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Asthma is a condition that narrows your breathing tubes which carry air in and out the lungs. Your body might produce extra mucus causing difficulty in breathing.

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The common triggers:
-Infections (cold, flu)
-Stress or laughter
-Smoke fumes
-Pollution
-Types of medicine
-Allergies

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The symptoms of Asthma are:
-Wheezing, coughing and tight chest.
-Fainting.
-Blue lips/fingers.
-Too breathless to eat, speak or sleep.
-Fast heartbeat.
-Confusion, dizziness and exhaustion.
If a patient has these symptoms then they should self referral (they organise a appointment with their GP) and if the GP has worries then they should give you professional referral.

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There is no cure for Asthma however, you can have treatment to help control the symptoms.
-Inhalers are the main treatment and its a device that you breathe in the medicine.
-you will also create a PAP (personal action plan) which will include information about your medicines so that your condition is being monitored.

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M3- Types of Treatment and Care and Support and Why it's Important

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M3- Types of Treatment and Care and Support and Why it's Important

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Treatment-Inhaled corticosteroids, Leukotriene modifiers,
Long-acting beta agonists (LABAs) and Theophylline- Taken regularly to control chronic symptoms and prevent asthma attacks. The most important type of treatment for most people with asthma.
Support/Care-GP, Asthma nurse, asthma nurse specialist or practice nurse, Pharmacist, School nurse,
Respiratory specialist and
Respiratory physiologist all offer support for people with Asthma. If you are having worries about having symptoms to Asthma then these specialist are very helpful as they calm your mind and offer help if you need it.

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Here we look particularly at the value of asthma support groups and meeting or knowing other people with the condition. A few people we talked to said that their GP or asthma nurse had asthma themselves which meant they had real experience of living with asthma and understood how it felt.

Asthma UK is the main support organisation for people with asthma. Many of the people we interviewed found the website helpful as a source of information about asthma. They provide comprehensive factual information, some personal accounts of living with asthma, an online forum, Twitter feeds and Facebook groups where people can contact and talk to others with the condition, and an advice line on which you can phone to speak directly to a specialised asthma nurse if you need help, information, or just a 'sympathetic ear'.

Finding factual information is really important, and some people like Dee felt that hearing other people's stories was helpful because, "You're actually listening to not the official line out of the text book, but you're listening to "what does it mean to you in your day?" And that's maybe a lot of what people would like to see.' Peter commented, 'I've got a high regard for my GP practice, but they're not the only source of wisdom."

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People explained what they gained from hearing others' experiences, both face-to-face and online. Benefits include getting practical advice, tips and information, help in adjusting to having the condition, and general emotional support. As Val says, it can be good to know you are not alone, and sometimes being able to share negative feelings with someone else who can understand is a relief. While Val felt she got most benefit from people whose experience of asthma were similar to her own, Peter said seeing other people much worse off than him can make him feel better about his own situation.

On the other hand, not everyone wants to meet or chat to other people with asthma; just having an illness in common does not necessarily make a good basis for friendship. People talked about not wanting to dwell on their condition or be defined by it. Sometimes people could find it depressing or frightening - Belinda, for example, had been shocked and saddened by the death of one of her friends when she was at a school for children with severe asthma in the 1960s, even though in other ways the school was a supportive place to be.

Online forums and websites which post people's stories offer a way to benefit from others' experiences without having to meet them or take an active part oneself.

Some people felt inspired to get more actively involved in sharing their experiences. Asthma UK offers people opportunities to volunteer in different ways such as fundraising, raising awareness, campaigning for services and promoting the work of the charity, and helping advise experts and health professionals on policy issues. People's motivation to take part in these activities varied but often it was a case of wanting to offer support and help to other people and to be able to 'give something back'.

People expressed particular concerns about the importance of raising awareness in schools, not just for children who have the condition, but so that both teachers and other children will understand more about it.

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Some younger people we interviewed had taken part in a 'Kick Asthma' holiday organised by Asthma UK. Lisa remarked that as a teenager she had found it really helpful watching a DVD her nurse had given her that showed other children talking about their experiences. As Lisa pointed out... "If they're a similar age, it's easier for you to understand". Social media such as Facebook and Twitter is also a big source of support for many people (especially young people) helping to provide information and a way to connect with other people who have asthma.

Mary set up and ran a local support group for about 10 years. Julie set up a similar type of group in her local area. Susan is a trained first aider and she uses her own experience of having asthma to help her train other people. 'I actually train first aiders in treating people with asthma now because they like to have somebody who knows what it's like'.

(Also see ' Finding information about asthma', ' Dealing with health professionals' and ' Managing asthma -reviews and action plans ' for more about the importance of having a strong relationship with health professionals).

Last reviewed August 2017.
Last updated August 2017.

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Asthma - Support and support groups for asthma

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Here we look particularly at the value of asthma support groups and meeting or knowing other people with the condition. A few people we talked to said that their GP or asthma nurse had asthma themselves which meant they had real experience of living with asthma and understood how it felt.

