Identify the trigger for your asthma, advise doctors

Experts also rue stigma attached to ailment, fear of inhalers among patients

As the world observes Asthma Day on Tuesday, doctors have cautioned patients of delay in diagnosis and failing to identify their triggers. 

Asthma is a condition in which the airways narrow and get inflamed, making it difficult to breathe. 

What worsens the condition of patients is exposure to outdoor and indoor triggers like dust, pollution and fungus.

“It is extremely important for the patients to know their triggers and devise ways to avoid them,” a Dr.  said. 

She said in any household, dust and fungus accumulated in wet areas like bathrooms or kitchens, beds and pillows can be the triggers for most patients. “This tells us that cleanliness is extremely important. Also, one may take additional precautions like use of wet mop for dusting instead of dry dusting, washing of bed linen in warm water and drying in the sun, and so on,” she said.

Experts said some patients may have food allergies that trigger their asthma, while others may react to cockroaches or pet dander. Asthma medication is mainly to control or relieve symptoms, and is administered in a ‘stepped care model’. Depending on the patient’s condition and exposure to the triggers, the medication may be stepped up or stepped down.

Experts say that even today, there is a significant stigma attached to asthma, especially with the use of inhalers. “Patients, mainly women, don’t want to use inhalers at all. Young patients fear that use of inhalers may cause a problem with their marriage or job prospects. They insist on oral medication instead,” a pulmonologist and intensivist said. “Inhalers are safe as they help to take the medication directly to the airways instead of the bloodstream. We have to explain this to the patients,” he said.
Market research carried out by drug maker Cipla covering 1,000 patients and 700 people from the general population had also shown similar findings. Only 8% who were aware used inhalers and 29% patients feared addiction from using them. 

“It is not just the perception of patients, some doctors who don’t specialise in respiratory illnesses misinform patients that they may get dependent on inhalers,” the Dr. said, adding that ignorance or delay in proper treatment leads to hospitalisation, and in worse cases, some patients even need to be put on ventilator support.

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Asthma 'cure in 5 years' - Scientists discover whatcauses condition

Asthma could be cured within five years after scientists discovered what causes the condition and how to switch it off.

In a breakthrough which could change the lives of Britain's five million sufferers, researchers at Cardiff University and Kings College London identified which cells cause the airways to narrow when triggered by irritants like pollution.

Crucially, drugs already exist which can deactivate the cells. They are known as calcilytics and are used to treat people with osteoporosis.

 The scientists are hopeful that in the future asthmatics take the drug to prevent an attack ever happening and ending the need to constantly carry an inhaler.

"Our findings are incredibly exciting," said Prof. Daniela Riccardi, from Cardiff University School of Biosciences.

"If we can prove that calcilytics are safe when administered directly to the lung in people, then in five years we could be in a position to treat patients and potentially stop asthma from happening in the first place."

Asthma is a debilitating long-term condition which can cause coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and breathlessness. Although inhalers can manage the problem, some people do not respond to current treatments.

Scientists knew that asthma was caused by inflammation in the small tubes which carry air and out of the lungs, but did not know what was triggering it.

However experiments on mice and human airway tissue found that calcium sensing receptor (CaSR ) cells - which detect changes in the environment - go into overdrive in asthmatics, triggering airway twitching, inflammation, and narrowing.

But when calcilytic drugs are inhaled, it deactivates the cells and stops all symptoms.

Dr Samantha Walker, director of research and policy at Asthma UK, who helped fund the research, said: "This hugely exciting discovery enables us, for the first time, to tackle the underlying causes of asthma symptoms.

"Five per cent of people with asthma don't respond to current treatments so research breakthroughs could be life changing for hundreds of thousands of people."
 THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.








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