sensitized. Once these allergens get into your airways, your immune system overreacts. The muscles around your airways tighten (an effect called bronchospasm). The airways themselves become inflamed and flooded with thick mucus." One thing to keep in mind is that if you have allergy asthma or even any other type of asthma irritants can also cause asthma related symptoms or an asthma attack. There are two tests that are suggested, according to the allergic asthma article, that you can have a doctor perform "1) pricking your skin with a tiny amount of the allergen (and measuring the size of the red bumps 20 minutes later, or 2) a blood test (RAST or allergen-specific IgE levels)." Everything you can do to help make your life easier no matter which type of asthma you have is important to at least try.
Second off, we are going to go over exercise induced asthma. As if trying to stay healthy wasn't hard enough there are those people who when they exercise have asthma related problems, symptoms, and attacks during physical exercise. These symptoms usually (http://www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/exercise-induced-asthma) "begin within 5-20 minutes after the start of exercise, or 5-10 minutes after brief exercise has stopped." You can use treatments to help with your exercised induced asthma so that you have less problems while you do exercise. You should always keep your fast action inhaler around though just in case no matter what just in case you still have an attack even with precautions.
If you have other asthma related types along with exercise induced be sure to watch for those symptoms as well when you are exercising and avoid it during certain times or try different types if need be. It is important to be sure to exercise to your ability on what you can and cannot do but to not use asthma as an excuse to not exercise. Sometimes it is just a matter of finding what is right for you.
Now I am going to go over the cough variant asthma. What cough variant asthma is (http://www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/cough-variant-asthma) "Cough-variant asthma is a type of asthma in which the main symptom is a dry, non-productive cough. (A non-productive cough does not expel sputum from the respiratory tract.)" This is one of the harder asthma types to diagnose, due to the fact that people will think they are just having a normal cough, as a part of a cold or something related to that. The way this asthma is diagnosed is through "normal physical examinations, chest X-rays, and spirometry." These tests usually can help you see if you have this type of asthma. If these fail however another way to diagnose asthma is "A methacholine challenge test will indicate asthma, but it may require the use of a special facility." Usually this challenge is only used if the Spirometry test and the symptoms don't fully indicate if you have asthma or not.
Next I will go over Occupational Asthma. This type of asthma is usually easier to spot than others. If you feel that you are having more problems with your asthma while at work, and than when you are away not having any issues at all it is most likely you have occupational asthma. Just like any other type of asthma avoiding as many of your triggers that could cause your asthma to flare up at work is the main key. This though, however, isn't always easy. This is a type of asthma I believe I do have other than the bronchial asthma I was diagnosed with when I was 18 and the one I believed has caused me problems on keeping a job outside of the house.
This asthma can have causes from the other types to force you to have more symptoms while at work, if for example you are allergic to certain things at your job. This is a type I believe that is also a bit underestimated and still new to the asthma world. Until recently, this is one type I didn't even know existed although not diagnosed I figured my asthma was just flaring up for other reasons than the fact it could be another type of asthma.
Night time asthma is the next type I will go over. According to the night time asthma article (http://www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/nocturnal-asthma-nighttime-asthma] there are a few things we need to be aware of, "The chances of asthma symptoms are 100 times higher during sleep. Studies show that most deaths related to asthma occur at night. Nocturnal asthma attacks can cause significant problems sleeping, resulting in sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and irritability." These are important to point out, I believe, because the fact that this brings the point that asthma is a serious disease. The fact that not only symptoms which is a higher amount but that more deaths related to asthma happen during the night really makes one think.
One has to wonder, if this disease is this serious, than why is it that asthma is not treated as serious as it should by certain people. Some of the causes according to the article of night time asthma can include the following, "Increased Mucus or Sinusitis, Internal Triggers, Reclining Position, Air Conditioning, GERD, Late Phase Response, and Hormones." Now remember that these are just some of the causes, and that the reason you get night time asthma is not known just like any other type of asthma. Before covering bronchial asthma, I want to close the information on night time asthma with this from the night time asthma article, "There is no cure for nighttime asthma, but daily asthma medications, such as inhaled steroids, are very effective at reducing inflammation and preventing nocturnal symptoms. Since nocturnal asthma or nighttime asthma may occur anytime during the sleep period, asthma treatment must be sufficient to cover these hours."
Finally I am going to go over the type of asthma I was diagnosed with when I was 18. This is what normal asthma is usually refered to. This is what one could consider the general asthma that people can have. The triggers talked about before can cause this type of asthma to flare up and cause an asthma attack. It is important, however, to get testing to make sure it is asthma and not one of the other diseases that can mimic asthma. It is important no matter what type or types of asthma you are diagnosed with to take the best care of yourself as you can.
In the next part of Life As An Asthmatic I will go over more through the treatments you can do with asthma. Here are a few things I want you to consider until the next part of this series. Now that you know more about the various asthma types has it made you rethink about things in your life? Are there now types you want to get tested for? Has the information about night time asthma, especially about the fact that more deaths from asthma happen during this time, make you rethink your life or open your eyes on showing more things to those that you care about? Think about these questions and the answers until next time.
