What’s Allergic Asthma?

Isn’t it this or that?  Don’t you have one or the other? Isn’t it allergy or asthma? Not necessarily.

Allergic asthma is the most common type of asthma. About 90% of children with childhood asthma have allergies, compared with about 50% of adults. Allergic asthma is a disease of the lungs in which an allergic reaction to inhaled allergens causes symptoms to appear.  Common inhaled allergens include dust mite allergen, pet dander, pollen and mold spores.

Blood tests done by your doctor can help determine if you have allergic asthma.  Knowing if you have allergic asthma or non-allergic asthma is very important to help your doctor develop the right management and treatment plan for you. Diagnosis of allergic asthma begins with a discussion with your doctor about your medical history, a physical exam that includes a lung function test and, in some cases, a chest or sinus x-ray.

If you have allergic asthma, your airways are hypersensitive to the allergens to which you’ve become sensitized.  Once these allergens get into your airways, your immune system overeats.  The muscles around your airways tighten (an effect called bronchospasm).  The airways themselves become inflamed and flooded with thick mucus.

Whether you have allergic asthma or non-allergic asthma, the symptoms of asthma are generally the same and may include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, rapid breathing and/or tightening of the chest.

Either way it’s not a condition you can fix on your own with over-the-counter medications.  It’s time to see an allergist.

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