Dr. Manisha Arora

Hello friends, I am Dr Hemant Kadra. I am a pulmonologist. A pulmonologist is a doctor who deals with respiratory problems. Today I will be explaining Asthma in a very simple manner because it is a simple disease.
So, when to suspect asthma?

All patients who are present with a cough with or without breathlessness on exposure to dust, fumes, cold atmosphere, on eating chilled vegetables and fruits can have asthma. They also give family histories of allergic disorders like allergic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis so we can suspect asthma in our patients who are present with a cough with or without breathlessness and on exposure to such triggers like cold, dust, fumes, change of weather- this is the clinical history.
There are 2 components-

One is prevention. You must avoid all your triggers. And treatment part is slightly different. Treatment is we have to control swelling in the area, narrowing of the airways.

There are 2 kinds of medication- one is a reliever and the other is preventer medication. Reliever medication gives you immediate relief and preventer medication is given for a longer amount of time just to maintain the anti-inflammatory component in the airways. So, we combine both the type of medications in an inhaler or one rhotahaler to give maximum benefits to the patients. So, these are the basic things about asthma.

I will tell you about basic myths about asthma. What people think about asthma but is not true. People think that asthma is a contagious disease. It is communicable. No, it is not true.

• It is an allergic disorder first of all. Asthma or allergy runs in families because it is a genetic disorder.
• Secondly, an inhaler is a drug delivery system. It is not a drug. It delivers lowest possible drugs to the airways to a very minimum side-effect. So, this myth is not true that inhalers are very hard, they are addicting, habit forming, it is not true. It is a drug delivery system.​
• Third myth is that inhalers are to given to severely ill patients or very chronic asthmatic patients this is also not true. We believe that inhalers should be given early whenever they are detected with asthma early in the disease. So, to prevent later chronic changes in the airbase, we should start inhalers in the beginning only.

So, if you want to consult me, you can cotact me through Lybrate. You can contact me through sms, sudio clips, video clips, whatsapp, email only through lybrate. Com. I am available 24 hours a day and ready to help you.

Thank you.