Management and treatment

Asthma is a long term disease which means there is no cure, but it can be managed and treated. Managing asthma means taking control of your health. With the right help from your doctor and the correct medication, managing your asthma is easy.  Asthma is treated with two different types of medication. The first is long-term control which reduces airway inflammation and prevents asthma symptoms. The second is quick-relief or “rescue” which relieves any symptoms that may flare up.

Diagnosis of asthma

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms, this will include:

• Your family history of asthma and allergies
• What tends to cause the symptoms or make them worse
• Periods of shortness of breath, coughing or chest tightness and when these periods occur
• Colds that seem to “go to the chest” or take more than 10 days to get over

Your doctor may do a test called Spirometry, to check your airways.  This test is used to measure the amount of air blown out and how fast after taking a deep breath. If your airways are inflamed or swollen, the results for the test will be lower than normal. Spirometry is also used to monitor your asthma over time and to check how you are doing.

Other than this test, your doctor may recommend you to have other tests which could include:

• An allergy test to find out if and what affects you
• A test to see how your airways react to exercise
• A test to check if you have sinus disease
• A test to check if you have gastroesophageal reflux disease

There are four levels of asthma severity classification which are:

• Mild Intermittent – symptoms twice a week and symptoms at night twice a month

• Mild persistent – symptoms more than twice a week but only once a day and symptoms at night more than twice a month. Asthma attacks may affect your activity.
• Moderate persistent – symptoms daily and symptoms at night more than once a week. Asthma attacks may affect your activity.

• Severe persistent – you experience symptoms throughout the day and often during the night. Physical activity is likely to be limited.

What is an asthma attack and how to help someone having an asthma attack

An asthma attack is a sudden worsening of symptoms which is caused by the muscles around the airways tightening. During an attack the insides of the airways become swollen and/or inflamed and produce thicker mucus. These factors cause symptoms of an asthma attack which are difficulty in breathing, wheezing and coughing.

How to help someone having an asthma attack

1.       During an attack, the patient finds it easier to sit down and breathe than to lay down. Help the patients to sit and make sure they are as comfortable as possible

2.       Most patients know how to deal with an asthma attack, so ask them what to do. Ask if they have an inhaler and where it is. If they do not have an inhaler, ask them if you need to call for help.

3.       Help them use the inhaler. The inhaler is designed to deliver a dose of asthma medication that relaxes the airways and helps restore normal breathing. You should give two to four puffs of the inhaler then wait five minutes for the next dose. Position the inhaler between the patients lips and let them know when you are about to give a puff.

4.       Once you have given the medication to patient, observe them for several minutes. Ask if breathing is becoming easier.

5.       If the patient does not respond to the medication within ten minutes, call an ambulance and continue to give puffs of medication every five minutes while you are waiting for the ambulance.

6.       Remember to stay calm as this will help the patient remain calm. If the patient panics, it will make the attack worse. Keep talking calmly and reinforce that everything is under control.

Current statistics in Australia and Western Australia

• Rounding the statistics, about 10% of the Australian population (2 million people) currently have asthma
• Asthma is more common in people aged 75 and over, being at least 11%
• In the 0-14 year age group, more boys have asthma than girls
• In the 15 years and over age group, more female have asthma than males
• Less than 5% of children with asthma have persistent asthma
• The majority of adults with asthma have mild or very mild asthma
• In 2008 there were 449 deaths due to asthma, which was an increase from 2007 when there were 385 deaths

Environmental health issue

Asthma is an environmental health related issue as it is not a disease that is passed on via biological means. Asthma is triggered due to environmental exposures such as cigarette smoke, dust and other air pollutants.

 

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a disease that affects people’s lungs making their airways very sensitive. When they are exposed to certain triggers, their airways become narrow and swollen, making it hard for them to breathe.

There are three main factors that cause the airways to become narrow, which include:

• The inside lining of the airways become red and swollen
• Extra fluid (mucus) is produced which can block the airways
• The muscle around the airways tighten which is called ‘bronchonconstruction’