Recently, the diagnosis of asthma is not so much scares people. The fact is that new programs in the healthcare sector use significantly improved strategies not only for diagnosis and prevention, but also for treatment of the disease.
What it is?
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 the translation from the Greek language 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 humans in early childhood. The reasons for this can be very diverse: allergic reactions, tobacco smoke, underweight, etc. The following information will also be very interesting: the disease most often affects boys, children from dysfunctional families and black babies. What are the signs of asthma in a child?
- Bouts of coughing. They can be quite frequent. Appear regardless of the situation - during the game, sleep, food, etc.
- Fatigue of the child, decreased activity, lethargy.
- Toddlers may complain of chest pain, shortness of breath.
- When you inhale and exhale, a characteristic whistle can be heard in the child.
- The baby may experience respiratory failure.
- During shortness of breath, the baby’s chest can reciprocate.
If at least some of the above signs of bronchial asthma are observed in a child, the baby must be shown to the doctor. After all, if this disease cannot be cured immediately, it can become chronic and remain 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 person’s genetic predisposition to this disease that plays the leading role.
- Infectious and allergic asthma. In this case, it is the allergen of an infectious or non-infectious nature that plays the leading role.
Some experts along with these forms distinguish two more:
- Hormone-dependent form of asthma.
- Aspirin bronchial asthma.
Stages and course of the disease
In the development of bronchial asthma, doctors distinguish two main stages:
- Pre-stenic stage. In this case, the patient has a certain bronchopulmonary disease (for example, acute bronchitis or pneumonia) with an asthmatic component or bronchial spasm.
- Clinical manifestation. This stage begins immediately after the patient has a first attack of suffocation or after the onset of asthmatic status.
Well, I want to say a few words about the fact that doctors distinguish three degrees of severity of this disease:
- Easy leakage. Attacks of the disease occur several times a year (2-3 times). The disease is easily stopped by tablet forms of bronchodilators.
- The average course. The disease occurs more often, about 3-4 times a year. You can get rid of the symptoms with injectable drugs. Attacks of suffocation are longer.
- Severe course. Exacerbations are quite frequent, stopped exclusively by injection drugs.
About adults
If earlier this disease was considered to be more childhood, today the situation has changed a bit. Signs 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 more prone to allergic reactions of various kinds. Doctors also distinguish this type of asthma, both professional and domestic. 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 bronchopulmonary system, a disease can occur in the following cases:
- If the airways become swollen or inflamed.
- If they have formed too much mucus.
- If the airways narrowed due to contraction or contraction of the tissues that surround them.
The main symptoms in adults
What are the signs of asthma in adults?
- Shortness of breath.
- A sharp feeling of lack of air.
- Frequent cough that activates during a night's sleep.
- A whistle that can be heard while a person is breathing.
- A very unpleasant feeling in the chest, which is similar to squeezing.
Labored breathing
The first signs of asthma in adults and children are precisely 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 an exhalation lengthening. This is due to the fact that the respiratory passages are narrowed, and a person needs more strength to push air out. In this case, all groups of the shoulder girdle and respiratory muscles are involved. That is why it is not uncommon for a patient with asthma to observe reciprocating movements of the chest.
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 a person is ill with a cold or not. The cough itself occurs as a reaction to irritation of the bronchial mucosa with a variety of substances. Coughing attacks are aimed at removing various bacteria and other foreign substances from the bronchi. The nature of the cough with bronchial asthma:
- Dry.
- Heavy.
- Paroxysmal.
Often the patient can not cope with the flow of air. This is similar to the fact that a person begins to suffocate.
What are the other important signs of asthma in adults? So, during a cough, sputum should go away from the patient. However, this may not happen (most often, events develop if a person “suffocates” from a cough), in which case a small amount of clear liquid is released. It should also be said that coughing can provoke physical exertion, laughter, agitation, and even too active speech. Important information: for convenience, it is best for the patient to be seated during a coughing fit.
Whistling and wheezing
Further we consider 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 is diagnosed with bronchial asthma can hear them. As the disease intensifies, wheezing can become more sonorous, they are audible to others. Features of wheezing:
- Most often occur during vigorous activity, laughter, excited state.
- Often they are heard at night during sleep.
- They accompany the patient at all stages of the disease (however, in this case, their tonality and sonority vary).
Whistling and wheezing - this is an auscultatory sign of bronchial asthma. The term “auscultation” itself means “listening” by the physician to the sounds of the patient’s organs.
Feeling of oppression
What are the first signs of asthma in adults? So, it must be said that very often the patient may experience a feeling of constriction in the chest. Patients often say that during exhalation, it is as if something is compressing the chest so strongly that it is simply impossible to get rid of the air accumulated in the respiratory tract. Most often, this condition is accompanied by a panic of the patient. People in this case either freeze in one place, afraid to move, or else start rushing about 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, that is, its other types. In this case, asthma goes away without coughing and shortness of breath. What are its signs in this case?
- Irregular or intermittent breathing.
- Noises can be heard during sighs.
- The patient often has apathy, as well as a maximum lack of motor activity.
- There may be a completely opposite symptom: increased irritability, inability to concentrate on one thing.
- Often patients have sleep disturbance.
It is worth saying that these symptoms most often occur in children and adolescents. But they are possible in adults. So at the first sign it is best to seek the help of a doctor. This is important, since only in this case can the disease be cured in the early stages, without translating it into the category of chronic ones.
Cardiac asthma
In addition to bronchial asthma, there is also cardiac asthma. Many people mistakenly believe that this is 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 cause of this is edema and inflammation of the respiratory tract, then in the case of cardiac asthma the cause is the poor work of the atrium and left ventricle.
Symptoms of Cardiac Asthma
What signs of cardiac asthma can still be distinguished?
- The attack most often begins at night. In this case, there is a feeling of squeezing in the chest.
- Acute shortage of air.
- Foamy discharge from the mouth may appear (they can also be light pink, slight blood inclusions are possible).
- Shallow and shallow breathing.
Risk groups
Having examined all the signs of bronchial asthma (cough form), you should also talk about who is primarily affected by this disease. So, the following categories of people are at risk:
- Women who are currently undergoing significant hormonal changes (for example, pregnancy or menopause).
- Women who take hormone like estrogen for more than 10 years.
- People who have recently suffered one of the viral diseases. For example, sore throat, flu, colds.
- People who are prone to obesity.
- Allergy-prone, especially those who have allergic reactions to animal hair.
- Men and women in whom 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 (paints, toilet water, etc.) are constantly present.
- Those who live in an industrial area.
- Those who have a genetic predisposition to this disease.
What to do?
If a person observes at least some signs of bronchial asthma (cough form), it is best to immediately seek medical help. Self-medication can be very dangerous, because if improperly treated, you can start the disease to a severe form. And in this case, asthma becomes chronic and already accompanies a person throughout his life. Turning to the doctor, you can find out the exact diagnosis and get competent treatment.