World Asthma Day: Health expert advises on identifying, treating asthma

Kohima: Due to the increase of air pollution in the environment, the state is witnessing an increase in the number of asthma cases and respiratory-related diseases.

On the occasion of World Asthma Day, Dr. Kezholenu Sakhrie, chest physician at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK), in an interaction with Eastern Mirror, advised people to seek medical intervention and get the correct diagnosis whenever they display signs and symptoms of a serious asthma attack and not take it likely.

What is asthma?

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease which is characterised by airway inflammation while a person with such cases will show respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest tightness or cough, said the doctor, adding that such signs will vary over time and intensity.

In medical terms, Sakhrie explained that asthma is associated with “airflow limitation” where the patient is unable to breath properly with the sensation of chest tightness when the airway becomes hyper responsive.

The symptoms of asthma, she said also include wheezing with shortness of breath accompanied by chest tightness and cough.

‘As such, the symptoms will vary over time – sometimes the breathing intensity will be severe while other times, the patient will be free from such abnormalities. The causes of asthma are many but mostly it is due to airway responsiveness, she said.

She also said about 1-18% of the population worldwide suffer from asthma.

Types of asthma

The doctor informed that allergic asthma is often associated with allergic diseases, adding that people who are prompt to the malady are those having a personal history of allergy and those who often sneeze or are allergic to dust.

The other category of the disease, she explained, is non-allergic asthma where patients won’t show symptoms of any allergic reaction, but often cough and undergo an experience of chest tightness and noisy breathing.

She added that under this category, such people develop the symptoms even while doing some strenuous work, while those undergoing other physical exercises are also attacked by asthma.

Allergic asthma, she said, is associated with smoking or pollution in the air, adding that some of the main causes of allergic asthma are due to the increasing pollution of the environment.

Apprising about the symptoms of mild, moderate and severe asthma, Sakhrie said that while the symptoms of the disease may vary over time and intensity, a patient can “control himself” with medication when attacked by the illness.

However, some people will get severe asthma or uncontrolled asthma, in that case it is life threatening. “Such patients have to be admitted and treated aggressively,” she said.

She informed that they are not able to ascertain the figures of people with asthma as Nagaland doesn’t have the data yet. However, she said the cases have increased in the state since the last five to six years.

Treatment

Stating that asthma is a disease unlike the common cold and flu, Sakhrie asserted there is no such thing as a home remedy as a person’s airways gets narrowed or tightened.

However, for any emergency situation when asthma attacks, she advised one can ease the condition through steam inhalation or change body positioning. She advised patients to use an inhaler which could open one’s airways.

While explaining how people develop symptoms of asthma even through weather changes, she said that cases of the disease in some patients would last about two-three days and disappear suddenly but some other patients may get the symptoms frequently.

Pointing out that some patients suffer from asthma every two-three months, she said the symptoms of such illness become severe often during the night.

The doctor said the most common symptom is the noisy breathing, while advising the need to get a check up with a doctor if asthma attacks are frequent.

‘Since sometimes, patients become normal again in the noon time or by the night after being attacked by asthma in the morning and vice versa, people tend to ignore it,’ she said.

However, Sakhrie said when the disease is interfering with their daily activities, only then do patients seek medical help.

Asthma attacks may sometimes be triggered by smoking, pollutants or through dusty places, she added.

She explained that gradually, asthma becomes serious although the symptoms of the infection may subside within a few minutes.