Though the end result of asthma is the same
- irritated airways narrowing - the causes of this irritation
that trigger off an ASTHMA ATTACK vary from person to person
i.e. one person might start wheezing when in a dusty room while another
only wheezes when s/he has a cold. The following are the most common
types of asthma:
Childhood Asthma
As its name suggests, this form of asthma happens
as a child, and half the time, you 'outgrow it' as you get
older. The reason why is like the flip side of acne which doesn't
bother you as a child but starts in your teen years - your body goes
through a number of changes at this transition period making
you not only look different but function differently too. Predicting
accurately if this will happen to your asthma is reasonably done by
asking if your parents suffered from asthma too. If they did, and
outgrew it, chances are you will too. The treatment of childhood
asthma is no different to adult asthma as the cause is no different.
What varies is the doses of syrup, tablet and injected medicines which
are adjusted by body weight. The inhaler doses are generally the same.
Nocturnal Asthma
Nocturnal
just means 'at night'. Some people only wheeze at night. The
reason is that the levels of a chemical that keeps you awake called
epinephrine drops to allow you to sleep. But this chemical
also keeps your airways open. This type of asthma typically happens
in the wee hours of the morning. A useful treatment for this is taking
a steroid inhaler before going to bed. This reduces the tendency
of the airways to want to narrow. Another measure is to wash your
bed sheets and pillow regularly as dust mites live on dead
skin and produce a stool that when breathed, irritate
your lungs causing them to narrow as you sleep.
Allergy Asthma
An allergy is where your body overreacts to some substance
around you. This type of asthma is associated with a runny nose,
itchy eyes, sneezing, and dry coughs. Steroid
inhalers are useful in this condition by 'calming' your
air passages. Antihistamine type drugs also play a role. But
the best method of control is to avoid the offending substances
if you can. If you can't, allergy desensitization treatment
may be beneficial. This works by exposing your body to minute amounts
of the substance and working back up to normal amounts without a reaction.
Sports Asthma / Exercise Induced Asthma
In some folks after exercise they begin to wheeze. This is
believed to be a reaction to changes in temperature of air
in the lung. It can be avoided by using a bronchodilator inhaler
just prior to basketball, football e.t.c. and breathing through your
nose until your body feels warmed up.
Cardiac Asthma
This type of asthma is unlike the other types of asthma discussed
so far. It is caused by a heart that is failing to push
blood around the body at a satisfactory rate. This leads to congestion
of small blood vessels and they leak. In the lung, this leaked
out fluid irritates the airways causing them to narrow and
wheeze, while the fluid makes a bubbling noise called
'creps' and there's a tendency to cough up pink frothy spit.
While standard inhalers will help to bring the wheeze under control,
you'll still feel short of breath as there's fluid left in the lungs.
So diuretics like Lasix also have to be given. These work by
increasing your urination lowering your volume of blood and hence
the backed up pressure.
Cold and Flu Asthma
Some persons wheeze when they have a sore throat/ flu. This is because
the offensive flu virus irritates your lung's airways which
will then narrow. This will respond to your inhalers and typically
the virus lasts only about a week. Bacterial bronchitis infections
can also lead to wheezing and in this case addition of an antibiotic
is beneficial (antibiotics kill bacteria but not viruses
so it's no use given in a viral infection).
Occupational Asthma
This is a form of allergy asthma to something at your work
place like smoke, dust, fumes. Sometimes it can be controlled
by steroid inhalers and bronchodilators. If not, ventilating
the area by opening windows or wearing a dust mask help. If severe,
you may be left with no option but to seek transfer or another job.
COPD / Emphysema Asthma
In this form of wheezing, there is a defect in the 'elastic-ness'
of the airways causing them to narrow. It usually
responds to regular asthma medications but residual shortness of breath
is common.
