A Review on Chronic Inflammation and Narrowing of the Airways
Chronic airway inflammation is among the most common reasons patients seek medical treatment. This condition, also called Duluth asthma, causes shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing, which hinders the patient’s quality of life. Various factors may predispose you to asthma. For example, this condition mostly presents itself during childhood due to underlying conditions such as hay fever and eczema. Your doctor will conduct necessary diagnostic tests to determine predispositions to the disease and develop an appropriate management plan to address your concerns and restore your wellness.
What causes asthma?
Multiple causes of asthma could explain your condition. Diagnostic protocols are significant in managing asthma because they recognize the underlying causes of your concerns and thus help your doctor develop evidence-based practices that will guarantee desired treatment outcomes.
One of the main risk factors influencing asthma presentation is genetic predisposition. Your doctor will conduct a comprehensive review of your family history to recognize the presence of the disease that may predispose you to the health concern. It would be wise to collaborate with a family doctor who will easily access your family’s medical history to appreciate your risk and thus start emergency intervention to prevent or treat your condition.
Another risk factor that increases your vulnerability to developing asthma is exposure to tobacco smoke or other inflammatory gases which jeopardize your health, specifically your respiratory system. The following are other triggers of asthma complications:
- Respiratory allergens like dust
- Viral respiratory tract infections
- Vigorous exercise
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease
- Chronic sinusitis
- Use of aspirin, beta-blockers
- Insects, plants, chemical fumes
- Obesity
Reviewing the pathophysiology of asthma
Asthma causes acute symptoms. Your condition may be reversible depending on your speed of getting medical assistance. The pathological process of this airway inflammation begins upon exposure to an environmental irritant, for example, tobacco smoke. Following exposure to asthmatic triggers, the next step is bronchial hypersensitivity which causes airway inflammation. This step may also include increased mucus production, which causes significant airway limitations.
It is important to seek emergency medical intervention for airway obstruction to promote clinical efficiencies. This concern may become irreversible because of basement membrane thickening or smooth muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia.
How do doctors treat asthma?
The treatment and management of asthma depend on the severity of your concerns. The following are the most common treatment and management approaches doctors recommend to address asthmatic concerns:
- Conservative Measures: This approach involves getting away from the source of allergen, weight reduction for obese patients, monoclonal antibody therapy to decrease histamine production, and bronchial thermoplasty to reduce airway narrowing.
- Medical management includes bronchodilators like beta-2 agonists, muscarinic antagonists, and anti-inflammatories such as inhaled steroids.
- Severe and life-threatening asthma can benefit from management practices, including high-flow oxygen inhalation, mechanical ventilation, and systemic steroids.
- The following are long-term treatments for chronic asthma: weight loss, avoiding smoking, occupational change, and self-monitoring. Long-term treatments focus on limiting disease development and reducing the number of acute attacks.
Early involvement in your emergency care team consultation will help to reduce mortality. Contact Allergy and Asthma Institute, LLC for an accurate asthma diagnosis and begin appropriate treatment to restore your respiratory health.