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D2- Benefits of Different Investigative Procedures for Asthma

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D2- Benefits of Different Investigative Procedures for Asthma

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-FeNO Test has many benefits as people could class it as one of the most popular procedures. The measurements may help your health care professional check/ your doctor to see if the medication you are taking is working.
-Spirometry test can have positives such as it can show how serious your condition is so that you can prevent as soon as possible.
-Peak Flow Test can tell you when your airways are narrowing which would lead to an asthma attack so the test can prewarn the patient so that they can get to safety before the attack happens.

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It's important to get a confirmed diagnosis for Asthma . If you have asthma and it's not diagnosed or looked after properly, it can make it even harder for your lungs to work well. And over time symptoms like breathlessness, coughing and tightness in the chest will be worse and more frequent. Under-treated asthma may be life threatening.

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Serinth - Ιατρικός Εξοπλισμός - Διαιτολογικός Εξοπλισμός - Φυσικοθεραπεία

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P2- Investigative and Diagnostic procedures for Asthma.

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P2- Investigative and Diagnostic procedures for Asthma.

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-FeNO test is where you breathe into a machine that measures the level of nitric oxide in your breath, which would be a sign of inflammation in your lungs.
-Spirometry is when  you blow into a machine and it measures how fast you can breathe out and how much air you can hold in your lungs.
-Peak flow test is when you blow into a handheld device that measures how fast you can breathe out and this might be repeated over a couple of weeks to see if it changes.
Asthma specialists use these tests to:
-give them a clearer picture of your asthma symptoms.
-show them how asthma may be limiting your activities.
-reveal how you're coping with the challenges of having frequent asthma symptoms.
-work out your response to longer-term treatment trials.

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D1- The impact of Asthma on the health and wellbeing of service users.

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D1- The impact of Asthma on the health and wellbeing of service users.

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-Having a potentially life-threatening disease such as severe asthma also increases anxiety and depression in many patients and may trigger panic attacks in some. In addition, people with depression and anxiety are often physically and emotionally drained, which may limit their ability to self-manage their asthma.
-People with Asthma will find it harder to accept themselves as they might compare themselves to others who don't have any disorders. This is very damaging to the body mentally and physically and can cause intellectual health problems.
-Living with asthma can affect your daily routine and the way in which you manage the daily tasks that we all need to do; getting dressed, having a shower, shopping, cooking. This could effect the persons mental health as they struggle to do things that healthy people can do easily.

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- PRIVATE HEALTHCARE-Your healthcare team is made up of professionals such as GPs, asthma nurses, pharmacists and specialists. They may be based in the community and in hospitals. This will be different for everyone because of where you live, your age, and your individual asthma needs.
-Asthma UK helpline-
0300 222 5800 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm)
-www.asthma.org.uk are a support website for people with asthma.

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Asthma  is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. The disease manifests as recurrent attacks of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath.
When you experience a trigger, the insides of your airways swell even more. This narrows the space for air to move in and out of the lungs. The muscles that wrap around your airways also can tighten, making breathing even harder. When that happens, it's called an asthma flare-up, asthma episode or more commonly known as an asthma "attack."

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Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

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To understand asthma, a chronic disease that causes your airways to become inflamed, it helps to first know how your airways work.
Watch on YouTube
How Do Normal Airways Work?

When we breathe in, air moves through our airways - from our nose or mouth, down a large hollow tube in the front of the neck called a windpipe or trachea - and into our lungs.

The trachea divides into two tubes called bronchial [bron-KEE-uhl] tubes in the lungs. They look like upside-down trees. As the bronchial tubes pass through the lungs, they divide into smaller air passages called bronchioles [bron-KEE-ohlz]. At the end of each bronchiole are tiny air sacs that fill up with air, like tiny balloons, each time we breathe in. These are called alveoli [al-VEE-uh-lahy].

Air comes into our lungs each time we breathe in. This air has oxygen in it. Oxygen has a special job. It helps feed, or give energy to, all parts of our body so we can walk, talk, eat and exercise.

How Do Your Airways Work When You Have Asthma?

When you have asthma, your airways aren't able to function as well as they should.

Common asthma symptoms are:

Asthma causes inflammation, or swelling, in the lungs. It can also cause squeezing, called bronchoconstriction [bron-KOH-con-STRICK-shun], and extra sensitive or twitchy airways.

When something bothers your airways, you have trouble breathing. This is called an asthma attack or episode. It gets harder to breathe because the tiny muscles around your airways squeeze tightly and they have swelling inside.

Your airways will make more mucus inside your airways, which makes it even harder to breathe. These changes in your airways can cause coughing and wheezing.

There is no cure for asthma. But you can take steps to manage it. If you have asthma, it's important to see an asthma specialist, like an allergist or pulmonologist, to come up with the right asthma treatment plan. Medicines and avoiding asthma triggers can help reduce swelling and relax tight muscles in your airways.

Knowing how to manage asthma is important for better health and quality of life. We also offer an online course called ASTHMA Care for Adults. This comprehensive program covers a full range of topics everyone with asthma needs to know. This FREE self-paced online course is presented in different formats, such as videos, animations, handouts and more.
TAKE THE COURSE NOW

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What Happens in Your Airways When You Have Asthma?

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To understand asthma , a chronic disease that causes your airways to become inflamed, it helps to first know how your airways work. Watch on YouTube How Do Normal Airways Work? When we breathe in, air moves through our airways - from our nose or mouth, down a large hollow tube in the front of the neck called a windpipe or trachea - and into our lungs.