When you have asthma symptoms such as coughing, recurrent wheezing, chest tightness, and troubled breathing, you should visit an asthma doctor to tell you whether you are suffering from the condition and what you should do to manage it.

How can doctors tell you have asthma? Well, they usually do a battery of tests to tell how well your lungs are working. Some of these tests include:

Spirometry

This is the main asthma test for people over 5 years. To tell whether you have asthma, the doctors will give you a tube connected to a spirometer. You should forcibly breathe in and out of the tube, and the spirometer will record the volume of air you exhale and how fast you do it.

Depending on your age, the doctor will determine whether you have asthma based on the volume of air you exhale. For example, if you have asthma, you will exhale at lower levels than normal as asthma has narrowed your airways.

If the doctor feels your airways have been compromised, he will tell you to take an asthma drug to open the passages then repeat the test. If your exhaled air is better the second time, you will be said to be suffering from asthma.

Challenge test

If the doctor undertakes the spirometer tests and the results are normal or near-normal, your doctor can try to trigger the asthma symptoms by asking you to inhale a product that causes the airways to narrow like the people suffering from asthma. One of the most common products that the doctor will ask you to inhale is methacholine.

The doctor can also ask you to jump on a stationary bike or jump around to determine whether your asthma is exercise-induced.

After taking the airways narrowing product or exercising, the doctor will ask you to undertake a spirometry test, and if your spirometry measurements are normal, chances are you don’t have asthma.

On the other hand, if the measurements fall significantly, you most likely have asthma.

Exhaled nitric oxide test

Here you breathe into a tube connected to a machine that measures the amount of nitric oxide gas in your breath. It’s normal for the body to release nitric oxide, but when you breathe extremely high levels, it means that your airways might be inflamed, which is a sign of asthma.

Asthma testing in children

Like adults, children can have asthma, and the doctor can help to know whether they are truly suffering from the condition.

In most cases, doctors don’t do lung tests in children under 5 years of age. Instead, they rely on the child’s signs and symptoms, physical examination and medical history.

If the doctor inspects the child and suspects they might have asthma, they prescribe a bronchodilator to open up the airways. If the child’s signs and symptoms improve after using the bronchodilator, they might be having asthma.

Allergy tests

Although allergy tests won’t help diagnose asthma, they help the doctor tell whether you have any form of allergies that might worsen your existing asthma.

Sometimes when you have allergies, you might be confusing it for asthma, so by the doctor testing the allergies and ruling them out, he can concentrate on testing whether you have allergies.

If you have both allergies and asthma, the allergy doctor Manassas VA will give you medicals to control the allergies to have an easier time managing asthma.

Other tests that the doctor can use

Besides the above tests, the doctor can use plenty of other tests to determine whether you have asthma. These tests include:

Sinus CT scans
Blood tests
X-ray or computerized tomography
Gastroesophageal reflux assessment
Phlegm examination in the lungs

Millions of people smoke, despite the potential health risk it brings. More so, it can be more dangerous for those with asthma. For those with asthma symptoms, it is best to take asthma treatments as prescribed by the best allergist in your area.

It is said that tobacco smoke is one of the most common asthma triggers, among a few. Tobacco smoke can irritate the airways and produce mucus in the lungs. It also weakens the power of cilia, tiny hairs found in the lungs that help get rid of the excess mucus out of our airways. A weakened cilium means the person can be more prone and at higher risk of asthma symptoms.

Facts about asthma and smoking

As mentioned, millions of people around the world smoke. It can be in a form of tobacco or vape. Surprisingly, more than 20 percent of people suffering from asthma still smoke cigarettes. This is even though smoking can worsen their asthma symptoms. An allergist would also strongly advise against smoking, more so if you have asthma.

Other facts about the link between smoking and asthma are the following.

Tobacco smoke is the second most common cause of asthma attacks. Symptoms can also be severe for smokers with severe asthma.
It is estimated that there are about 1,300 deaths that occur daily due to smoking.
Second-hand smoke is more dangerous than smoking first-hand.

So if you have asthma and still smoke, you might want to reconsider putting that tobacco in your mouth. Quitting is an option, but it will be a long journey. You can also consult an allergy doctor to help manage your asthma symptoms.

Is vaping a better choice than smoking tobacco?

More and more people are using vape as they believe it is a “lesser evil” smoking option. Also known as e-cigarettes, vaping involves inhaling and exhaling vapor through an electronic smoking device. Unlike regular smoking, vaping comes in different flavors or “juices”, which makes it irresistible among the younger demographics.

Vaping devices also come in different forms such as pens and even screwdrivers. These have refillable cartridges which turn into an aerosol that you can inhale and exhale. But is vaping a safer smoking option than tobacco smoking, you might ask?

Unfortunately, vaping is also no good, especially in the long term. For one, studies have shown that prolonged use of vape puts you at a higher risk of contracting chronic bronchitis and worsen your asthma. The risk is way higher if you smoke vape and tobacco cigarettes.

Another study by the American Academy of Pediatrics reveals that young teenagers who vape are most likely to shift to regular cigarettes later on. Using e-cigs can help you stay clean from tobacco cigarettes. However, experts including your allergy physician do not support these so-called claims.

E-cigarettes also contain nicotine which is addictive but highly dangerous to health in the long run. Some studies also reveal finding formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, which can cause cancer, in e-cigarettes. More so, it can trigger asthma and even make it worse.

Staying away from smoking

If you have asthma, it is best to stay away from all kinds of cigarettes. Secondhand smoke can also cause danger to your health – twice or thrice the danger, it is. Speaking of secondhand smoke, a lot of people often don’t mind being with a smoker. They think that it won’t harm them since they are not the one smoking in the first place.

However, secondhand smoking can be worse from regular smoking. More so, it can be more dangerous especially for small children. If you want to have a second lease in life and prevent asthma attacks, quit smoking. Here are ways to stay away from the dangers of smoking.

Lessen exposure to secondhand smoke as much as possible, or none at all.
If you have asthma and want to eat in restaurants, check if there is a “non-smoking” area. Better yet, avoid dining in restaurants that allow smoking.
Quit smoking for your children. Kids suffering from asthma are twice as more likely to end up in hospitals due to asthma attacks.

Conclusion

There are a lot of reasons to quit smoking. For one, it will improve your respiratory health. It will also lessen the risk of asthma attacks and other respiratory diseases. There are also other ways to de-stress, not just smoking. If experiencing asthma symptoms, make sure to get the asthma treatments that you need. Contact the best asthma doctor in Manassas VA

Tag Archives: asthma and allergies

How Can Doctors Tell If You Have Asthma?