Asthma is a common condition that affects the airways. Symptoms include wheeze, cough, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Symptoms can range from mild to severe. Treatment is usually with inhalers to ease the symptoms.
Asthma affects the airways of the lungs. The airways become narrow in people who have asthma. Asthma can start at any age, but it most commonly starts in childhood. At least 1 in 10 children, and 1 in 20 adults, have asthma. Asthma runs in some families, but many people with asthma have no other family members affected.
Asthma is caused by inflammation in the airways. It is not known why the inflammation occurs. The inflammation irritates the muscles around the airways, and causes them to squeeze. This causes narrowing of the airways. It is then more difficult for air to get in and out of the lungs. This leads to wheezing and breathlessness. The inflammation also causes the lining of the airways to make extra mucus, which causes cough and further obstruction to airflow.
Asthma symptoms may flare up from time to time. Symptoms are triggered in certain situations. It may be possible to avoid certain triggers, which may help to reduce symptoms. Things that may trigger asthma symptoms include infections, particularly chest infections, pollens and moulds. The hay fever season is a common time for asthma to get worse.
A diagnosis of asthma is made on the clinical signs and symptoms made by a doctor. A peak flow meter is used to help confirm that symptoms are due to asthma. Sometimes a test called spirometry, which measures the speed of air that you can blow out of your lungs, is done to confirm the diagnosis. This involves breathing into a machine that measures the rate and volume of airflow in and out of your lungs.
Most people with asthma are treated with inhalers. Inhalers deliver a small dose of drug directly to the airways. However, the amount of drug that gets into the rest of your body is small so side effects are unlikely, or minor. Inhalers can be grouped into relievers and preventers.
Areliever inhaler is taken 'as required' to ease symptoms. The drug in a reliever inhaler relaxes the muscle in the airways. This makes the airways open wider, and symptoms usually quickly ease. These drugs are also called 'bronchodilators' as they dilate (widen) the bronchi (airways). If you only have symptoms every 'now and then', then the occasional use of a reliever inhaler may be all that you need. However, if you need a reliever inhaler three times a week or more to ease symptoms, a preventer inhaler is usually advised.
A preventer inhaler is taken every day to prevent symptoms from developing. The drug commonly used in preventer inhalers is a steroid. Steroids work by reducing the inflammation in the airways. When the inflammation has gone, the airways are much less likely to become narrow and cause symptoms. It takes 7-14 days for the steroid in a preventer inhaler to build up it's effect. Therefore, it will not give any immediate relief of symptoms. However, after a week of treatment, the symptoms have often gone, or are much reduced. It can take up to six weeks for maximum benefit. You should then not need to use a reliever inhaler very often.
A short course of steroid tablets (such as prednisolone) is sometimes needed to ease a severe or prolonged attack of asthma. Steroid tablets are good at reducing the inflammation in the airways. For example, a severe attack may occur if you have a cold or chest infection. There is no cure for asthma. However, about half of the children who develop asthma 'grow out of it' by the time they are adults. Some people are worse in the winter months, and some worse in the hay fever season. Although not curable, asthma is treatable. Stepping up the treatment for a while during bad spells will often control symptoms.
