Asthma Complexities

Medical Author: Dennis Lee, MD
Medical Editors: Jay Marks, MD, and William C. Shiel, MD, FACP, FACR

• Unusual symptoms of asthma
• Can a cough without wheezing be due to asthma?
• Nocturnal asthma
• Masqueraders of asthma
• Cardiac asthma
• Other bronchial conditions
• Vocal cord dysfunction (VCD)
• Other hypersensitivity reactions
• Exercise and sports
• Exercise induced asthma (E.I.A.)
• What causes exercise induced asthma?
• What sports are best suited for exercise induced asthma? What sports are not?
• Ways to prevent and treat exercise induced asthma
• Conditions that may worsen asthma
• Gastroesophageal reflex disease
• The allergic rhinitis-asthma connection
• Sinusitis and asthma
• Asthma Complexities At A Glance

What do all of these individuals have in common? An active 13 year-old becomes breathless shortly after her soccer games and coughs on a cold winter's night. A young woman has a dry, hacking cough that has persisted for a year after her last "cold." A teenager sleeps poorly and is awakened early every morning with chest tightness and difficulty breathing. What these individuals have in common is the possibility that they all may have asthma.

Asthma Rates Increasing...Are Environmental Exposures? Medical Author: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR Scientists and physicians have noticed that the rates of asthma have been increasing in recent decades. This has been especially true in developed countries such as the United States. In fact, the American Lung Association has reported that asthma prevalence has risen from 34 cases/1000 people in the general population in 1982 to 56 cases/1000 in 1994. Research into the causes of this striking increase in asthma has led to a number of possible explanations being proposed, but there has yet to be unanimous agreement on the reasons. A study reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (1999; 159:125-29) evaluated a group of patients at two points in time, 30 years apart. The study performed by doctors in Scotland detected a significant increase in symptoms of allergic asthma and levels of antibodies to environmental allergic factors, such as dust mites, pets, and air pollutants over the three decades. Importantly, the researchers noted that there was an increase in the signs and symptoms of allergy, even in people without a family history of allergy! Does the environment really influence asthma risk? Read on... »

Unusual symptoms of asthma

Patients suffering from episodes of asthma do not always have the typical symptoms of asthma such as shortness of breath, chest tightness, and wheezing (symptoms of airway narrowing). Instead, patients can have symptoms that may not appear to be related to asthma. These “unusual” asthma symptoms include:

• rapid breathing
• sighing
• fatigue; inability to exercise properly
• difficulty sleeping
• anxiety; difficulty concentrating
• chronic cough without wheezing

To complicate matters, symptoms of asthma are not consistent and often vary from time to time in an individual. In some patients symptoms are influenced by diurnal factors, for example some patients experience asthma primarily at night (nocturnal asthma) rather than during the day. Furthermore, episodes of asthma can be triggered by many different factors such as allergens, dust, smoke, cold air, exercise, infections, medications, and acid reflux. Finally, other illness such as heart failure, bronchitis, and dysfunction of the vocal cords can cause symptoms that mimic those of asthma. For these reasons, accurately diagnosing and treating asthma can be a challenge.

For a comprehensive review of symptoms, causes, and treatments of asthma, and for a better understanding of the normal anatomy of the airways (trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and the lung), please visit the asthma article.

From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com

Chest X-ray - A chest x-ray is a radiology test that involves exposing the chest briefly to radiation to produce an image of the chest and the internal organs of the chest. chest x-ray can be used to define abnormalities of the lungs such as excessive fluid, pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, cysts, and cancers. Source:MedicineNet Sinus Infection - Learn about sinus infections and inflammation of the sinuses (also known as sinusitis) with information written by doctors for patients. Includes causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and complications of sinus infection. Source:MedicineNet Asthma - Read about asthma signs and symptoms, statistics, medication, inhalers, and management, and triggers (or what causes an attack). Get the facts about asthma in children and exercise-induced asthma. Source:MedicineNet Read 338 more Asthma Complexities related articles ... 100 Worst Spring Allergy Cities Dust Mites: Is Resistance Futile? Free Asthma Screenings Offered in May Obesity May Worsen Impact of Asthma Report: Polluted Air Puts Millions at Risk Tree-Lined Streets Associated With Lower Childhood Asthma Rates Oral Allergy Immunotherapy Helps Control Asthma Severe Asthma Unlike Mild Asthma Sugar Intake Linked to Kids' Asthma? Measurements Poor for Assessing Clinical Trials With Children