Testing for Asthma

How do doctors test for Asthma before treating asthma?

Some common questions asked when testing for asthma tend to be geared towards questions such as, do you have trouble breathing when you exert your self from doing things such as manual labor or other activities which require physical exertion? If so, is this what caused you seek asthma treatment or seek asthma testing? There are many similar questions used for testing for asthma. Prior to Asthma treatment doctors will ask many questions related to daily activities. Many of the questions are trying to detect if you have issues breathing. Another method for testing for asthma is using X-rays of the chest or an X-ray for the sinuses. However, questions before treating asthma revolve around questions geared towards your difficulty breathing. Additional questions address the following symptoms such as: wheezing, difficulty breathing, coughing or discussing issues like difficulty sleeping because of the symptoms of have you awaken because of wheezing, coughing or difficulty breathing? Common Asthma tests used prior to asthma treating are tests such as, Spirometry, Pulmonary Function Testing. All these tests could be used prior to starting an asthma treatment program if the doctor concludes you have a history of asthma.

Spirometry testing involves a person breathing into a tube to attempt to measure the individual’s lung volumes. Most spirometry tests are conducted in hospitals or doctors offices. The spirometry testing unit is about the size of a laptop with unique card that attaches to a flow sensing device.

Pulmonary Function Testing is more far-reaching spirometry which requires the person being tested to sit in “body box” which is basically a closed booth which provides superior accuracy and provides an assortment of measurements. The point of being in enclosed space is to accurately measure the actual amount of air in your lungs. Otherwise, doctors are only able to measure what you are able exhale. Pulmonary function tests are normally performed by a licensed Respiratory Therapists.A pulmonary function test with methacholine is a challenge is where the patients has been measured using the all the tests and questions described above, and then doctors administer a drug named methacholine which can cause an asthma attack. You would be given a predetermined dosage of methacholine through a special nebulizer increasing dosages until a 20% decrease in lung volume is detected (in order for it be a positive test). A person that does not have Asthma shouldn't react to methacholine. The pulmonary function test with methacholine is one of the more accurate asthma methods for testing for asthma prior to asthma treatment.

Asthma Diagnosis

An Asthma Diagnosis Preview

How I would Diagnose Asthma

Diagnosing asthma is usually pretty easy. However, for a proper Asthma diagnosis an individual should seek attention from their physician. There are some main symptoms associated with an Asthma Diagnosis. Some of these symptoms are: continued wheezing, coughing, trouble breathing, and chest tightness. These symptoms if present can often become worse at night. Additionally, some triggers of Asthma can be cold air, exercise or exposure to allergens such as pollen, mold, pet dander, dust mites or similar allergen triggers. All of which people dealing with asthma or asthma patients should be concerned with when addressing asthma treatment.

A part of the Asthma diagnosis is seeing if the patient is wheezing, this can be identified when a slight whistling sound is heard when a person breathes in and out. Wheezing can be heard slightly with a stethoscope by placing the scope on the back and chest. One of the first tools a used to diagnosis asthma is the doctors’ stethoscope; this tool can help detect wheezing which may not be obvious to the patient or family or friends.

Wheezing that is inherently heard out loud is usually obvious by a louder whistling sound when the person inhales and exhales. The person with the problem wheezing usually has noticeable problem breathing. The doctor will quickly recognize this when trying to diagnosis asthma. A interesting observation from my doctor was he said patients usually has become so accustomed to the difficulty breathing that it is a part of their daily lifestyle. I know this is true for me and often don’t realize when I am wheezing.

Due to patients not noticing how difficult their breathing has become, the doctor attempting to diagnosing asthma will usually ask someone close to the person if they notice the patient having difficulty breathing.

If you have been around a smoker, the wheezing and trouble breathing from a person suffering from a mild asthma attack can easily be compared to anyone that has been around a long term smoker. Wheezing is not only common to people with Asthma it is also a temporary problem for people suffering from bronchitis. Coughing as a symptom of Asthma most likely is a prelude to asthma attack and is only one of many symptoms to occur. Although coughing could be as simple as a tickle in an individuals throat it could be the beginning of something worse for an asthmatic.

An example of a trigger for coughing could result from exercising or being involved in a similar strenuous activity. The asthmatic could start to partially cough, then continue to cough harder. Most likely the next symptom of the beginning of an Asthma attack will be trouble breathing; this is usually after their coughing spell has subsided. If this experience is observed it will be beneficial to share with the doctor trying to Diagnosis Asthma. My experience is trouble breathing with slight wheezing is an excellent indicator that an asthma attack is about to occur.

Trouble breathing as related to asthma is usually caused by the combination of allergies, physical exertion or something irritating the individuals normal breathing pattern. If there has been coughing, wheezing followed by trouble breathing chance are person is likely on the verge of a full fledged asthma attack. Chest tightness and shortness of breath with the combination of wheezing is a prelude to the asthma attack. This is why it is is important to seek some form of asthma testing.

Although the following isn’t an “asthma diagnosis” it is still important to recognize what a possible attack is in the event you need to describe what you witnessed if a diagnosis needs to be made. Once the asthma attack is at the height of its final stage the individual will not be able to take a full breath and most likely rapid breathing begins in the hope they can be able to breathe normally. However, rapid breathing is a part of the problem and the person should try to prevent rapid breathing, this only cause’s tightness of the chest and some panicking, a partially panicked person can not get their breath. The problem with rapid breathing is the person having the attack is not taking in enough air to keep oxygen in the blood. This also can lead to dry land drowning as is with toxic chemical exposures. Although this is my version and experience of an Asthma attack it is still up to the doctor to accurately decide if he is correct in an asthma diagnosis.