Asthma is a chronic and long-term disease of the lungs where the airways swell and constrict, and fill with mucus. This makes breathing difficult. There will be shortness of breath, wheezing, and chest tightness. Early diagnosis and treatment can help you prevent damage to your lungs, so if you’re concerned you have the symptoms, read this guide and visit a primary care physician.

Warning Signs Of Asthma In Adults

Mostly, asthma develops gradually and the early signs are inconsistent and may vary from person to person. Sometimes, these symptoms can be mistaken for other health issues like allergies. Moreover, asthma symptoms can be similar to other problems like acid reflux, respiratory infections, and others, so proper diagnosis is required.

Here are some early signs of asthma:

Frequent Coughing

Commonly, one of the first signs of asthma is frequent coughing. The cough will be dry and won’t have mucus. In the early stages, cough may not be too frequent. It may come and go. Moreover, there will be times when cough will appear more likely, such as at night or early morning, during winter when cold air can affect the airways, after exercise, and with cold or allergies.

If the cough persists for more than three weeks, it’s something you should ignore and see a doctor.

Shortness Of Breath

You feel out of breath more quickly than before and taking a full, deep breath becomes difficult. This symptom will be clearer during exercising and any sort of physical activity. Even when a certain activity didn’t make you feel winded before, you might feel struggling to catch your breath now due to a respiratory issue or asthma.

Chest Tightness

The chest feels like it’s been squeezed or there’s pressure or heaviness on the chest. This can be due to the narrowed airways of the lungs.

Wheezing

Wheezing is the squeaky or whistling noises during breathing, especially when exhaling. This may or may not be noticeable by the patient in the early stages, but a doctor can hear it with a stethoscope. This is why seeing a doctor is important. Wheezing doesn’t necessarily mean you have asthma. It can be any other respiratory problem as well.

Reduced Stamina

You will feel tired or out of breath after a light activity that didn’t make you this way before.

Sleep Disruption

The coughing or breathing problem can disrupt your sleep as well. You may wake up suddenly out of breath or due to a cough. This is one of the reasons you may also feel signs of reduced stamina, fatigue, and irritation. These are common in people who can’t get enough sleep.

Certain Triggers Flaring Up The Symptoms

Asthma can be divided into categories according to the triggers:

  • Exercise-induced asthma: Asthma symptoms show up after an exercise or activity, especially during winter when the air is cold and dry.
  • Occupational asthma: The triggers can be irritants in the workplace, such as chemicals, dyes, paint, gases, sawdust, dust, etc.
  • Allergy-induced asthma: If you notice asthma symptoms or flare-ups due to allergens, such as pollen, mold spores, dust, pet dander, cockroach waste, etc., it can be allergic asthma.

Risk Factors Of Asthma

  • Family history of asthma (a biological parent or sibling has asthma)
  • Allergies, especially eczema or hay fever
  • Being overweight can increase the risk of asthma
  • Severe lung infections in childhood can cause asthma later in teenage years or adulthood
  • Smoking or living with a smoker
  • Living in a polluted region
  • A job that involves exposure to chemicals, gases, or other irritants.

How Is Asthma Diagnosed In Adults?

If you’re noticing asthma signs for a couple of weeks, you must see an internist Rockville as soon as possible, even if the symptoms are milder or not bothering you. Some people don’t notice asthma signs at all, so it’s diagnosed during a scheduled medical examination.

The symptoms could be severe as well, such as severe breathing issues, severe wheezing and coughing, blue lips or fingertips, the inhaler not proving helpful, etc. You must seek medical care immediately in this case.

Here’s how asthma is diagnosed by doctors:

The Doctor Will Ask Questions About The Symptoms And Medical History

The healthcare professional will begin with your medical history and the symptoms you’re feeling. When do the symptoms aggravate and which activities trigger them? Does anyone in your family have asthma?

Physical Examination

After asking questions about your breathing and physical activities or triggers, the doctor will perform a physical examination. It may include examining the ears, nose, eyes, throat, lung examination through the stethoscope, and the skin.

Performing Lung Function Tests

These are the main methods of diagnosing many respiratory issues, including asthma:

Spirometry

A spirometry test is commonly carried out for diagnosing asthma and other problems. The doctor uses a device called a spirometer that measures how much air your breath in and out, and at what rate. This test can make it clear, in most cases, that a patient is not breathing in and out at their full capacity. This usually means asthma.

But to confirm asthma, your doctor may conduct a spirometry test again after you take an inhaled medicine that relaxes the airways and reduces inflammation. If the spirometry results are better in this phase, it becomes concrete proof that the patient has asthma.

FeNO Test

A fractional concentration of exhaled nitric oxide test or FeNO Test measures signs of inflammation in the airways by noticing the amount of nitric oxide you breathe out.

Challenge Test

When regular spirometry test results are not clear, your healthcare professional may perform a challenge test. It includes two phases of a spirometry test:

  • A spirometry test after exposing the patient to an asthma or allergy trigger.
  • Another spirometry test after giving the patient a medicine for relieving the symptoms.

Peak Flow Test

This test measures how hard you can breathe out. If the readings are lower than normal, there may be a respiratory issue or asthma. Regular testing can also show whether your breathing and asthma is getting better or worse.

Other Tests

Apart from lung function tests, your doctor may suggest and perform other tests as well to support the diagnosis. They can include:

  • Methacholine Challenge: Methacholine can narrow airways. So, the doctors ask you to inhale. If there’s a reaction or symptoms of asthma noted, then the disease can be confirmed.
  • X-Rays: Chest X-rays are commonly performed to check for any problems, such as abnormalities or infections that may be causing the symptoms.
  • Blood Tests: A blood test can be performed for various reasons, such as detecting eosinophils in the blood that hint at inflammation and also for detecting allergies.
  • Allergy Testing: Allergy testing can include a skin test and a blood test. This is commonly performed if the doctor suspects you have allergy-induced asthma.

After the tests and diagnosis, your doctor may classify your asthma and create a treatment plan. They may refer you to a pulmonologist or an allergist if required.

Conclusion

Noticing signs of asthma is important if you want to ensure early diagnosis and treatment. So, look for the above-mentioned symptoms and consult an internal medicine doctor Gaithersburg as soon as possible if the signs persist.