Signs of asthma in adults. Signs of bronchial asthma (cough form)

Recently, the diagnosis of "asthma" is not so much frightening people. The thing is that new programs in the healthcare sphere use significantly improved strategies for not only diagnosing and preventing, but also treating the disease.

What it is?

Before considering the signs of asthma in adults, you need to understand the concepts. So, what is asthma? First of all it should be said that in translation from the Greek language this word means "heavy breathing", or "shortness of breath". In medical practice, this disease means a chronic disease of the person's airways.

Originally from childhood

Very often asthma occurs in humans in early childhood. The reasons for this can be a variety of: allergic reactions, tobacco smoke, weight loss, etc. Also very interesting is the following information: the disease most often affects boys, children from dysfunctional families and black kids. What are the signs of bronchial asthma in a child?

1. Coughing attacks. They can be quite frequent. Appear regardless of the situation - during the game, sleep, eating, etc.
2. Fast fatigue of the child, decreased activity, lethargy.
3. Babies can complain of chest pain, shortness of breath.
4. When inhaling and exhaling, a child may hear a characteristic whistle.
5. The baby may experience interruptions in breathing.
6. During shortness of breath, the baby's chest can perform reciprocating movements.

If any of the above signs of bronchial asthma are observed in a child, the baby must be shown to the doctor. After all, if this disease can not be cured immediately, it can go on into a chronic form and stay with the child for life.

Types and forms

Considering the signs of asthma in adults, I also want to say that the disease itself has several forms.

1. Atopic asthma. In this case, the leading role is played by the genetic predisposition of a person to this disease.
2. Infectious-allergic asthma. In the same case, the leading role is played by the allergen of the infectious or non-infectious nature.

Some specialists, along with these forms, distinguish two more:

1. Hormonal-dependent form of asthma.
2. Aspirin bronchial asthma.

Stages and course of the disease

In the development of bronchial asthma, physicians distinguish two main stages:

1. The pre-stage stage. In this case, the patient has a certain bronchopulmonary disease (for example, acute bronchitis or pneumonia) with an asthmatic component or bronchial spasm.
2. Clinical manifestation. This stage occurs immediately after the patient has a first attack of suffocation or after the appearance of an asthmatic status.

Well, I want to say a few words about the fact that doctors distinguish three degrees of severity of the disease:

1. Easy leakage. Attacks of the disease occur several times a year (2-3 times). The disease is easily cured by tablet forms of bronchodilators.
2. Average flow. The disease occurs more often, about 3-4 times a year. You can get rid of the symptoms with the help of injections. Attacks of suffocation are more prolonged.
3. Heavy current. The exacerbations are quite frequent, they are stopped only by injection preparations.

About adults

If earlier this disease was more considered childish, today the situation has changed a little. The signs of asthma in adults can appear at any age, from 20 to 50 years. In this case, the disease most often affects women and those people who are more prone to various kinds of allergic reactions than others. Also, doctors distinguish this kind of asthma, both professional and household. The first is due to certain working conditions (for example, dust), the second - as a reaction to household smokers or animal hair. Since asthma is a disease of the broncho-pulmonary system, the disease can arise in the following cases:

1. If the airways swell or become inflamed.
2. If they formed too much mucus.
3. If the airways are narrowed due to a reduction or contraction of the tissues that surround them.

The main symptoms in adults

What are the signs of bronchial asthma in adults?

1. Difficult panting.
2. Acute feeling of lack of air.
3. Frequent cough, which is activated during a night's sleep.
4. Whistling, which can be heard during the breath of a person.
5. A very uncomfortable feeling in the chest, which looks like a squeeze.

Labored breathing

The first signs of bronchial asthma in adults and children are just shortness of breath and shortness of breath. The patient is disturbed by the frequency of breathing, rhythm and depth. Also, a characteristic sign in this case is the elongation of exhalation. This is due to the fact that the breathing passages become narrower, and the person needs more strength to push the air out. In this case, all groups of the shoulder girdle and respiratory muscles are involved. This is why often a patient with asthma can observe the reciprocal movements of the chest.

Cough

Considering the first signs of asthma in adults, it is also worth paying special attention to cough. So, with this disease, this symptom arises regardless of whether the person is sick with a cold or not. The cough itself occurs as a reaction to the irritation of the bronchial mucosa by a variety of substances. Coughing attacks are aimed at removing from the bronchi various bacteria and other foreign substances. Character of cough with bronchial asthma:

1. Dry.
2. Heavy.
3. Paroxysmal.

Often the patient can not cope with the flow of air. This is similar to the fact that a person starts to choke.

