what is asthma

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What is Asthma?
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• Asthma is a condition that inspires fear and
  anxiety, when in fact, theres nothing to worry
  about. Simply put, asthma is a breathing problem
  that affects the airways in the lungs. 
• What happens is that the airways react to certain
  substances, known as irritants and become
  inflamed and narrow making make breathing
  difficult. 

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Theres no need to hold yourself back from
having a normal, active life
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Asthma Triggers

• A trigger is anything from dust mites to
  deodorants that irritates the airways. It can
  cause the airways to become narrow and inflamed,
  leading to asthma symptoms.
• Avoiding triggers, if possible, can help to
  control asthma.

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 Some of the Common Triggers are

• It is important to remember that everyones
  asthma is different, and therefore their triggers
  tend to be different as well. 
• Dust mites  Mites that thrive in dust on
  mattresses, curtains, and soft toys
• Cigarette smoke and air pollutants  Irritants in
  the air, such as smoke, chemical / exhaust fumes,
  strong odours from room fresheners /
  deodorants and cleaning products

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• Pollen  Pollens from grass, trees and weeds
• Pets  Pet hair, feathers, fur and even saliva
• Occupational triggers Wood coal dust,
  chemicals, metal salts, paint airborne dust in
  mines etc.

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• Viral and bacterial infections  Common cold and
  sinusitis
• Medication  Certain medicines, e.g. aspirin,
  some blood pressure drugs
• Strong Emotions  Stress and high emotions, such
  as crying

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Asthma Symptoms

• Its very easy to recognise the symptoms of
  asthma. The common symptoms of asthma are
• Shortness of breath or Breathlessness You feel
  like you cant get enough air in or out of your
  lungs, and find it especially difficult to
  breathe out.
• Wheezing You hear a whistling sound every time
  you breathe out.

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• Frequent or persistent cough You have a cough
  that doesnt go away for many days, and you find
  that you often cough at night or after
  exercising.
• Tightness in the chest You get a tight feeling
  in the chest, like someone is squeezing or
  sitting on your chest.

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Asthma Diagnosis

• There is no single test to diagnose asthma.
  However, thats no reason to worry because your
  doctor can decide if you have asthma based on
  talking to you, examining you and performing some
  breathing tests.
• It is important to give your doctor accurate
  information about your symptoms, medication,
  allergies and other health related problems you
  may be facing.

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Asthma Diagnosis

• While most diagnoses are based on medical
  history, your doctor may also recommend breathing
  tests, to be completely sure of the problem and
  treatment to be given.
• Peak-flow test
• If youre having symptoms suggestive of asthma,
  your doctor may do a peak flow test to see how
  open your airways are. The peak flow test (peak
  expiratory flow test or PEF) measures how fast
  you can breathe out

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• Spirometry test
• After knowing your symptoms and examination, if
  the doctor suspects that you have asthma he/she
  may conduct a spirometry test to know how well
  your lungs work.
• The spirometry test is carried out using a
  machine called a spirometer. It measures how much
  air you breathe in, how much you breathe out and
  how quickly you breathe out. The results appear
  as values and a graph.
• For more information read

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