Asthma - Types & Symptoms

Nearly 15 million Americans are suffering from a chronicle inflammatory airway desease that makes breathing very difficult. Among the 15 million affected, a whopping 5 million are children. This chronicle airway desease is known as "Asthma" in medical terms. Asthma spares none, whether a child or an adult. When an Asthma attack strikes, person suffers from uncontrollable continuous coughing, neck muscles straining, distended chest, and eyes showing alarm verging on panic. It makes inhaling of oxygen very difficult for the person. When an Asthma attack strikes, the patient puts a tube like device in his mouth and inhales twice. The patient is instantly relieved and within a couple of minutes, his breathing returns back to normal and the patient can carry forward his normal daily activities as usual. But he doesn't know, when the next attack will strike, within a couple of hours or a couple of months.

TYPES OF ASTHMA Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by recurrent attacks of wheezing and shortness of breath. It occurs 50% more often in children under age 10, where the girls have outnumbered boys. In adult-onset asthma, it has been found that women are generally more affected than men. There are 7 broad types of Asthma, which are as follow:

* Extrinsic Asthma * Intrinsic Asthma * Exercise-Induced Asthma * Intermittent Asthma * Nocturnal Asthma * Chronic Asthma * Seasonal Asthma

ASTHMA SYMPTOMS Difficulty in breathing and continuous uncontrollable coughing are the main symptoms of Asthma that results due to the airway swelling. But if we have a broader look; chest tightness, wheezing upon breathing out, coughing specially at night with thick yellow or clear sputum occasionally, high difficulty in breathing, strain in neck muscles, and shallow breathing that eases up with sitting are the main symptoms of asthma. As with an asthma attack, oxygen supply gets very low so symptoms that reflect the lack of oxygen in the body, also appears. These symptoms are blue skin, exhaustion, grunting respiration, inability to speak, and mental changes such as restlessness, helplessness, and confusion. There are some symptoms that make Asthma worse. These are the conditions Rhinitis and Sinusitis. Rhinitis is the inflammation of nose lining and Sinusitis is the inflammation of sinus cavities, which normally happens after a viral, bacterial or a fungal infection.