Asthma: Symptoms, Causes and Natural Remedies

About Asthma

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your airways, which are the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways are inflamed (swollen). The inflammation makes the airways very sensitive, and they tend to react strongly to things to which you are allergic or find irritating.

When the airways react, they get narrower and less air flows through to your lung tissues. This causes symptoms like wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing.

Symptoms of Asthma

Common asthma symptoms include:

• Coughing.Coughing from asthma is often worse at night or early in the morning, making it hard to sleep.
• Wheezing.Wheezing is a whistling or squeaky sound when you breathe.
• Chest tightness.This can feel like something is squeezing or sitting on your chest.
• Shortness of breath.Some people say they can't catch their breath, or they feel breathless or out of breath. You may feel like you can't get enough air in or out of your lungs.
• Faster breathing or noisy breathing.

It is not clear exactly what makes the airways of people with asthma inflamed in the first place. Your inflamed airways may be due to a combination of things. We know that if other people in your family have asthma, you are more likely to develop it. New research suggests exposures early in your life (like tobacco smoke, infections, and some allergens) may be important.

There are things that can make asthma symptoms worse and lead to asthma attacks. Some of the more common things that can worsen your asthma symptoms are exercise, allergens, irritants, and viral infections. Some people only have asthma with exercise or a viral infection. The lists below give some examples of things that can worsen asthma symptoms.

Allergens

• Animal dander (from the skin, hair, or feathers of animals)
• Dust mites (contained in house dust)
• Cockroaches
• Pollen from trees and grass
• Mold (indoor and outdoor)

Irritants

• Cigarette smoke
• Air pollution
• Cold air or changes in weather
• Strong odors from painting or cooking
• Scented products
• Strong emotional expression (including crying or laughing hard), and stress

Others

• Medications such as aspirin and beta-blockers
• Sulfites in food (dried fruit) or beverages (wine)
• A condition called gastroesophageal (GAS-tro-e-sof-o-JEE-al) reflux disease (GERD) that causes heartburn and can worsen asthma symptoms, especially at night.
• Irritants or allergens that you may be exposed to at your work such as special chemicals or dusts
• Infections.

This is not a complete list of all the things that can worsen asthma. People can have trouble with one or more of these. It is important for you to learn which ones are problems for you. Your doctor can help you identify which things effect your asthma and ways to avoid them.

Treatment for Asthma

You and your doctor together can decide about your treatment goals and what you need to do to control your asthma. Asthma treatment includes:

• Avoiding things that bring on your asthma symptoms or make symptoms worse. Doing so can reduce the amount of medicine you need to control your asthma. Allergy medicine and allergy shots in some cases may help your asthma.
• Using asthma medicines.

With proper treatment, you should ideally have these results:

• Your asthma should be controlled.
• You should be free of asthma symptoms.
• You should have fewer attacks.
• You should need to use short-acting bronchodilators less often.
• You should be able to do normal activities without having symptoms.

Medications for Asthma

There are two main types of medicines for asthma: 

Quick Relief medicines give rapid, short-term treatment and are taken when you have worsening asthma symptoms that can lead to asthma episodes or attacks. You will feel the effects of these medicines within minutes.

Long-term Control medicines are taken every day, usually over long periods of time, to control chronic symptoms and to prevent asthma episodes or attacks. You will feel the full effects of these medicines after taking them for a few weeks. People with persistent asthma need long-term control medicines.

Ask your doctor about how you can help take care of your own asthma. You should know:

• How to take your long-term daily medication correctly
• What things tend to make your asthma worse and ways to avoid them
• Early signs to watch for that mean your asthma is starting to get worse (like a drop in your peak flow number or an increase in symptoms)
• How and when to use your peak flow meter
• What medication and how much to take to stop an asthma attack and how to use it correctly
• When to call or see your doctor
• When you should get emergency treatment

Natural Remedies for Asthma

Lycopene, an antioxidant related to beta-carotene and found in tomatoes, helps reduce the symptoms of asthma caused by exercising. In one double-blind trial, over half of people with exercise-induced asthma had significantly fewer asthma symptoms after taking capsules containing 30 mg of lycopene per day for one week compared to when they took a placebo.

References for Asthma Article

• Neuman I, Nahum H, Ben-Amotz A. Reduction of exercise-induced asthma oxidative stress by lycopene, a natural antioxidant. Allergy 2000;55:1184–9.
• Collipp PJ, Chen SY, Sharma RK, et al. Tryptophane metabolism in bronchial asthma. Ann Allergy 1975;35:153–8.
• Weir MR, Keniston RC, Enriquez JI, McNamee GA. Depression of vitamin B6 levels due to theophylline. Ann Allergy 1990;65:59–62.
• Collipp PJ, Goldzier S III, Weiss N, et al. Pyridoxine treatment of childhood bronchial asthma. Ann Allergy 1975;35:93–7.
• Reynolds RD, Natta CL. Depressed plasma pyridoxal phosphate concentrations in adult asthmatics. Am J Clin Nutr 1985;41:684–8.
• Sur S, Camara M, Buchmeier A, et al. Double-blind trial of pyridoxine (vitamin B6) in the treatment of steroid-dependent asthma. Ann Allergy 1993;70:141–52.
• National Institutes of Health