Asthma: Tips for sufferers
Asthma is a lung condition that interferes with breathing and affects people of all ages. Picture: Stock
A new treatment to prevent some of the damage asthma causes could be available to patients soon, scientists have suggested.
According to researchers at King’s College London, during an asthma attack, the cells lining the airways are squeezed and destroyed. A new drug could prevent this, instead of managing the consequences, which is what existing drugs and inhalers already do.
Asthma is a lung condition that interferes with breathing and affects people of all ages. Though it usually starts in childhood, it can also develop during adulthood - so what do people who have been diagnosed with asthma need to know? Health experts share their tips.
Asthma is a lung condition that causes chronic inflammation and hyper-responsive airways that can present with symptoms such as a chronic cough, especially first thing in the morning or at night, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness.
“For this reason, having a diagnosis of asthma is an excellent reason to quit smoking, as smoking is an irritant that can aggravate and exacerbate asthma by triggering inflammation in your lungs,” said Dr Katy Kasraie, private GP at The London General Practice.
“Keeping an air purifier in your bedroom and living room which has HEPA and carbon air filters will improve the air quality in your home and reduce asthma flare-ups. Also, if you suffer from a pollen or grass allergy, or from seasonal hay fever, it’s important to manage that to reduce any asthma flare-ups.”
The vast majority of patients will respond to treatment but it needs to be tailored for the individual, explained Dr John Chinegwundoh, a respiratory physician at New Victoria Hospital, Glasgow. “Medications need to be reviewed regularly and adjusted depending on prevailing symptoms and objective tests. Patients should be aiming for minimal or no symptoms, and if the initial treatment is not working, it needs changing,” he said.
Kasraie says this can be the case. “Treatments with inhalers, such as beta-agonists, that open up your airways by broncho-dilating them, or preventers, such as steroid inhalers that reduce inflammation in your airways, need to be reviewed on a 6-12 month basis to see if you’re on the right inhaler and the right dose, and whether you need to step up or down on your treatment plan,” she said.
“Sometimes, during an infective flare-up of a chest infection, which can exacerbate your asthma, you may need a course of antibiotics, and rarely, you may need oral steroids to help you manage your intercurrent illness.”
Many patients with asthma can participate in sports and lead active lifestyles.
“It’s important to use inhalers as advised by your doctor, and for those who get exercise-induced asthma, we advise using broncho-dilating inhalers such as Salbutamol, 30 minutes before any exercise to help open your airways to optimise conditions for exercise,” said Kasraie.
“If you get severely short of breath or wheezy during exercise, it’s advisable to stop and rest, if symptoms do not improve in a few minutes, take two puffs of your inhaler (this can be a short-acting or long-acting broncho-dilator inhaler called a reliever, or you may have a combo inhaler with beta-agonist and steroid). See your doctor for a review if symptoms persist.”
Even if the diagnosis is quite mild, asking everyone to be aware of the warning signs can have its pros and cons. But Chinegwundoh still thinks it’s worth knowing what to do if you ever find yourself having an asthma attack.
“It’s a balance. Healthcare professionals do not want to alarm patients and cause unnecessary anxiety,” said Chinegwundoh. “However, asthma still kills and every asthmatic must have an easy-to-understand self-management plan.
“They need to know how to step up their medications and when to see the GP or go to the local emergency department.”
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