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| All about homoeopathy, you always wanted to know by Dr. Rajesh Shah |
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What is an asthma attack?
An asthma attack, is also known as an asthma episode or flare, it is characterized by shortness of breath, cough, and wheezing which requires either medication or some other form of intervention for the asthmatic to breathe normally again. |
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What is wheezing?
Wheezing is the whistling sound that occurs when air flows through obstructed airways. At the start of an asthma attack, wheezing usually only occurs while exhaling, or breathing out, when the attack becomes more severe, wheezing may then be heard both while inhaling and exhaling. |
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What do we mean by status asthmaticus?
Status asthmaticus is defined as a severe asthma attack that fails to respond to routine treatment, such as inhaled bronchodilators, injected epinephrine (adrenalin), or intravenous theophylline. |
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What is chronic asthmatic bronchitis?
Chronic asthmatic bronchitis is the condition in which the airways in the lungs are obstructed due to both persistent asthma and chronic bronchitis. People with this disease generally also have a persistent cough which brings up mucus. Chronic asthmatic bronchitis which also involves emphysema is usually classified under the more general category of COPD. |
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Can asthma be hereditary?
Asthma itself is may not be hereditary, but there does seem to be a hereditary component to the tendency to develop asthma. Statistics says that if neither parent has asthma, the chances of each of their children having asthma are less than 10%. When one parent has asthma, the chances rise to 25%, and when both parents have asthma, the chances climb to 50%.
Similarly, if one or both parents have allergies, the chances of each of their children having allergies are 35% and 65%, respectively, compared to a less than 10% chance if neither parent has allergies.
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What medications should be avoided by people having asthma?
In fact, asthmatics taking theophylline should check with their physician before taking any OTC medication, as the list of drugs, including antihistamines, which affect theophylline levels is almost endless.
Aspirin can trigger an asthma attack in approximately one in five asthmatics.
Cough medicines should also be treated with caution. In general, suppressing a productive cough (one which is bringing up mucus) is not a good idea, since the mucus can obstruct the airways and also irritate them further. They may make you sleepy and reduce your breathing effort. They may also dry out your secretions, making mucus harder to raise.
Cimetidine (Tagamet) and Troleandomycin (TAO), beta-blocker drugs such as Propranolol, and the antibiotics Erythromycin and Ciprofloxacin. These medications may increase the concentration of theophylline in the bloodstream, possibly even to the toxic level.
Beta-blockers work by blocking the hormone adrenalin, but as adrenalin and other adrenergic drugs help keep airways dilated, the use of beta-blockers may aggravate asthma symptoms.
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What is a Spirometer?
A spirometer is a machine for testing lung function that you breathe in and out of through a hose attached to a mouthpiece. It can measure a fair number of characteristics of your lungs, including FVC, FEV1, and PEPR.
FVC, or forced vital capacity, is the amount of air that you can exhale forcefully after taking a deep breath.
FEV1, or forced expiratory volume in one second, is the amount of air that you can be exhale in one second.
PEFR is the peak expiratory flow rate. A peak flow meter is a little device into which you blow hard, after having taken a deep breath. It records the rate at which you've blown into it in liters exhaled per minute (L/min).This is called the peak expiratory flow rate.
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