Asthma Specialist

What is asthma?

Asthma is a condition that causes your airway to swell, narrow, and produce excess mucus. When you have an asthma attack, it can be incredibly difficult to breathe, and it can make you cough and wheeze uncontrollably. 

What are the symptoms of asthma?

Some of the symptoms of asthma include:

• Coughing or wheezing attacks
• Chest pain or tightness
• Shortness of breath

Asthma symptoms are highly variable from person to person. Some people have attacks very infrequently, while others have them quite often. Some people show symptoms all the time, while others only have issues in particular circumstances or situations.

What causes asthma?

It’s not exactly clear what causes asthma, and why some people have it and others don’t. Some of the conditions that can make you more likely to have asthma include:

• Genetic predisposition, or having a blood relative with asthma
• Having allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, or other allergic conditions
• Overexposure to pollution and exhaust fumes
• Being overweight

If you have asthma, your condition is likely prone to certain triggers. Some of the common asthma triggers include:

• Cold air
• Physical activity
• Respiratory infections like the common cold
• Stress and other strong emotions
• Medications, like certain beta-blockers and pain relievers
• Certain sulfites and preservatives, like those in shrimp and dried fruit

In the majority of young and middle-aged people, asthma is allergy-induced and triggered by exposure to certain allergens, like pet dander, cockroach waste, mold spores, or pollen.

How is asthma diagnosed?

The team at Suburban Allergy Consultants performs a number of different evaluations to determine whether you have asthma.

They take your health history (including your family’s health history), perform a physical exam, and administer pulmonary function tests, or breathing tests. In one such breathing test, spirometry, you blow into a device that measures the speed of your airflow. 

The practice also offers in-house lung function testing and can test for exhaled nitric oxide, which measures any inflammation in your lungs. They also provide rhinolaryngoscopy, which enables them to make sure that your condition is actually asthma and not an anatomical issue with your vocal cords.

The allergy specialists at Suburban Allergy Consultants are uniquely suited to diagnose and treat asthma since allergies most often cause asthma. Identifying your particular allergens can help you reduce the need for asthma medications and unwanted side effects, and can help keep your asthma under control and keep you out of the emergency room.

How is asthma treated?

There is no cure for asthma, but you can reduce the severity of its symptoms. Breathing exercises can help increase your lung capacity and reinforce your breathing during attacks, while rescue treatments like inhalers can provide you with quick relief when you're in the midst of an attack. Long-term treatment, like immunotherapy, can also help reduce your asthma symptoms

Schedule your asthma consultation with Suburban Allergy Consultants by phone today or request one using the online booking tool.