Asthma symptoms include coughing, wheezing, a tight feeling in the chest and difficulty in breathing. Asthma occurs when the breathing tubes of your lungs are over-sensitive and react to things that don’t affect other people.   As a result of this they become swollen and narrow.

If your asthma is not getting better or if you are having asthma attacks despite standard treatment (preventer and reliever inhalers) or if there is some doubt about the accuracy of the diagnosis, you may be referred to a specialist.

Generally you will be asked to give a complete medical history and be examined by the doctor. Sometimes other conditions can appear like asthma or complicate asthma, so you may be asked to have some tests to help in the diagnosis. 

Tests looking for severity and complicating features of asthma include:

blood testing, chest X-ray, spirometry, expired nitric oxide, induced sputum, tests of bronchial hypersensitivity, skin testing to common allergens, testing for aspirin hypersensitivity,  and CT scan of the chest.  For more details see below.

You may, however, not need any of these tests.

Treatment

Treatment includes taking medicines and possibly changing some lifestyle factors such as allergen avoidance, dietary manipulation, flu vaccination.  A peak flow meter can be used to keep a watch on your asthma and help with plans to prevent attacks.  Stopping smoking is very important as is learning to recognise what brings an asthma attack on.

Asthma is treated with inhaled medicines.  There are two types:

1. a preventer medicine is taken every day.  It soothes the irritated breathing tubes and reduces the likelihood of developing worsening asthma or “asthma attacks”.
2. a reliever treats the asthma attacks. It relaxes the tightened muscles around the breathing tubes. 

For more information on asthma see www.asthmanz.co.nz