Is it asthma?

  Asthma - signs and detection - information

If you or a loved one has symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, a feeling of tightness in the chest and a feeling of not being able to breathe, and these signs appear suddenly, you may wonder, ’is it asthma?’ Of course, only a qualified physician can properly diagnose any type o illness. However, the doctor needs information about symptoms, when these symptoms occur as well as how severe the symptoms is and how long it lasts from onset to the time the symptom completely goes away. Without the facts, even the best physician is working in the dark.

When you report to the physician breathing difficulties, you’ll want to include any specific times of the year or situations in which the symptoms appear most frequently. Any signs of a cold that seems to lodge in the chest and lasts for ten days or longer should be reported. Anything that seems to improve symptoms or make them worse should also be included in the discussion with the health care professional.

Your doctor will probably ask if you there is a family history of asthma. He may also inquire whether allergies seem to run in your family. The doctor will listen to your breathing in and out through a stethoscope to listen for signs of asthma.

A test to measure how much air you can blow out from your longs from a single deep breath will probably be measured. This same test measures how fast you can exhale all the air in your lungs. This is done with a spirometer and this is not a painful test. This provides many clues for your doctor to learn so he or she can determine if it is asthma causing the respiratory problems. If you learn that you do have asthma, this test will probably be repeated from time to time so the doctor can assess you condition.

The spirometer may be used in another test performed by your doctor when learning if it is asthma. This test involves using medication that opens the air passages so that the doctor can see whether the amount of air you can breathe has changed significantly from the previous test where no medication was used.

These tests using a spirometer can not be performed with children that are age five or under. For children, the doctor may determine that medication should be prescribed and the child’s condition assessed to learn if there is improvement in order to determine if it is asthma.

Your physician may wish to perform additional testing or use different tests to reach a diagnosis as to whether you have asthma, allergies or something else entirely. A test of your lung capacity after exercise may be performed

Is it asthma? The only way your medical practitioner can determine this is with your help and cooperation. Obtaining an accurate diagnosis is the important first step to controlling and managing asthma effectively. A person with asthma can live a happy, productive life by learning about their disease and implementing techniques to prevent asthma attacks.

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Asthma.

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