Recently, the diagnosis of "asthma" no longer scares people so much. The fact is that new he alth programs use significantly improved strategies not only for the diagnosis and prevention, but also for the treatment of the disease.
What is this?
Before considering the signs of asthma in adults, you need to understand the concepts. So what is asthma? First of all, it should be said that in translation from Greek, this word means “heavy breathing”, or “shortness of breath”. In medical practice, this disease means a chronic disease of the human respiratory tract.
Come from childhood
Very often, asthma occurs in a person in early childhood. The reasons for this can be very diverse: allergic reactions, tobacco smoke, lack of weight, etc. The following information will also be very interesting: the disease most often affects boys, children from dysfunctional families and dark-skinned babies. What are the signs of bronchial asthma in a child?
- Seizurescough. They can be quite common. Appear regardless of the situation - while playing, sleeping, eating, etc.
- Fatigue of the child, decreased activity, lethargy.
- Babies may complain of chest pain, difficulty breathing.
- When inhaling and exhaling, the child may hear a characteristic whistle.
- Baby may experience shortness of breath.
- During difficult breathing, the baby's chest may move back and forth.
If there are at least some of the above signs of bronchial asthma in a child, the baby must be shown to the doctor. After all, if this disease is not cured immediately, it can become chronic and stay with the child for life.
Types and forms
Considering the signs of asthma in adults, I would also like to say that the disease itself has several forms.
- Atopic asthma. In this case, it is the genetic predisposition of a person to this disease that plays the leading role.
- Infectious-allergic asthma. In this case, it is the allergen of an infectious or non-infectious nature that plays the leading role.
Some experts distinguish two more along with these forms:
- Hormonally dependent form of asthma.
- Aspirin asthma.
Stages and course of the disease
In the development of bronchial asthma, doctors distinguish two main stages:
- Pre-asthenic stage. In this case, the patientthere is a certain bronchopulmonary disease (for example, acute bronchitis or pneumonia) with an asthmatic component or bronchial spasm.
- Clinical manifestation. This stage occurs immediately after the patient has the first asthma attack or after the onset of status asthmaticus.
Well, I would like to say a few words about the fact that doctors distinguish three degrees of severity of this disease:
- Light leakage. Attacks of the disease occur several times a year (2-3 times). The disease is easily stopped by tablet forms of bronchodilators.
- Medium flow. The disease occurs more often, about 3-4 times a year. You can get rid of the symptoms with the help of injectable drugs. The choking attacks are longer.
- Heavy course. Exacerbations are quite frequent, they are stopped exclusively by injectable drugs.
About adults
If earlier this disease was more considered childish, today the situation has changed somewhat. Symptoms of asthma in adults can appear at any age, from 20 to 50 years. In this case, the disease most often affects women and those people who are most prone to various kinds of allergic reactions. Doctors also distinguish this type of asthma, both professional and household. The first arises due to certain working conditions (for example, dust), the second - as a reaction to household smokers or animal hair. Since asthma is a disease of the broncho-pulmonary system, a disease occursmay in the following cases:
- If the airways are swollen or inflamed.
- If too much mucus has formed in them.
- If the airways have narrowed due to contraction or contraction of the tissues that surround them.
Main symptoms in adults
What are the signs of asthma in adults?
- Difficulty panting.
- Sharp feeling of lack of air.
- Frequent cough that is activated during night sleep.
- Whistle that can be heard while a person breathes.
- A very unpleasant feeling in the chest, which is similar to squeezing.
Difficulty breathing
The first signs of bronchial asthma in adults and children are shortness of breath and shortness of breath. The patient's respiratory rate, rhythm and depth are disturbed. Also a characteristic feature in this case is the lengthening of the exhalation. This happens because the air passages narrow and the person needs more strength to push the air out. In this case, all groups of the shoulder girdle and respiratory muscles are involved. That is why it is often possible to observe reciprocating movements of the chest in an asthmatic patient.
Cough
Considering the first signs of asthma in adults, it is also worth paying special attention to coughing. So, with this disease, this symptom occurs regardless of whether the person is sick with a cold or not. The cough itself occurs as a reaction to irritation of the mucosa.lining of the bronchi with a variety of substances. Coughing fits are aimed at removing various bacteria and other foreign substances from the bronchi. The nature of the cough in bronchial asthma:
- Dry.
