When it comes to asthma attacks, many people's first impression is that they have severe wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and dyspnea... These are indeed typical manifestations of asthma. In fact, some asthma is not "wheezing".

As one of the most common chronic diseases, the incidence of asthma in China is increasing year by year. It is estimated that by 2025, 100 million asthma patients will be added globally.

The first Tuesday in May is World Asthma Day. Life Times (search "LT0385" on WeChat to pay attention) interviewed experts to interpret the inducing factors of asthma and teach you to understand them correctly.

There is a kind of asthma, the only symptom is cough

Typical asthma is more common at night and in the morning, and is often related to allergen exposure, cold air and respiratory tract infection.

In addition to typical asthma, there is also a "variant" asthma, called atypical asthma.

Yu Biqing, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in Wuhan Central Hospital, said that such patients do not have wheezing, and may only show repeated cough, chest tightness or other respiratory symptoms, especially cough variant asthma and chest tightness variant asthma.

Cough variant asthma

This is the most common atypical asthma, the only symptom is cough.

Many patients took a variety of antibiotics with no effect, and later diagnosed asthma through lung function tests and bronchial provocation tests. If not treated in time, it may gradually develop into typical asthma.

Chest tightness variant asthma

The only or main symptom of this asthma is chest tightness. The treatment is mainly to control the symptoms, which may suddenly occur. It is recommended that patients carry drugs with them.

   Occult asthma

Another atypical asthma is occult asthma, which has no symptoms such as wheezing, chest tightness or cough at the initial stage, but has increased airway reactivity for a long time.

However, 14%~58% of patients can develop symptomatic asthma in the later stage, and it is better to take regular reexamination.

  What kind of people are prone to asthma

Although some patients' performance is "atypical", its internal mechanism is consistent with "typical asthma", that is, chronic allergic airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness.

Asthma is a complex disease with polygenic genetic tendency. The individual allergic constitution and the influence of the external environment are the risk factors of the disease.

What kind of people are prone to asthma? Chen Zhihong, chief physician of Department of Respiratory Medicine of Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, said in an interview:

   Parents suffering from asthma or allergy

If the parents are allergic or suffer from asthma, their children will have an increased risk of asthma.

   Allergic people such as rhinitis

Patients with allergic rhinitis and eczema also have an increased risk of asthma. Therefore, some people call asthma allergic asthma.

Data shows that allergic rhinitis patients are 4 to 20 times more likely to develop asthma than normal people.

People exposed to allergens for a long time

In fact, allergic asthma patients only account for 2/3, and 1/3 are induced by other factors, such as pollen, air pollution, dust mites, mold, etc.

Asthma can also be induced by occupational exposure (such as cleaners and painters), exercise, infection, cold air, drugs, etc.

Desensitization is the first step to prevent asthma

Yin Kaisheng, chief physician of the Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Department of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital, reminded that in order to stay away from several common allergens, asthma patients should pay attention to the following points.

Pay attention to protection in specific seasons

Some allergens only appear in certain seasons. For example, a large number of catkins and pollen are in the air in spring. Pay more attention to protection. You can wear masks when going out, and goggles when serious.

Regularly clean articles easy to breed dust mites

Dust mites are the most common allergen in the home. Pillows, sofas, carpets, thick curtains, plush toys, etc. are their "headquarters".

Try to use cotton fabrics instead of plush products; Timely clean or tidy up all waste articles in the house that may breed dust mites; Families with children should always clean plush toys; Fabric curtains can be replaced with blinds; Regularly clean and dry the bedding.

Be careful when raising flowers and pets

Pollen, hair and dander from pets can all cause discomfort to asthmatic patients. If you must keep them, first consult your doctor and learn the correct cleaning and care methods for pets and plants.

  Keep the kitchen clean

The kitchen with rich food and many gaps and corners is easy to breed mold, which may induce asthma.

Store food by category; The food in the refrigerator shall be cleaned in time, and the dry food shall be put into the airtight food storage box; Do not pile up kitchen garbage and throw it away in time.

Reduce fugitive dust

Clothes, books, etc. should be placed in the cabinet with a door to avoid falling dust; Dust accumulated under the bed should be treated with a vacuum cleaner; Clean the filter screen and blades of the air conditioner that has been idle for a long time before use.

In addition, asthma patients should try not to use dusters and other tools that can easily raise dust when cleaning. It is recommended to use vacuum cleaners and wet rags.

  Avoid special taste irritation

For example, mosquito nets or electric mosquito swatters should be used as far as possible instead of smelly products in summer.

Paint, adhesive and other harmful chemicals can also induce asthma. It is better to have a well decorated room ventilated for more than 6 months before living.

Record asthma "diary"

To understand the inducing factors of individual asthma, you can record the things you have done, the environment you are in, and the onset of your own disease through a diary.

Some predisposing factors are relatively secret, usually recorded for 7 days to 1 month.

Finally, I would like to remind you that once you have diagnosed asthma, you should seek treatment in a regular medical institution. You should never make self diagnosis and superstition.