Cough-variant asthma is one of the most common causes of chronic cough, which is a cough that lasts longer than 6-8 weeks. The coughing with asthma can occur during the day or at night.
Asthma medications prescribed by your allergist will help to relieve the coughing attacks. These include a fast-acting bronchodilator inhaler, which expands the airways in the lungs and offers quick relief, or a corticosteroid inhaler, which relieves inflammation when used daily. Often both types are needed.
If you notice that your asthma symptoms are worse after you've had a cold (rhinovirus) or flu (influenza), or you've been ill recently and you're now experiencing an ongoing cough that won't go away, you may have post-viral asthma.
Coughing. A cough that keeps coming back is a symptom of asthma. It's more likely to be asthma if your cough is accompanied by other asthma symptoms, like wheezing, breathlessness or chest tightness.
Most people with asthma have a dry cough, one that does not produce mucous. This happens when the airways constrict in response to an irritant and is a feature of asthma. As well as the cough there is often a high-pitched wheeze sound that is also caused by the constricted airway.
Asthma cough reflex and throat clearing are common phenomenons. Usually, they go away on their own. Most people self treat and don't seek medical attention. However, sometimes these symptoms become chronic, which is defined as coughing or throat clearing that persists for 8 or more weeks.
Cough in asthma is typically dry or minimally productive, but it may also be associated with hyper-secretion of mucus. Mucus hyper-secretion in asthma may be potentially related with steeper decline of pulmonary function [27] and fatal disease [28].
Ventolin is the brand name for the drug salbutamol (also known as albuterol) and is a bronchodilator that treats breathing problems like wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath are associated with both of these conditions.
Asthma inhalers soothe the airways and suppress the need to cough. They can allow you the peace to recover. If an inhaler such as Ventolin doesn't help, and the cough worsens, it's important to see a doctor again in case there's an underlying infection or other problem.
Keep your inhaler next to your bed so that you can use it if you have a coughing fit during the night. Keep water by your bed. Sip some water when your symptoms start to flare up. Moisture will soothe the airways and help relieve your night-time cough.
The coughing with asthma can occur during the day or at night. If you have nighttime asthma, it can interrupt sleep. People with cough-variant asthma often notice that coughing increases with exercise, called exercise-induced asthma.
Poor asthma management can lead to airway remodeling. Airway remodeling is a serious condition that happens when asthma is untreated or poorly managed. The lungs become scarred, asthma medicines do not work as well and less air is able to move through your airways.
Asthma often gets worse at night when we're sleeping. The symptoms of nocturnal asthma include: Chest tightness. Coughing that makes it hard to rest.
Sinus infections, allergies, pollen, breathing in some chemicals, and acid reflux can also trigger attacks. Physical exercise; some medicines; bad weather, such as thunderstorms or high humidity; breathing in cold, dry air; and some foods, food additives, and fragrances can also trigger an asthma attack.
Some quick-relief asthma medicines include: Albuterol (ProAir HFA, Proventil HFA, Ventolin HFA) Levalbuterol (Xopenex HFA) Metaproterenol.
Dosage. The normal way to use your inhaler (both adults and children) is: 1 or 2 puffs of salbutamol when you need it. up to a maximum of 4 times in 24 hours (regardless of whether you have 1 puff or 2 puffs at a time)
The most common reliever medication is salbutamol, commonly known as Ventolin. During an episode of asthma, your child will need their reliever every two to four hours. Once the initial episode has improved, your child will need to keep taking the reliever three to four times a day until the cough and wheeze are gone.
You should not use Ventolin if you are allergic to albuterol. Ventolin is not approved for use by anyone younger than 4 years old.
This medicine may cause paradoxical bronchospasm, which means your breathing or wheezing will get worse. This may be life-threatening. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have coughing, difficulty breathing, or wheezing after using this medicine.
It often causes a buildup of mucus in the lungs that can make it hard for you to breathe. Albuterol doesn't treat the pneumonia infection itself. But albuterol can improve your breathing by loosening the mucus in your lungs. When used for this purpose, albuterol is typically given as a liquid solution with a nebulizer.
Nervousness, shaking (tremor), headache, mouth/throat dryness or irritation, changes in taste, cough, nausea or dizziness may occur. If any of these effects last or get worse, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly.
About asthma
Asthma is a common long-term condition that can cause coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and breathlessness. The severity of these symptoms varies from person to person. Asthma can be controlled well in most people most of the time, although some people may have more persistent problems.
Asthma patients should go to the emergency department if they have severe asthma symptoms, especially if these symptoms are accompanied by severe sweating, faintness, nausea, panting, rapid pulse rate, and pale, cold, moist skin. (These may be signs of shock or a potentially life-threatening drop in blood pressure.)
Allergies, asthma and often viral infections cause white phlegm or phlegm without a lot of color to it.