When my daughter was a baby it was very easy for me to get a diagnosis of Asthma from the medical fraternity, in fact they came to me after I had her in hospital as she was so bad and was in a humicrib.

However, others I know have been a little apprehensive to seek medical advice regarding getting a diagnosis as they have been unsure of what Asthma Symptoms are.

On saying that - I urge anyone, not to wait, if you are uneasy about how you are feeling, or how your child/baby is, go to the Doctors and talk to them, it may or may not be Asthma, and it could be something else.

Asthma is a respiratory - lung - based disease, effectively caused by inflammation of the linings of the tubes in the lungs. This, in turn, means the tubes (the medical term is the "bronchi") are narrowed, making it harder for sufferers to breathe comfortably.

So what are the symptoms of Asthma?

The most common asthma symptoms include:

• Coughing - Coughing from asthma is often worse at night or early in the morning, making it hard to sleep.
• Wheezing - Wheezing is a whistling or squeaky sound that occurs when you breathe.
• Chest tightness - This may feel like something is squeezing or sitting on your chest.
• Shortness of breath- Some people who have asthma say they can't catch their breath or they feel out of breath or they cannot breath out correctly i.e. feel you can't get air out of your lungs.
• If you suffer from allergies you may have all the above plus - persistent runny nose, dark circles under your eyes or itchy, inflamed skin

A lung function test done along with a medical history (including type and frequency of your symptoms) and physical exam, is not only the best way to diagnose asthma in my opinion it is the only way for a proper diagnosis.  Self diagnosis is not the way to go, as Asthma is different for each person. Some of the factors listed may not affect you. Other factors that do affect you may not be on the list!

Another question who may ask is why are lung function tests performed and is the test horrible and frightening?

A lung function test (also called pulmonary function tests, or PFT's for short) is performed to evaluate how well your lungs work, basically it determines how much air your  can hold, how quickly you can move air in and out of your lungs, and how well your lungs put oxygen into and remove carbon dioxide from your blood. For most lung tests (meaning most common one performed) you breathe into a mouthpiece attached to a recording device (Spiro meter). The information collected by the Spiro meter is then printed out on a chart called a Spiro gram.

Is it frightening – NO – not at all!

A visit to your Doctor, who will in turn may send you to a Respiratory Physician, is the only way to go.

I wish you and yours the best of Health!

Disclaimer

It is important to note that information contained in this post is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Any questions regarding a medical diagnosis or treatment should be directed to a medical practitioner