Facts You Need To Know About Asthma
Breathing is something we usually never think about when it happens naturally but when you have trouble breathing it is the only thing you think of.
Normally, your airways are clear and air can flow in and out easily. Asthma is a condition that causes the airways to become swollen causing trouble breathing. You usually get an attack when your airway comes in contact with an allergen or irritant that could be pollen, dust, smoke, etc.
The smooth muscles around the bronchioles of breathing tubes in our lungs begin to tighten and become swollen causing difficulty in the flow of air and causing trouble breathing. The mucus glands that line the bronchioles secretes a thick mucus that causes the opening to further narrow producing a wheezing sound as the air moves in And out of the lungs. When this is severe it can cause an asthma attack.
Approximately 20 million people in India suffer from asthma and one of the most common causes are allergies.
Although asthma is a completely controllable and treatable disease, about 10 percent of asthmatics continue to suffer despite the treatment. All the asthma medications these days are in the inhaled route and many a time there is a problem in taking the inhaler properly. After optimizing the therapies and giving them the right medicines in the right dosages and through the right route and checking her compliance and the technique as for how to use it, some patients still do not seem to recover fully. This is perhaps because of the severe exposures to their allergies which are from their environment.
Allergies are one of the most common causes of asthma and another treatment that can be used is immunotherapy. Allergic Asthma is caused by allergens on the top which the person is allergic to. Once it gets introduced into the environment by inhalation it goes and sets up an allergic response in the lungs.
This response is primarily through the IGE antibody which is mediating this allergic response and to make an immunotherapy we need to make a blocking antibody which is IGG against the same allergen. So over a period of time when the IGG levels rise to the extent where once the allergen enters the circulation, instead of the IGE, it is the IGG which is encountered and that immediately blocks it and does not allow the allergic response to occur. So it is basically trying to fool the body by making it immune by the other antibody which is not producing the allergic response.
We now have immunotherapy in the form of tablets and more research is underway to research their effectiveness. Although there is no complete cure for asthma but with medicines and treatments at immunotherapy the symptoms can be controlled. Always remember to consult your doctor before stopping your asthma medicines even if you feel better as an asthma attack can happen anytime.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information.
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