Asthma is most often of a paroxysmal nature and there are usually no other symptoms apart from them. In some patients, the only symptom is a persistent cough, which is referred to as ‘cough variant asthma’. Get to know the most characteristic symptoms that may signal that this is the disease!
- Cough – it is characteristic, usually dry, i.e. causing sputum to be coughed up, although it happens that stronger attacks end with spitting up a whitish, thick secretion. It may be accompanied by shortness of breath, often the patient gradually begins to cough more and more strongly – first there are light coughs, then they increase and there is shortness of breath and wheezing. Sometimes coughing can wake you up at night, it also happens that it is the only symptom of this disease, which is why then it is called the “cough variant of asthma”. How can you tell a common cough from an asthmatic one? It is not easy, but if it persists for a long time outside of the cold season, it is better to see a doctor and have it checked for asthma.
- Wheezing – accompanied by shortness of breath, and its cause is narrowing of the bronchi, which makes exhalation more difficult than inhalation. When an asthma attack is going on, exhalation can be greatly prolonged as air has to pass through the constricted bronchial tubes. To check whether such a symptom is a sign of this disease, you need to check it with a doctor who will use a stethoscope to assess the severity and presence of wheezing sounds.
- Tightness of the chest – although there is a symptom of this, it is important to remember that chest pain occurring outside of shortness of breath attacks is not a symptom of asthma. The feeling of squeezing must accompany the already mentioned shortness of breath, it usually does not occur without an asthma attack. Patients describe them as something like an invisible hoop that squeezes the chest and prevents them from breathing freely.
In addition to these symptoms, there are factors that trigger asthma symptoms. Attacks of shortness of breath often occur at night, as well as after physical exertion. Other factors include:
- Polluted air,
- In patients with atopic asthma caused by allergies, the cause is contact with a given allergen (e.g. dust, cat hair),
- Stress and strong emotions
- Some medications, e.g. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,
- Contact with irritating chemicals or allergens (for example, due to work),
- Irritants, e.g. paint fumes,
- Tobacco smoke,
- Viral infections of the upper respiratory tract.