Asthma is a treatable lung condition where the airways inside your lungs become inflamed.  These airways also called bronchial tubes, are the passages that allow air to move in and out of your lungs as you breathe.  For people with asthma, the inflammation in these pathways makes it hard to get air in and out.

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Asthma Symptoms

Symptoms of asthma include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and/or a tight feeling in your chest.  ZFor some people with asthma, these symptoms happen when they are active. This can make it harder for people with asthma to exercise,  so it’s important to talk to your doctor about how to get and keep your asthma under control so that you can continue to live a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise.

If you have a family history of allergies or asthma, you are more prone to developing asthma.  Many people with asthma also have allergies, so managing your allergies may help reduce your asthma symptoms also.

Tobacco smoke is an irritant that often triggers asthma symptoms.  Air pollution, strong odors or fumes can also trigger an asthma attack in some people, so it is important for people with asthma to pay attention to their environments and make changes if necessary. Asthma triggers vary from person to person as do the strategies used to reduce your symptoms.

Asthma Treatments

Asthma is a manageable disease.  Your doctor will discuss the various medication options that may be right for you and develop a plan to reduce the inflammation in your airways and manage your symptoms.

There are two main types of asthma medicines, Quick-relief medications and long-term controller medications.  Quick relief medications for asthma do just what they sound like they do.  They are designed to provide temporary relief of symptoms and can be used before exercise to try to prevent them.  These rescue medicines are call bronchodilators which work by dilating your airways so more air can flow into and out of your lungs. These asthma medications are not designed to manage your symptoms long term.  For that, there are inhaled corticosteroids.

Long-term asthma medicines, known as inhales corticosteroids, are steroid based medications that are taken on a daily basis to control the inflammation in your airways.  There are several medications available and some may work better for you than others so it’s important to follow up with your doctor regularly to evaluate if the medicine you are taking is working or if you need to try something else.


If you think you may have asthma or need to evaluate if your current treatment is working, request an appointment with Dr. Gautam.