What other important signs of asthma are there in adults? So, during the cough, the patient should get sputum. However, this may not happen (most often, events develop if a person "suffocates" from coughing), in which case a small amount of clear liquid is released. Also it must be said that physical stress, laughter, excitement and even too active speech can provoke a cough. Important: for convenience, during an attack of cough, the patient is best placed in a sitting position.

Whistling and wheezing

We further consider the first signs of asthma in adults. So, the patient can also have rattles and whistles, which are listened to during breathing. If the course of the disease is easy, only the person who is diagnosed with bronchial asthma can hear them. As the disease intensifies, wheezing can become more sonorous, they are audible to others. Features of wheezing:

1. Most often occur during active activities, laughter, nervous state.
2. Often there are audible at night during sleep.
3. Accompany the patient at all stages of the disease (however, in this case, their tonality and sonority differ).

Whistling and wheezing - this is the auscultative sign of bronchial asthma. The term "auscultation" means "listening" to the physician of the sounds of the organs of the patient.

Sense of surrender

What are the first signs of asthma in adults? So, it must be said that very often the patient may experience a feeling of tightness in the chest. Patients often say that during exhalation, something seems to compress the chest so tightly that it is simply impossible to get rid of the air that has accumulated in the airways. Most often this condition is accompanied by a panic of the patient. People in this case either freeze in one place, afraid to move, or they start to rush about the room. The best option for this symptom is to relax. Then the attack will pass extremely quickly.

Other symptoms

It is also worth mentioning that there may be completely different signs of bronchial asthma in adults. So, if the cough form of this disease is the most common, that is, its other types. In this case, asthma passes without coughing and shortness of breath. What are its signs in this case?

1. Uneven or intermittent breathing.
2. Noises can be heard during sighs.
3. The patient often experiences apathy, as well as a maximum lack of motor activity.
4. There may be a completely opposite symptom: increased excitability, the inability to focus on one thing.
5. Often, patients have a sleep disorder.

It should be said that these symptoms are most often manifested in children and adolescents. But they are possible in adults. So at the first signs it is best to seek help from a doctor. This is important, since only in this case it is possible to cure the disease in the early stages, not transferring it to the chronic.

Cardiac asthma

In addition to bronchial asthma, there is also cardiac asthma. Many people mistakenly believe that this is one and the same disease. However, it is not. It should be said that the signs of asthma cardiac and bronchial are similar. This is shortness of breath and a feeling of suffocation. But the nature of such conditions is different. If in bronchial asthma this is caused by edema and inflammation of the respiratory tract, then in the case of cardiac asthma the cause is poor atrial and left ventricular work.

Symptoms of cardiac asthma

What signs of cardiac asthma can still be distinguished?

1. The attack usually begins at night. At the same time, there is a feeling of squeezing in the chest.
2. Acute lack of air.
3. Foamy discharge from the mouth may appear (they can also be light pink, small blood inclusions are possible).
4. Shallow and shallow breathing.

Risk groups

Having examined all the signs of bronchial asthma (tussis form), one should also tell about who is primarily affected by this disease. So, in the risk group are the following categories of people:

1. Women who are currently undergoing significant hormonal changes (eg, pregnancy or menopause).
2. Women who have been taking hormone for more than 10 years, such as estrogen.
3. People who have recently suffered one of the viral diseases. For example, sore throats, flu, colds.
4. People who are prone to obesity.
5. Predisposed to allergies, especially those who have allergic reactions to animal hair.
6. Men and women who have this disease can be professional. So, in the risk zone are those who, according to their duty, should be in smoky or dusty premises, in places where there is a lot of fluff, animal hair or constantly there are certain smells (paint, toilet water, etc.).
7. Those who live in the industrial zone.
8. Those who have a genetic predisposition to this disease.

What to do?

If a person observes at least some signs of bronchial asthma (tussis form), it is best to immediately seek help from a doctor. Self-medication can be very dangerous, because if you do not properly treat, you can start the disease to a severe form. And in this case, asthma becomes chronic and already accompanies a person throughout his life. Having addressed to the doctor, it is possible to find out the exact diagnosis and to receive competent treatment.