Warning Signs of Asthma Episodes
Asthma episodes rarely occur without warning. Most people with asthma have warning signs (physical changes) that occur hours before symptoms appear. Warning signs are not the same for everyone. Same patient may have different signs at different times. By knowing their warning signs and acting on them, patients may be able to avoid a serious episode of asthma.
- Think back on your last asthma episode. Did you have any of the signs below?
- Check your warning. Show them to your doctor and family.
- Remember to follow your asthma control plan as soon as these signs appear.
Patients should tick the boxes below to determine their warning sign(s) [Tick the appropriate box]
- Drop in peak flow reading
- Chronic or excessive cough, especially at night
- Difficulty in breathing
- Chest starts to get tight or hurts
- Breathing faster than normal
- Getting out of breath easily
- Tired o Itchy, watery, or glassy eyes
- Itchy, scratchy, or sore throat
- Stroking chin or throat
- Sneezing
- Headache
- Fever
- Restlessness
- Runny nose
- Change in face color
- Dark circles under eyes
- Other:
Topics:
Name of Patient ........................................ Prepared by Dr. .........................................
This plan will help a patient control his asthma and know what to do if he has an asthma episode. Keeping a patient’s asthma under control will help to :
- Be active without having asthma symptoms. This includes being active in exercise and sports.
- Sleep through the night without having asthma symptoms.
- Prevent asthma episodes (attacks).
- Have the best possible peak flow number - lungs that work well.
Alzheimer's disease, a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain in which brain cells die and are not replaced. According to the Alzheimer's Association, its ten chief warning signs are:
- Recent memory loss that affects job skills
- Difficulty performing familiar tasks
- Problems with language
- Disorientation of time and place
- Poor or decreased judgment
- Problems with abstract thinking
- Misplacing things
- Changes in mood or behavior
- Changes in personality
- Loss of initiative
A peak flow meter is a device that measures how well air moves out of a patient's lungs. During an asthma episode, the airways of the lungs begin to narrow slowly. The peak flow meter can be used to find out if there is narrowing in the airways, hours - even days - before the patient has any symptoms of asthma. By taking the medicine early (before symptoms), your patient may be able to stop the episode quickly and avoid a serious episode of asthma. So its role in preventing severe asthma attack is very important.
The peak flow meter can also be used to help you:
What Causes Asthma Episodes?
The exact etiology or causes of asthma is still unknown. The airways of the asthmatics are found to be inflamed, red and hypersensitive. It is known that some triggers induce an asthma attack if exposed to the inflamed airways. Therefore, the management plan for asthma is directed towards prevention of inflammation of the airway and avoidance of triggers for the better control of symptoms.
What is a trigger?
Why do we define asthma?
We define asthma to identify the disease correctly and to differentiate it from other diseases. To fulfill this goal, definition of asthma has been changing over last 40 years. The clinician, physiologist, immunologist, pathologist or epidemiologist - all have different perspective of asthma.
In the year 1997, the following working definition has been formulated by Expert Panel-2 of National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, USA.
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways:
Heart and blood vessel disease is our nation’s No. 1 killer. About half of the deaths from heart and blood vessel disease are from coronary heart disease, which includes heart attack.
About 325,000 people a year die of coronary attack before they get to a hospital or in the emergency room. But many of those deaths can be prevented by acting fast!
Some heart attacks are sudden and intense. But most start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Here are some of the signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:
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