- Heavy.
- Practical.
Often the patient cannot cope with air currents. This is similar to the fact that a person begins to suffocate.
What other important signs of asthma are there in adults? So, during a cough, the patient should have sputum. However, this may not happen (most often this is how events develop if a person “chokes” from coughing), in which case a small amount of clear liquid is released. It should also be said that physical activity, laughter, excitement, and even too active speech can provoke a cough. Important information: for comfort during a coughing fit, it is best for the patient to be in a sitting position.
Whistling and wheezing
Let's look at the first signs of asthma in adults. So, the patient may also have wheezing and whistles, which are heard during breathing. If the course of the disease is mild, only the person who has been diagnosed with bronchial asthma can hear them. As the disease worsens, wheezing can become more and more sonorous, they are heard by others. Wheezing Features:
- Most often occur during vigorous activity, laughter, an excited state.
- Often heard at night while sleeping.
- Accompany the patient at all stagesdiseases (however, in this case, their tonality and sonority differ).
Whistling and wheezing - this is the auscultatory sign of bronchial asthma. The term "auscultation" itself means "listening" by the physician to the sounds of the work of the patient's organs.
Feeling of constriction
What are the first signs of asthma in adults? So, it must be said that very often the patient may experience a feeling of tightness in the chest. Patients often say that during exhalation, as if something is compressing the chest so much that it is simply impossible to get rid of the air accumulated in the airways. Most often, this condition is accompanied by panic of the patient. People in this case either freeze in one place, afraid to move, or they begin to rush around the room. The best option for this symptom is to relax. Then the attack will pass extremely quickly.
Other symptoms
It is also worth mentioning that there may be completely different signs of bronchial asthma in adults. So, if the cough form of this disease is the most common, then there are other types of it. In this case, asthma goes away without coughing and shortness of breath. What are its signs in this case?
- Irregular or irregular breathing.
- Sighing noises may be heard.
- The patient often has apathy, as well as the maximum lack of physical activity.
- Maybe a completely opposite symptom: increased excitability, inability to focus on somethingone.
- Sleep disorders often occur in patients.
It is worth saying that these symptoms are most often manifested in children and adolescents. But they can also occur in adults. So at the first signs, it is best to seek help from a doctor. This is important, because only in this case it is possible to cure the disease in the early stages, without making it chronic.
Cardiac asthma
In addition to bronchial asthma, there is also cardiac asthma. Many people mistakenly believe that these are the same disease. However, it is not. It is worth saying that the signs of cardiac and bronchial asthma are similar. This is shortness of breath and a feeling of suffocation. But the nature of such states is different. If in bronchial asthma the reason for this is swelling and inflammation of the respiratory tract, then in the case of cardiac asthma, the cause is poor functioning of the atrium and left ventricle.
Symptoms of cardiac asthma
What other signs of cardiac asthma can be identified?
- Attack most often begins at night. There is a feeling of tightness in the chest.
- Severe lack of air.
- May have frothy discharge from the mouth (may also be a light pink color with small blood inclusions).
- Shallow and shallow breathing.
Risk groups
Having considered all the signs of bronchial asthma (cough form), we should also talk about who is primarily susceptible to this disease. Yes, at riskthere are the following categories of people:
- Women who are currently undergoing significant hormonal changes (such as pregnancy or menopause).
- Women who have been taking estrogen for over 10 years.
- People who have recently had one of the viral diseases. For example, a sore throat, the flu, a cold.
- People who tend to be obese.
- Prone to allergies, especially those who have allergic reactions to animal hair.
- Men and women who have this disease may be occupational. So, at risk are those who, on duty, should be in smoky or dusty rooms, in places where there is a lot of fluff, animal hair, or certain smells (paint, toilet water, etc.) are constantly present.
- Those who live in the industrial area.
- Those who have a genetic predisposition to the disease.
What to do?
If a person observes at least some signs of bronchial asthma (cough form), it is best to immediately seek help from a doctor. Self-medication can be very dangerous, because if treated incorrectly, you can start the disease to a severe form. And in this case, asthma becomes chronic and already accompanies a person throughout his life. By contacting a doctor, you can find out the exact diagnosis and get competent treatment.
