Asthma
Types of asthma and clinical manifestations
The bronchi have particular role to protect the lungs from foreign agents or external aggression, including the restriction of the diameter bronchium. The asthma is manifested by an overreaction of the bronchi in relation to his environment. The airways of asthma are inflammation and their diameters are reduced. The mucus produced in response to inflammation has further reduced the diameter of the bronchi, making the difficult end; we speak of expiratory airflow obstruction. The causes of inflammation and especially the conditions of events can establish three main types of asthma.
Although each patient correspond to one or other of the profiles of asthma, it is only a manifestation of general disease, it is not uncommon for a chronic asthmatic known attacks of 'allergic asthma or exercise induced asthma and vice versa.
In all types of asthma found the following symptoms:
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath;
- Chest tightness (feeling of heaviness in the chest)
- A tachypnea or conversely a bradypnea, that is to say an increase or decrease in respiratory rate;
- A whistle at the end (called breathing wheezing);
- A decrease in saturation of the hemoglobin oxygen mainly in severe attacks;
- A tachycardia;
- A draw in the event of severe crisis;
- A cough may be chronic or dominate the night.
- Crises that may occur after exercise (known then induced asthma or more precisely of broncho-spasm, post-exercise)
Only the intensity, duration and causes of these symptoms vary from one type to another.