Asthma Specialist

What is asthma?

Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by inflamed airways and difficulty breathing. In people who have asthma, the air pathways that lead to their lungs (the bronchi and bronchioles) become swollen and produce mucus. This prevents these people from breathing easily.

The condition is as serious as it is common, bringing more than 2 million Americans to the emergency room each year. There’s no cure for asthma, but treatment can make it easier to live with the condition and prevent life-threatening attacks from occurring.

Asthma is common across all age groups. Some men and women develop asthma as adults, and those over the age of 40 are at an elevated risk. Children can also develop asthma, and researchers believe that the rate of childhood asthma is more than twice where it was in 1980.

What’s it like to live with asthma?

Asthma has several primary features:

Airway Obstruction

Asthma tightens the bands of muscle that wrap around your airways, reducing the space for air to move freely to and from your lungs.

Inflammation

Asthma creates inflammation in your bronchial tubes. Swollen airways make it difficult to breathe properly, and place undue strain on your lungs.

Irritable Airways

Asthma is marked by highly sensitive airways that overreact to a wide variety of triggers. Irritability can lead to an asthma attack within a very brief period of time.

When these three elements converge quickly, breathing becomes incredibly difficult and an asthma attack occurs. These attacks can be life-threatening for some.

What are asthma triggers?

Asthma triggers are substances or actions that bring on symptoms of asthma. Some common triggers include:

• Dust mites
• Smoke
• Colds and other infections
• Strong odors
• Certain medications
• Exercise
• Changes in weather
• Strong emotions, both positive and negative

Identifying your asthma triggers is key to managing the disease and remaining healthy.

How is an asthma attack treated?

If you suffer an asthma attack, it’s important to remain calm. Once you arrive at Cermak Immediate Care, the team will ask you questions about your current treatment plan, as well as what caused the attack.

Treatment efforts focus on increasing your ability to breathe more freely. Steroid injections work to swiftly reduce inflammation. These injections act in a similar manner as inhaled corticosteroids but deliver a higher concentration of medication into your bloodstream.

Nebulizer treatments can also help. A nebulizer is a piece of medical equipment that converts medication into a mist or vapor. This allows you to breathe the medications deep within your lungs, where they work to reduce inflammation.    

Left untreated, an asthma attack can be life-threatening. If you or a loved one is experiencing an attack, visit Cermak Immediate Care immediately.