Asthma

Asthma Overview

Asthma is the most common chronic condition of the lungs with times of increased symptoms or flares. Asthma is an inflammatory condition of the lungs that is the key driver for causing symptoms including cough, wheezing, chest tightness/discomfort, shortness of breath that can strongly interfere with quality of life and daily function. Asthma is a chronic condition and requires frequent check-ins with the patient/child’s primary care provider to determine how much their breathing is affecting their daily function, school attendance, exercise/activities and sleep. Providers should be equipped to use standardized questionnaires to understand the individual’s perception of their breathing and adjust medications appropriately.

A common misconception is that asthma requires pulmonary function testing or spirometry to diagnose. Spirometry or pulmonary function testing, sometimes called breathing tests, can help confirm the diagnosis, but not all ages or developmental stages are capable to perform this test, and this may not be available in all clinics. Pulmonary function testing should be done with staff that are trained and providers comfortable interpreting this. Often asthma can be diagnosed based on symptoms and other risk factors such as having allergies to environmental allergens or a family history of asthma.

Asthma can have multiple triggers including illness or infections, environmental exposures such as tobacco exposure, air pollution, allergens (dust mite, animals, pollens, mold) or physical activity. It is important for providers and families to best identify these triggers to minimize the impact of asthma on the person’s quality of life. An asthma specialist (ie, Pulmonology or Allergy/Immunology) should be consulted if the diagnosis is in questions or child is not completely responding to medications, if they are having frequent exacerbations, difficulty determining their triggers or if they have additional conditions often seen in conjunction with asthma including nasal symptoms (rhinitis) or allergic skin conditions (atopic dermatitis). However, an asthma specialist does not replace the role of primary care providers in the long-term care of that child.

On this page, you can find many of the common triggers, treatment options and best practices to help minimize the impact of asthma on you, your patient’s or your child’s asthma, so they can live comfortably and not be limited. There are resources here for health care professionals caring for young children with asthma on what can be done to address all aspects of caring for their breathing.