Allergic asthma is the most common type of asthma and is sometimes referred to as allergy-induced asthma or extrinsic asthma. More than half of the 20 million plus people in the world who have asthma have the allergic type.
People who have allergies, or whose parents or siblings have allergies, are known to be at much higher risk for developing asthma than people with no allergy history. That's because the sensitization and inflammatory responses in both diseases are very similar processes.
How Do I Know if I Have Allergic Asthma?
As with other types of asthma, diagnosing allergy-induced asthma requires a medical history and possibly testing. Since most people with allergies and asthma have a family history of it, your doctor will ask you about your parents' and siblings' medical history of allergy & asthma.
Your doctor will also want to know about the symptoms you're having; what they are, when they occur, and how long they last.
Finally, the doctor may order different types of tests. There are lung function tests, such as spirometry and peak flow rates, that can tell the doctor more about how well your airways are working. But with allergic asthma, your doctor may also want to do some allergy testing via skin tests, to learn more about whether allergens are what is causing your symptoms. Knowing your IgE is also important.
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How Is Allergic Asthma Different?
From a symptoms standpoint, allergic asthma isn't really very different than any other type of asthma. You'll likely have a chronic cough, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. But with allergy-induced asthma, you may also have nasal allergy symptoms, such as sneezing, nasal stuffiness and a runny nose.
The main difference with allergic asthma is what sets off, or triggers your symptoms. In people with an allergy and asthma, those triggers tend to be what are called airborne allergens. That means they circulate via air currents and are inhaled into your body when you breathe.
People with asthma and allergies become sensitized to certain substances over time. Sometimes the sensitization happens quickly, while other times, it may take a number of exposures. Once you are sensitized, though, it is likely that every time you come into contact with the substance, it will trigger your asthma and allergy symptoms.
Identifying – and then avoiding – your asthma and allergy triggers is the first step in allergic asthma management and achieving asthma control.
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How Is Allergic Asthma Treated?
In addition to tracking triggers and symptoms to gain insight into how your body reacts to the world around you, allergic asthma treatment focuses on avoiding triggers (prevention) and medicine. It may also include immunotherapy, which is often referred to as allergy shots.
Most people who have allergic asthma will use some sort of preventive or controller medicine (usually in inhaler form) that they take once or twice daily to control airway inflammation and prevent symptoms. The most effective type of controller medicine for most people who have allergic asthma are inhaled steroids. Also, most people will have a rescue, or quick-relief, inhaler they can use if symptoms do occur. But people who have the allergic type of asthma may also take some sort of allergy medicine, such as an antihistamine, to control their allergy symptoms.
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Why Do I Need an Allergic Asthma Action Plan?
By far, the most important tool in gaining control over allergic asthma is having an up-to-date asthma action plan. Your action plan will help you recognize early warning signs that asthma control is slipping and will also guide you in taking the right action steps to keep things from getting worse.
The typical asthma action plan for someone with allergic asthma will not be that different than the one for someone with other types of asthma, except for the medicine taken. Knowing how to use a peak flow meter is an essential step in using your action plan.
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Source:
National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma. NIH Publication No. 97-4051, July 1997.
