Asthma Specialist

What is asthma?

Asthma is a chronic disorder affecting the airways in your lungs. If you have asthma, the walls of these airways become swollen and inflamed, which makes them highly sensitive.

The increased sensitivity means your tissues might develop an extreme response to irritants, swelling even more than usual. The cells in your airways start to produce thicker mucus, which, together with the inflammation and tightening muscles, limits how much air you can breathe.

If you have a severe asthma attack, you might have dangerous constriction of your airways, meaning your vital organs become starved of oxygen.

What are the symptoms of an asthma attack?

Typical symptoms of an asthma attack include:

• Wheezing
• Coughing
• Chest tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Faster breathing rate
• Difficulty talking

Symptoms can range from mild during one asthma attack to potentially life-threatening on another occasion.

Who gets asthma?

Asthma affects people of all ages, but usually develops during childhood. Boys are more likely to have asthma than girls, although this trend reverses in adulthood, with women having asthma more than men.

There's no way of predicting who develops asthma, but certain risk factors exist, such as:

Heredity

If people in your family have asthma or suffer from hay fever (allergic rhinitis) or eczema, there's a greater risk of you developing asthma.

Age

Asthma is the most common type of chronic health condition among children and youth under 18. Asthma sometimes improves or disappears in adulthood.

Smoking

Smokers are more likely to have adult asthma than nonsmokers. Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of asthma for children.

What triggers an asthma attack?

Typical irritants that trigger asthma attacks include:

• Smoke
• Pet dander
• Pollen
• Mold
• Cleaning products
• Dust mites
• Exercise
• Air pollution
• Weather

Living in an urban area where you’re exposed to pollution and smog can also trigger asthma attacks.

The allergy and asthma physicians at Atlanta ENT, Sinus & Allergy Associates, P.C. can help you identify your asthma triggers and work toward reducing the severity and frequency of your asthma attacks.

What treatment options are there for asthma?

There's no cure for asthma, but you or your child can control the condition with medication.

Atlanta ENT, Sinus & Allergy Associates, P.C. provides two types of asthma medications. Quick-relief treatment typically involves using an inhaler containing medication, which you breathe in during an asthma attack to improve airflow.

Long-term control medicines are ones you take every day to help prevent symptoms and asthma attacks.

You could also benefit from a range of newer drugs called biologics. These are extracts from living tissues that target antibodies and other cells responsible for allergic inflammation.

Find out more about successful asthma management by calling Atlanta ENT, Sinus & Allergy Associates, P.C. today or book an appointment online.