Condition
Asthma that stays out of your way
Asthma narrows the airways on and off rather than for good, which is why it can be controlled so well. The aim is no night-time symptoms, no limits on what you do, and a reliever you rarely reach for.
What it is
Asthma is inflammation of the airways that makes them narrow and swell in response to a trigger. The narrowing comes and goes, and it usually reverses - with treatment, and sometimes on its own - which is what separates it from COPD.
It is common, it starts at any age, and it is one of the conditions where the difference between treated and untreated is enormous. Well controlled asthma places almost no limit on ordinary life. Poorly controlled asthma sends people to hospital.
This page is general information about the condition, written for patients. It is not a diagnosis, and it is no substitute for being examined.
Measuring it
How we find out, rather than assume
Each of these is done on site at the Tirupati centre, which is why most patients leave the first visit with an answer.
Spirometry with reversibility
You blow into a machine, we give a bronchodilator, and you blow again. Airflow that improves measurably is the closest thing to a positive asthma test.
FeNO
Measures nitric oxide in your breath, which rises with the particular kind of airway inflammation that responds to inhaled steroids.
Allergy testing
Skin prick testing and specific IgE panels, to find out whether a trigger you can avoid is driving it.
Chest X-ray
Not to diagnose asthma, but to rule out the conditions that imitate it.
Treatment
What care looks like
-
1
Treatment is built on an inhaler containing a steroid, which treats the inflammation rather than only relieving the spasm. Current guidance is clear that reliever-only treatment is not enough for adults, however mild the asthma looks.
-
2
Inhaler technique is checked at every visit, because a perfect prescription delivered badly is a bad prescription. You leave with a written plan saying what to take daily, what to do on a bad day, and when to ring.
-
3
For asthma that stays difficult despite correct treatment, the severe asthma clinic adds airway inflammation measurement and, where it is indicated, biologic therapy.
Questions
Asked most often
Answered the way we would answer them in the room. If yours is not here, ring the clinic and ask.
Related services
Can asthma be cured?
No, but it can almost always be controlled. The realistic target is no symptoms at night, no limits on exercise, and a reliever inhaler needed no more than occasionally. Many people reach that within a few weeks of the right treatment.
Do inhalers become a habit?
No. Inhaled steroids are not addictive and the dose used in asthma is small and goes almost entirely to the airway rather than the bloodstream. What does happen is that symptoms return when treatment stops, because the underlying inflammation is still there.
Can I exercise with asthma?
Yes, and you should. Exercise-induced symptoms are a sign that control needs improving, not a reason to stop. Several Olympic athletes compete with asthma.
Is asthma the same as allergy?
They overlap but are not the same. Many people with asthma have allergic triggers, which is why testing for them is useful, but asthma can also be triggered by infection, cold air, exercise or smoke with no allergy involved.