World Asthma Day 2018: Warning signs and symptoms for Asthma, cause and treatments

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World Asthma Day 2018: Warning signs and symptoms for Asthma, cause and treatments
World Asthma Day 2018: Warning signs and symptoms for Asthma, cause and treatments

New Delhi : World Asthma Day is an annual event that organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to improve asthma awareness and care around the world. World Asthma Day takes place on the first Tuesday of May.

This year’s World Asthma Day theme is “NEVER TOO EARLY, NEVER TOO LATE. It’s always the right time to address airways disease.” The theme provides a call to action for both patients and healthcare providers worldwide to evaluate symptoms regardless of the timepoint in one’s life they may occur and take actions to ensure that the asthma is controlled. 

World Asthma Day celebration was first started celebrating in the year 1998 by the GINA in more than 35 countries after its first “World Asthma Meeting” in the Barcelona, Spain.

According to WHO estimates, 235 million people suffer from asthma, which can cause wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. Although asthma cannot be cured, it is possible to control asthma to reduce and prevent asthma attacks, also called episodes.1 In the United States, approximately half of people with asthma had at least one asthma attack in 2012. More children (55%) than adults (49%) had an attack.

Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children. Asthma is not just a public health problem for high income countries: it occurs in all countries regardless of level of development. Over 80% of asthma deaths occurs in low and lower-middle income countries. Asthma is under-diagnosed and under-treated, creating a substantial burden to individuals and families and possibly restricting individuals’ activities for a lifetime. 

Asthma attacks cause adults to miss work and children to miss school. These dangerous and sometimes life-threatening episodes reduce the quality of life for people with asthma. The good news is that we can raise awareness about asthma and how it can be controlled.

People with asthma can prevent asthma attacks if they learn how to avoid asthma triggers like tobacco smoke, mold, outdoor air pollution, and colds and flu. Asthma episodes can also be prevented by using inhaled corticosteroids and other prescribed daily long-term control medicines correctly. 

What are the common symptoms of asthma?

The most common signs and symptoms of asthma are:

Wheezing

Coughing, especially at night, during exercise or when laughing

Shortness of breath

Tightness in the chest

Any asthma symptom is serious and can become deadly if left untreated. If you’re experiencing one or more of these symptoms, follow your Asthma Action Plan and contact your doctor if necessary.

DANGER SIGNS of asthma attack

Bluish, gray or dusky color to lips and nail beds

Trouble walking

Trouble talking, can't speak in whole sentences

Skin between ribs or above breastbone sucks in when breathing

Fast heartbeat or pulse

Peak flow reading in the Red Zone

Nostrils flare when breathing

Quick-relief medications do not work

What causes asthma symptoms?

Asthma symptoms may be triggered by exposure to an allergen such as ragweed, pollen, animal dander or dust mites, irritants in the air such as smoke, chemical fumes or strong odors or extreme weather conditions. It is possible that your asthma symptoms can be caused by allergic and non-allergic triggers, which means you can have both allergic and non-allergic asthma.

What is Asthma Treatments?

Asthma medications can save your life -- and let you live an active life in spite of your asthma. There are two basic types of drugs used in asthma treatment:

Steroids and Other Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

Anti-inflammatory drugs, particularly inhaled steroids, are the most important treatment for most people with asthma. These lifesaving medications prevent asthma attacks. 

Watch full video of common symptoms of asthma