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Symptoms of Asthma
Symptoms and severity of asthma can vary from person to person. Most people with asthma do not show symptoms regularly. Common asthma symptoms are uncontrollable coughing, wheezing, heaviness in the chest, shortness of breath etc. the severity of symptoms is directly proportional to the severity of the disease, and it can lead to short and long term effects on the physical and mental health of the patient. For some asthma can be a minor nuisance, but for some, it can be a major problem that interferes with daily activities of life and can lead to other physical and mental disabilities.
Short effect of Asthma
Asthma can hamper your daily productivity and can interfere with your sleep routine and prevent you from engaging in physical activity. This increases the risk of obesity and heart problems.
– Pneumonia and other respiratory tract infections can occur due to asthma. Asthma is not directly linked to pneumonia, but the medications used for treatment may contribute to an increased risk of pneumonia. People using inhalers with corticosteroids are increased risk of getting with pneumonia or other respiratory infections. The corticosteroids interfere with immune system function leading to infections.
Long term effects of Asthma
If the symptoms of asthma are not controlled in time, this will lead to irreversible damage to the lungs. The damage caused can be severe, and people may ultimately need to use an assistive device to breathe.
– Mental health problems- as asthma is permanent and hampers, your daily activities of life can lead to anxiety and depression. Asthma causes psychological stress and negative emotions which increases the risk of mood disorders. Sleep disturbance and inflammatory factors cause a high level of stress leading to anxiety and depression. Young children who have severe asthma are more prone to mental disorders as they are unable to indulge in leisure activities with other children leading to stress, anxiety and depression. Asthma causes disturbance in sleep and inflammatory factors leading to a high level of mental health problems in the patient.
– Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)- COPD is a lung disease including emphysema, bronchitis and chronic obstructive airways disease. Still, it is not linked to asthma directly, but uncontrolled and severe asthma can lead to COPD. Asthmatics who also smoke will experience recurrent chest infections and have a higher risk of developing COPD.
– Obesity and heart disorders- asthmatics are discouraged from doing exercise as this worsens their symptoms and doing so lead deteriorating cardiovascular health. Avoiding exercise or other physical activities increases the risk of developing obesity which in turn increases the risk of other health complications such as type-2 diabetes, stroke and coronary heart disorders.