How is asthma diagnosed?  

Cough, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath – the symptoms of asthma sound frightening and no wonder we are afraid to hear this diagnosis.  
 
Asthma is a complicated chronic disease that affects both adults and children as well as significantly reducing one’s quality of life. Globally, it is the most common chronic disease in children, and in 2019, the number of patients with asthma was 262 million (1). However, a large number of these people manage to lead a normal life.  
 
Getting the correct diagnosis in time is of utmost importance and should not be delayed. With proper medication and lifestyle changes, the disease can be controlled so that it doesn’t worsen and does not lead to serious complications such as respiratory failure, pulmonary hypertension and heart damage. In situations where patients have good control of their condition and are aware of their triggers, it’s not impossible that their asthma could subside spontaneously after some time. 
 
Asthma can manifest itself differently throughout patients. The most common symptoms are coughing and shortness of breath, which are most severe at night and early in the morning. The symptoms usually worsen with a viral infection, during physical exercise, and when exposed to cold air. Typically, patients experience difficulty while exhaling but others can experience this while inhaling. Often during an asthmatic attack, exhalation is accompanied by a specific whistling sound.  
 
However, the presence of these symptoms is not enough to make a definite diagnosis. Asthma is detected through complex tests, and the patient’s medical history is of essential importance. A defining factor in receiving an asthma diagnosis is that between attacks, patients have normal lung function.  

Medical history

If you suspect the presence of asthma, your doctor will first ask if there are cases of asthma, atopic diseases, and/or food allergies in your family. Patients who have a history of asthma or other allergic manifestations on their mother’s or father’s side (or both parents) are at higher risk. This is because genetic predisposition is one of the main factors in the development of the disease.  
 
The doctor will also evaluate how often the symptoms occur and what type of irritants provoke them. 

Physical Exam

During the physical exam, the doctor will assess your breathing by listening to you with a stethoscope, watch your chest movements, and check for wheezing. The physical examination also includes blood pressure and heart rate measurements, which can also indicate the presence of asthma, as a rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) is often seen during an attack.  
 
Your doctor will also check for signs of allergies, including rashes.  

Spirometry

The other popular name of this test is FID or Functional Breathing Test. You can guess from its name that it’s an assessment of whether there are irregularities in the breathing process. The whole examination takes about ten minutes, and the patient does not need any preliminary preparation. 

By means of spirometry or FID, the functional capacity of the lungs is determined. It is established whether there are any disorders in the inhalation and exhalation processes, the amount of air that enters the lungs during breathing and how the oxygen is distributed throughout them.  

Peak Flow Study  

This involves blowing into a small hand-held device called a peak meter. This method is used to assess how quickly you can breathe out, which in turn indicates whether there is a narrowing of the airways. Once an asthma diagnosis has been made, peak flow tests are one way in which your condition will be monitored. 

Allergy tests

Despite the presence of allergies, this is not enough information to receive an asthma diagnosis. This is where the combination of the previously mentioned tests help come to a final diagnosis. Most asthmatics, however, exhibit various allergic reactions, which are also frequent culprits for the onset of attacks. Therefore, it is important to determine, through a blood or skin test, exactly which allergens the patient is intolerant to to limit their exposure and reduce the frequency of their attacks. 

X-rays  

A chest x-ray is not the primary method for diagnosing asthma, but it can provide doctors with useful indicators. These include increased mucus in the lungs or thickening of the airway walls. However, in some patients with asthma, radiographs may not show any pathological changes.

In conclusion:

There is no single test that can definitively establish the presence of the disease. For the diagnosis to be accurate, your doctor must prescribe a combination of these methods. If the patient does have asthma, adequate efforts to control the disease is of paramount importance, whether the asthma will be severe and complicated or whether the attacks will be rather infrequent. 

• It is important to follow your doctor’s instructions 

• Provide yourself with an easy-to-use nebuliser. The Zano Inspire is compact and quiet (55 decibels) and is suitable for the entire family  

• Avoid irritants of an allergic and viral nature. 

With the right care and good control over triggers, it’s completely achievable for patients to live fulfilling lives with asthma! 

Sources:

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/asthma