Читать книгу Asthma-Free Naturally: Everything you need to know about taking control of your asthma онлайн | страница 11

♦ Chest tightness

Trapped air in the lungs generates a feeling that the chest is over inflated. This is often described as someone squeezing or sitting on one’s chest.

♦ Frequent yawning

When asthma symptoms are at their worst, sleep is interrupted by difficult periods of breathing which contributes to tiredness.

Non-asthmatics can, of course, observe these symptoms, but they will not appreciate the feelings of tension, panic, uncertainty and helplessness which accompany them, particularly when the asthmatic struggles to breathe. If you are not an asthmatic, imagine trying to breathe while a pillow is being pressed firmly over your face. That feeling you imagine is the feeling someone with asthma has during an attack. In your case, the imaginary pillow can be easily removed to allow you to breathe effortlessly; for an asthmatic, the remedy is not so simple.

Given the variety of symptoms and their severity, diagnosing a condition that has no commonly accepted definition is not an exact science. Many asthma symptoms are also the symptoms of other conditions, such as chronic bronchitis or bronchiectasis, for example. Diagnosis has to take into account the chronic nature of asthma and the constriction of the airways due to inflammation by various cells and chemicals. Generally, diagnosis of asthma is based on the following factors.

♦ History of the patient

This includes establishing if the patient has experienced asthma symptoms while at rest, during exercise or after exposure to a known trigger.

♦ Lung function tests

The peak flow meter measures the maximum speed at which the patient can exhale air in one second. A person with asthma usually produces a lower reading, and, generally speaking, a more inconsistent range of results than a person who doesn’t suffer from the condition. Spirometry measures both the speed and volume of air which is exhaled with each breath, thereby providing additional airway obstruction information.

♦ Effect of reliever or steroidal medication