How to know if you have asthma or not
The common presenting complaints are:
• Presence of atrophy, i.e. history of asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema or urticaria in anv of the family members.
• Difficulty in breathing with wheezing sound which may be episodic initially and become continuous later.
• Persistent unexplained cough with or without sputum.
• Past history of frequent ‘allergic bronchitis’, ‘asthmatic bronchitis’ or ‘eosinophilia’.
Do you have asthma?
Read the following questions. Do not be in a hurry to answer the questions. Take time to think about your answers as they pertain to your individual situation.
• Are there attacks or recurrent episodes of wheezing (high-pitched whistling sounds when breathing out)?
• Is there troublesome cough, worse particularly at night, or on awakening?
• Is there cough after physical activity, like running or other exercise?
• Is there breathing problems during a particular season?
• Do the colds ‘go to the chest’ or take more than 10 days to resolve?
• Is there use of any medication (e.g. bronchodilator or corticosteroid) when symptoms occur and does this medicine produce any relief?
If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, a diagnosis of asthma should be considered.
Some more Questions for a more Specific Diagnosis:
1. Are the symptoms (cough and/or wheeze) more during working days of the week and less or absent on holidays? (Suggestive of occupational asthma)
2. Are the symptoms related to asthma usually triggered off by a cold? (Suggests asthma linked to allergic rhinitis)
3. Are the symptoms of asthma often worse after meals? (Suggest gastroesophageal reflux-induced asthma)
4. Are symptoms of asthma triggered or worse after use of painkillers, e.g. aspirin, etc.? Suggestive of drug (NSAID or aspirin)-induced asthma.
Patient can have Asthma, Even Medical Examination is Normal!
As symptoms of asthma vary throughout the day, the respiratory system may appear normal during a physical examination. Physical signs are present only if the patient has symptoms at the time of examination. Thus the absence of signs at the time of the examination does not exclude the diagnosis of asthma.