Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition of the lungs. It is triggered by allergens, such as pollen and cigarette smoke, and upper-respiratory infections, such as colds, sinusitis and throat infections. Exercise triggers asthma in some people. Asthma is controlled by inhaled medications, such as steroids, and allergy-control medicine. Despite these controller medicines, some patients have constant symptoms of asthma.
Cough
Patients with constant asthma have mostly respiratory symptoms. Cough occurs frequently, and it is a deep, congested cough from all the mucous and cellular debris that fills the airway in asthma. This cough gets worse at night or in the presence of cold air, smoke and dust. Despite this cough, most patients do not produce sputum, which could be a symptom of pneumonia or other infections.
Respiratory Distress
Patients with constant asthma have respiratory distress. Like the cough, the respiratory distress is a reflection of inflammation around the airways. The inflammation narrows the airways, decreasing the ability of the lings to deliver oxygen to the tissues. Air going through the narrowed airways of asthma produces wheezing, the characteristic lung sound of this disease. It is a high-pitched noise caused on expiration. Patients also exhibit rapid breathing and retractions, the pulling in of chest muscles in an attempt to bring in more oxygen-rich air.
Fatigue and Failure to Thrive
Patients with constant asthma have problems sleeping, which accounts for a sense of tiredness and fatigue. They also have problems concentrating at work or school. Constant asthma also produces failure to thrive, poor growth and developmental delay, particularly in children. This occurs when the body has to devote more energy to breathing than to its growth and development. Another continuing factor that leads to fatigue and poor growth is that the heart becomes strained, as it tries to compensate the decreased availability in oxygen by beating harder and faster. This can eventually lead to heart failure, as the heart is stretched beyond its limits.
