Asthma is a perfectly treatable disease that, if left untreated, can become crippling. It is a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract, in which the bronchi, when subjected to various stimuli, whether allergenic or not, become inflamed, causing shortness of breath, a dry cough and a feeling of tightness in the chest

Depending on the level of the disease, these symptoms may only be annoying or worrying and, in some cases, may even be life-threatening for the patient, requiring access to the emergency room.

What are the causes of asthma and what factors can trigger it?

Asthma has various causes.

Generally, this abnormal reactivity of the airways is caused by allergenic, immunological or physical agents.

In some patients, for example, bronchospasm is triggered by drastic changes in temperature or humidity, or during the pollen season or exposure to mould.

Even a perfume can trigger a sudden crisis because, in the case of bronchial hyper-reactivity, the stimulus, if not controlled by therapy, can arrive at any time.

Tests for the diagnosis of asthma

The diagnosis of bronchial asthma is not clinical, i.e. it does not depend only on what the specialist hears when examining the patient with the phonendoscope, and it is not only subjective, i.e. it cannot be based only on the symptoms reported by the patient.

It is a functional diagnosis and the standard test for the diagnosis is the respiratory function test with the bronchodilation test, or, for a third level diagnosis, the broncho-constriction test with methacholine.

It is then necessary to understand what kind of pathology the patient has by investigating the stimuli responsible for bronchospasm in the immune system.

Read Also:

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Asthma, The Disease That Takes Your Breath Away

Source:

Humanitas