Asthma Symptoms and Signs

The most popular symptom of asthma is, no doubt, the lack of breath. The patients become completely breathless in some situations, so they need to carry corresponding medicine everywhere. Older people face this problem quite often, so it does not necessarily mean they are attacked by asthma. It is more dangerous when young people experience breathlessness. It prevents them from speaking and breathing normally and requires an immediate aid.

A permanent cough is one more critical factor of asthma. Health care professionals define a so-called cough variant asthma when people just can’t stop coughing whatever they do. It disturbs them all day and night, preventing from having a healthy sleep. A cough has a dry character. This stable process may take up to 2-3 months. This symptom is often noticed among young children who are the high risk of experiencing asthma accompanied by wheezing.

Speaking about wheezing, it reminds of coughing by the sound, but it has a different nature. This phenomenon appears as the breath shortens. If the person feels tightness around his chest, it may be another reason to start wheezing. It sounds like the person is whistling all the time. Don’t hurry with the conclusion – it is important to attend health care professional first.

As it was mentioned, people with asthma cannot always speak without any obstacles. It makes sense that breathlessness makes it impossible to talk as the person tries to catch a bit of air to reach the lungs. An inability to communicate appears during the severe attacks. A person is suffocating, but the wheezing disappears by that time. Other negative sides include loss of focus, sleep issues, problems with skin, and confusion.

People with asthma should not smoke! In case they do, they’d better quit this habit. This activity may also worsen the process and even approximate death. Passive smokers with asthma should not contact smoking people like the smell of tobacco may irritate them. The chemicals which every cigarette has, no matter nicotine-based or not, is especially harmful to the lungs of people with asthma. Such patients should also keep away from the vehicle exhaust fumes.

Restless nights. Patients who suffer from asthma cannot manage to have a healthy sleep. They often wake up at nights; it takes a while for them to fall asleep even if they are extremely tired. After midnight, the person may feel the lack of breath and other alarming symptoms. Both classic and cough variant asthmas are supported by the difficulty sleeping.  It happens because of the increased airway resistance and the fact that airway function decrease during the sleep.

Various signs like allergic reactions mean the change in seasonality. While there is nothing to fear in winter, spring and summer have a lot of unpleasant surprises for the patients with asthma. In addition to insignificant allergies, people experience different severe fevers due to the extracts of flowers and blossoming processes. Except for the plants, such people may react in a similar way to animals and their fur.

Pain in the chest is one more common symptom. In some situations (e.g. sitting in a car for a while), patients with asthma may feel like a chain is tightening their chest. They want to break free, but the belt is holding tight. The pressure causes painful feelings in the chest. Heart-related issues, however, are far more dangerous, so it is better to have asthma as your diagnosis – it is easier to control and be cured.

When we get cold, our lips and extremities often turn blue. This color of the skin may also be a symptom of asthma. However, in the case of asthma, this is a troublesome condition with dangerous consequences. The depreciation of oxygen is the most common reason for the particular parts of the human body to go blue. If the patient is lucky, a blue skin can be a sign of high altitudes. Severe heart illness is the worst outcome.

Syncope is the last noticeable symptom of asthma. The flow of blood stops being transmitted to the head. Thus, the human brain remains with this necessary liquid. Another cause of fainting is the heavy coughing; it is followed by the quick drop in blood pressure, which is not good for the nervous system. There is no need to provide the first aid. Move a person to the safe place is it happens somewhere in public. He or she will be awake in several minutes.