Diagnosis

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Mon 30 Jun 2008

Asthma at school

Posted by Admin under Allergies and asthma , Diagnosis
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  • Supply a copy of your child’s bronchial asthma action plan and explain what it means
  • Listing and explain your child’s asthma triggers and why it’s essential to avoid them. (Some common triggers in the classroom include woolly animals, dust, mould and strong smells.)
  • Show teachers your child’s asthma medicines and how to use them properly - make sure the medicines are well marked.
  • Make sure the teachers know which medicine is the rescue medication that helps in an asthma emergency (usually the blue inhaler).
  • Ask about the school’s rules about asthma medicines - tension the importance of allowing your child to carry his medications with him at all times
  • Ask about policies for field trips - with a bit of excess planning most trips should be safe
  • Offer to arrange an information session with a Certified bronchial asthma Educator
  • Make sure your child’s teachers know what to do in an emergency and whom to contact

 

Mon 30 Jun 2008

DOCTORS DIAGNOSE ASTHMA

Posted by Admin under Diagnosis
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Diagnosis of asthma should require the following steps:

  • evaluating symptoms of cough, wheeze, chest tightness and shortness of breath;
  • assessing severity of symptoms; do they
  • happen daytime and/or nighttime?
  • happen with physical activity?
  • happen frequently?
  • lead to missed play/school/work?
  • evaluating family history of asthma, allergies;
  • evaluating possible allergies to inhalants and/or food; other signs of allergy of the skin, nose and intestine;
  • referral for allergy testing (includes infants);
  • referral for breathing tests.

 

Sun 29 Jun 2008

Diagnosis

Posted by Admin under Diagnosis
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A diagnosis of asthma normally is based along the patient’s symptoms, medical history, a physical examination, and laboratory tests that value pulmonary (lung) function. Doctors typically search for signs that the patient’s airflow is obstructed and that the obstruction is at least partially reversible. Factors that trigger symptoms may be obvious, such as exercise, cold air, and exposure to an allergen; however, the precipitating factors may not be clearly described.

The airway obstruction is taken reversible if the wheezing disappears in response to treatment, or when the suspected activating factor is removed or solved.

Spirometry

The most reliable way to determine reversible respiratory tract obstruction is with spirometry, a test that measures the amount of air entering and leaving the lungs. This smooth test can be executed in the physician’s office.Ideally, the patient should breathe out for at least 6 seconds. The spirometer measures the amount of air exhaled and the length of time it took to exhale it. The amount of air breathed out in the first second, expressed as “FEV1,” is measured and compared to the total amount breathed out. If the amount breathed out in 1 second is disproportionately low to the total breathed out, the patient has an blockage. To test for reversibility, the patient then inhales a bronchodilator (i.e., a drug that expands the airways in the lungs) and the spirometry is repeated. If the values of the test performed after administration of the bronchodilator are significantly better than the prebronchodilator values, the blockage is considered reversible. Because bronchial asthma symptoms vary, it is not unusual for a patient with chronic asthma to have average spirometry. In such cases, peak expiratory flow (PEF) rate monitoring may be used to show reversible airway obstruction. A peak flow meter is a portable device that can be taken by the patient. It consists of a small tube with a gauge that measures the maximum force with which one can blow air through the tube.

A patient with a suspected asthma-related airway obstruction does not demonstrate obstruction in spirometry or peak flow monitoring. In this siautation, the diagnosis of airway blockage may be provided by bronchial provocation.The another common bronchoprovocation exam is the exercise challenge test, which is used primarily with patients whose asthma is activated by workout. The patient performs spirometry and then workouts, usually on a treadmill or exercise cycle. The workout exam should resemble as closely as possible the conditions under which the symptoms are usually triggered. After the patient workouts, spirometry is persistent. This may be done several times, immediately after exercise and periodically, until there is a fall in the FEV1 bigger than 20% or until 30 minutes have elapsed.
Other Tests

  • Chest x-rays
  • Allergy testing
  • X-rays of the sinuses