Asthma Check-up Test
Asthma causes the muscles in the airways to tighten and the lining of the airway becomes swollen and inflamed, producing sticky mucous. These changes cause the airways to become narrow, making it difficult to breathe.
Asthma can be triggered by a range of factors such as pollen, house dust mites, cigarette smoke, exercise or associated with a cold.
Asthma cannot be cured, but with good management, people with asthma can lead normal, active lives. A range of programs and services are available to support people with asthma.
At All Saints Family Practice, doctors use Minispir 2 Spirometer, it is a PC-compatible device for complete airway analysis with extended spirometry test interpretation. It ensures 100%, contamination-free testing with disposable turbine flow-meter and mouthpieces. This diagnostic instrument can help determine whether lungs are affected by any diseases such as asthma, chronic pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis and cystic fibrosis.
Symptoms of asthma:
Asthma tends to run in families. Asthma affects everyone differently, and two children from the same family can have different asthma patterns and triggers.
Typical asthma symptoms include:
Wheezing – a whistling noise when breathing.
Shortness of breath.
A tight feeling in the chest.
Coughing.
These symptoms are often worse at night, in the early morning or during exercise.
Symptoms may be different for children.
Asthma Check-up Test:
Spirometry is the best lung function test for diagnosing asthma and for measuring lung function when assessing asthma control. The measurement of peak expiratory flow with conventional peak flow meters has significant limitations.
Most adults and children over 6 years of age can perform spirometry. The aim of spirometry in our practice is to assess variability of airflow obstruction, and to measure the degree of airflow obstruction compared to predicted normal. Accurate measurement of respiratory function is necessary to assess and manage asthma.
The National Asthma Council Australia, along with the Lung Foundation Australia and the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand recommend that all doctors managing asthma should have access to and use a spirometer for this purpose.
Asthma triggers:
The triggers for asthma symptoms vary for different people. Some common triggers are:
Allergy triggers such as house dust mites, pollens, pets and moulds.
Cigarette smoke.
Viral infections – for example, colds and flu.
Cold air or changes in the weather.
Work-related triggers – for example, wood dust, chemicals, metal salts.
Some medication.
In addition, asthma can also be triggered by an uncommon combination of high grass pollen levels and a certain type of thunderstorm, causing many people to develop asthma symptoms over a short period of time. This is known as epidemic thunderstorm asthma.
These events are uncommon and don’t occur every year, but when they do, they can happen in south-east Australia during the grass pollen season, from October through December.
Thunderstorm asthma:
For people with current or past asthma or seasonal hayfever, thunderstorm asthma can be sudden, serious and even life threatening.
Having good control of your asthma can help reduce your risk of thunderstorm asthma. If you’ve ever had asthma, talk to your GP about what you can do to help protect yourself from the risk of thunderstorm asthma this pollen season.
Treatment for asthma
Asthma can be well controlled with the appropriate medication in almost all people. The main types of asthma medication are:
Relievers that act quickly to relax the muscles around the airways – this is the medication used during an asthma attack.
Preventers that slowly make the airways less sensitive to triggers and reduce inflammation inside the airways – they are taken daily to help keep you well.
Combination therapies that are preventers containing two different medicines.
Management of asthma
Your GP will prescribe the correct medication and explain how to use it. For good asthma management, it is important that you:
See your GP for regular check-ups and work together to manage your asthma.
Understand what triggers your asthma – this can be different for everyone.
Try to avoid or reduce your exposure to these triggers.
Use your medications as instructed by your GP, even when you feel well.
Make sure you are using your inhaler correctly, including using a spacer where required.