An Asthma Diagnosis Begins With Identifying Asthma Symptoms
By Pat Bass, About.com Guide to Asthma
Determining patterns of asthma symptoms is essential to making an asthma diagnosis. Individual asthma symptoms can be similar to those of other conditions, so looking at recurrent causes and frequency of asthma symptoms can help your doctor decide if you have asthma or something else.
- Could It Be Asthma?
- Could It Be Something Else?
- How Your Doctor Decides on a Diagnosis
- You Have a Diagnosis - Now What?
Could It Be Asthma?
You're having some trouble breathing and you're wondering if it could be asthma. After all, you're hearing every day how there's an asthma epidemic and you wonder how you or your child will escape, right? There are some very basic clues that can help you get a handle on whether it's asthma -- or something else.
- Asthma Risk Factors - Are You at Risk?
- Are Your Symptoms Triggered By Something?
- Start Keeping a Log to Share With Your Doctor
Could It Be Something Else?
While asthma has some hallmark symptoms, other conditions may have very similar symptoms. So, it's important that you help your doctor rule out other possible reasons for how you are feeling.
How Your Doctor Decides on a Diagnosis
If you or your child haven't visited a doctor yet, or haven't gotten a diagnosis so far, you may still be wondering if you have asthma or some other breathing problem. To decide, your doctor will use a combination of medical history, symptoms and testing to decide if a person with breathing problems actually has asthma.
- Steps Doctors Use to Diagnose Asthma
- Gathering Evidence With Diagnostic Tests
- Testing Airway Function With a Peak Flow Meter
- Pinpointing an Allergy Connection
You Have a Diagnosis - Now What?
So your doctor has done all the testing, examinations and history taking and finally told you that you DO have asthma. So now what? Besides getting under treatment, one of your first actions should be to educate yourself.
