Though we know the factors or allergens that trigger asthma (a chronic inflammation disease of the airways) but determining its causes is not possible.
It can occur due to food, chemicals, air pollutants, or may be because of drugs and if unattended it may lead to asthma attack, when severe this calls for emergency care or sometimes leads to death.
So, the wise thing is to find out the risk factors associated with asthma if any of your loved ones suffer from this medical condition because only proper diagnosis can best aid with the treatment.
To know the nature of asthma a person is suffering from and there are various tests conducted for optimal diagnosis of which Lung Function Test and Allergy Test are very prominent.
The former is done to analyse the performance of lungs while the latter helps in finding allergens causing asthma in a person.
In addition, chest X-ray and arterial blood gas analysis are also performed to know the severity of this chronic disorder.
Whoever has the symptoms or diagnosed with asthma, peak flow meter is a must-to-own medical equipment as it lets you know how well your lungs function whether you are under the risk of an asthma attack.
When you blow air into this device it measures how quickly you can blow air out of your lungs.
Based on the values you can learn whether your breathing is proper, you have symptoms of asthma flare-up, or you need help right away.
Speaking about the asthma treatment, it is a world-known fact that this medical condition cannot be cured, but with proper management one can lead a peaceful life without the risk of flare-up (or attack).
There are two types of medications used to treat asthma; long acting and quick relief.
Corticosteroids, bronchodilators, leukotriene inhibitors, and aminophylline fall under the first type and are preferred to prevent attacks.
Quick relief medications, as the name goes, are opted for immediate relief during an attack, and the various fast-acting medications include Proventil or Ventolin (for opening up the airways) and methylprednisolone (to reduce inflammation).
Coming to delivery methods, metered-dose inhalers along with an asthma spacer are widely used for the purpose, and also nebulizers that turns liquid medicine into mist are often utilised for delivering medication to the lungs.
More than anything else self care is vital to prolong the symptom-free period and a home air filtration system can be best aid in this.