First off, we are going to go over allergy induced asthma. This type of asthma is the most common of all types, even those that do not have allergy induced asthma tend to have issues after dealing with things that are related to allergies. What allergy asthma is (http://www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/allergic-asthma) "If you have allergic asthma, your airways are hypersensitive to the allergens to which you've become sensitized. Once these allergens get into your airways, your immune system overreacts. The muscles around your airways tighten (an effect called bronchospasm). The airways themselves become inflamed and flooded with thick mucus." One thing to keep in mind is that if you have allergy asthma or even any other type of asthma irritants can also cause asthma related symptoms or an asthma attack. There are two tests that are suggested, according to the allergic asthma article, that you can have a doctor perform "1) pricking your skin with a tiny amount of the allergen (and measuring the size of the red bumps 20 minutes later, or 2) a blood test (RAST or allergen-specific IgE levels)." Everything you can do to help make your life easier no matter which type of asthma you have is important to at least try.
Second off, we are going to go over exercise induced asthma. As if trying to stay healthy wasn't hard enough there are those people who when they exercise have asthma related problems, symptoms, and attacks during physical exercise. These symptoms usually (http://www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/exercise-induced-asthma) "begin within 5-20 minutes after the start of exercise, or 5-10 minutes after brief exercise has stopped." You can use treatments to help with your exercised induced asthma so that you have less problems while you do exercise. You should always keep your fast action inhaler around though just in case no matter what just in case you still have an attack even with precautions.
If you have other asthma related types along with exercise induced be sure to watch for those symptoms as well when you are exercising and avoid it during certain times or try different types if need be. It is important to be sure to exercise to your ability on what you can and cannot do but to not use asthma as an excuse to not exercise. Sometimes it is just a matter of finding what is right for you.
Now I am going to go over the cough variant asthma. What cough variant asthma is (http://www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/cough-variant-asthma) "Cough-variant asthma is a type of asthma in which the main symptom is a dry, non-productive cough. (A non-productive cough does not expel sputum from the respiratory tract.)" This is one of the harder asthma types to diagnose, due to the fact that people will think they are just having a normal cough, as a part of a cold or something related to that. The way this asthma is diagnosed is through "normal physical examinations, chest X-rays, and spirometry." These tests usually can help you see if you have this type of asthma. If these fail however another way to diagnose asthma is "A methacholine challenge test will indicate asthma, but it may require the use of a special facility." Usually this challenge is only used if the Spirometry test and the symptoms don't fully indicate if you have asthma or not.
Next I will go over Occupational Asthma. This type of asthma is usually easier to spot than others. If you feel that you are having more problems with your asthma while at work, and than when you are away not having any issues at all it is most likely you have occupational asthma. Just like any other type of asthma avoiding as many of your triggers that could cause your asthma to flare up at work is the main key. This though, however, isn't always easy. This is a type of asthma I believe I do have other than the bronchial asthma I was diagnosed with when I was 18 and the one I believed has caused me problems on keeping a job outside of the house.
This asthma can have causes from the other types to force you to have more symptoms while at work, if for example you are allergic to certain things at your job. This is a type I believe that is also a bit underestimated and still new to the asthma world. Until recently, this is one type I didn't even know existed although not diagnosed I figured my asthma was just flaring up for other reasons than the fact it could be another type of asthma.
Night time asthma is the next type I will go over. According to the night time asthma article (http://www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/nocturnal-asthma-nighttime-asthma] there are a few things we need to be aware of, "The chances of asthma symptoms are 100 times higher during sleep. Studies show that most deaths related to asthma occur at night. Nocturnal asthma attacks can cause significant problems sleeping, resulting in sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and irritability." These are important to point out, I believe, because the fact that this brings the point that asthma is a serious disease. The fact that not only symptoms which is a higher amount but that more deaths related to asthma happen during the night really makes one think.
One has to wonder, if this disease is this serious, than why is it that asthma is not treated as serious as it should by certain people. Some of the causes according to the article of night time asthma can include the following, "Increased Mucus or Sinusitis, Internal Triggers, Reclining Position, Air Conditioning, GERD, Late Phase Response, and Hormones." Now remember that these are just some of the causes, and that the reason you get night time asthma is not known just like any other type of asthma. Before covering bronchial asthma, I want to close the information on night time asthma with this from the night time asthma article, "There is no cure for nighttime asthma, but daily asthma medications, such as inhaled steroids, are very effective at reducing inflammation and preventing nocturnal symptoms. Since nocturnal asthma or nighttime asthma may occur anytime during the sleep period, asthma treatment must be sufficient to cover these hours."
Finally I am going to go over the type of asthma I was diagnosed with when I was 18. This is what normal asthma is usually refered to. This is what one could consider the general asthma that people can have. The triggers talked about before can cause this type of asthma to flare up and cause an asthma attack. It is important, however, to get testing to make sure it is asthma and not one of the other diseases that can mimic asthma. It is important no matter what type or types of asthma you are diagnosed with to take the best care of yourself as you can.
In the next part of Life As An Asthmatic I will go over more through the treatments you can do with asthma. Here are a few things I want you to consider until the next part of this series. Now that you know more about the various asthma types has it made you rethink about things in your life? Are there now types you want to get tested for? Has the information about night time asthma, especially about the fact that more deaths from asthma happen during this time, make you rethink your life or open your eyes on showing more things to those that you care about? Think about these questions and the answers until next time.
Comments