Asthma - Attacks - Symptoms

Have you ever had problems breathing? Perhaps to the point that you are weezing and gasping for breath? You may have asthma, a disease where the airways in your lungs get blocked or constricted leaving you with limited breathing ability. It can be really scary the first time it happens to you and often asthmatics are rushed to the emergency room to help them restore their breathing patterns to normal levels. Asthma affects nearly 20 million Americans and it can be divided into two types: allergic and non-allergic. Growing up I had the allergic type of asthma with coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath or rapid breathing, and chest tightness. My symptoms were triggered by inhaled allergens such as pollen. During the high pollen season many children suffer asthma while outside. I could always play fine, but it was running that really triggered an attack. If your child complains of asthma symptoms after running or brisk exercise, perhaps a doctors note to limit activity during physical education at school would help them (it sure helped me). Non-allergic Asthma is triggered by anxiety, stress, cold air, smoke, and viruses. Symptoms are pretty much the same between allergic asthma and non-allergic asthma but the triggers are very different.

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To help prevent asthma symptoms, you should have an "asthma management plan". The four key steps are below:

• Identify and minimize contact with your asthma triggers
• Take your medications as prescribed
• Monitor your asthma and recognize early signs that it may be worsening
• Know what to do when your asthma is worsening

Asthma Treatment:

Asthma is a lifelong condition, so making treatment an everyday commitment is crucial for keeping your asthma in check. Talk with your doctor first about your symptoms and what triggers an attack. Your doctor may prescribe different medications for various forms of asthma. If you have sudden symptoms, then perhaps Albuterol (rescue inhalers) may be prescribed. Long-acting bronchodilators can be helpful to treat airway constriction. Airway inflammation can usually be treated with inhaled corticosteroids. The asthma medication called ADVAIR DISKUS treats both airway constriction and inflammation, the two main components of asthma. A peak flow meter measures how well your lungs are able to expel air. You can learn to use this simple device to monitor your asthma and head off attacks before they occur. My daughter uses a peak flow meter before her allergy shots sometimes to see how her breathing is doing, especially during the peak allergy season. The peak flow meter does an excellent job of determining if there are any early signs of an asthma attack coming on. Inhalers are another form of treatment which we will go into further detail below.

Asthma Medication/Drugs:

There are two general types of asthma medications which can give you long-term control or quick relief of symptoms - Anti-inflammatory drugs and Bronchodilators. Anti-inflammatory Drugs are broken into 3 categories - corticosteroids (inhaled and oral), mast cell stabilizers, and the leukotriene modifier drugs. Inhaled Corticosteroids include Advair, Flovent, Qvar, and Aerobid. Oral Corticosteroids are things like Medrol, Methylpred, Solu-Medrol, Deltasone and Prelone, Pediapred, Orapred. Mast Cell Stabilizers include Intal and Tilade. Leukotriene Modifiers are drugs such as Accolate and Singular.

Best Asthma Inhalers:

Inhalers come in 2 common types - metered dose inhalers and dry power inhalers. The best inhalers on the market are the Serevent Inhaler ($62), Primatene Mist Bronchial Asthma Relief Inhaler, Pari Vortex Inhaler Spacer. Primatene Mist is what I have been using since I was a younger kid and have always been able to contain my asthma attacks before they get out of control. You can buy asthma inhalers online at Drugstore.com or Target.com. To learn more about inhalers from Primatene Mist go to Primatene.com. You can view their online products and buy online direct from their website.

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