What is Asthma?

Bronchial Asthma, or asthma in short, is a widespread, serious respiratory disease. Asthma is a chronic, i.e. long-lasting disease.The disease can occur at any age and affects five percent of adults and ten percent of children worldwide. In contrast to children, where asthma symptoms are usually allergic and not permanent, 30 to 50 percent of adults endure bronchial asthma as a chronic, inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract and not as an allergy. Both suffer from unpleasant, dangerous shortness of breath. Apomeds has the most used Asthma inhalers for you in stock.

Asthma is a chronic disease of the respiratory tract and cannot be cured. However, the symptoms of asthma can be alleviated and controlled so that asthma patients can enjoy a pain-free life. In asthma, one suffers from shortness of breath due to swelling of the airways. There are different types of asthma, allergic and chronic.

Allergic Asthma

With allergic asthma, the immune system reacts excessively and fiercely to external stimuli and allergy-inducing substances in the environment, so-called allergens, such as pollen, house dust mites, animal hair or mold spores. The immune system and the defenses of healthy people do not respond to these actually harmless substances. However, the body of a person with allergic asthma acts with extreme resistance to these allergens, the respiratory muscles cramp and breathing is severely impeded. An allergy to pollen is also referred to as a seasonal allergy, since symptoms usually only occur in certain seasons, mainly spring and summer.

Chronic Asthma

Unfortunately, bronchial asthma is not seasonal and one cannot grow out of the disease. In people with this chronic asthma, the bronchial system is permanently inflamed, over-excited, sensitive and in constant readiness to defend itself. As with allergic asthma, the bronchi and bronchioles of an asthmatic are hypersensitive to harmless external stimuli and influences (allergens, smoke, dust) and react with an extreme defense response of the respiratory tract. During an asthma attack, the lower respiratory tract narrows, the mucous membranes in the bronchial walls swell and a lot of persistent mucus develops, which can only be coughed up with difficulty.

Asthma Symptoms – Asthma Attack

As a result of this acute narrowing of the lower respiratory tract, the main symptoms of bronchial asthma include sudden shortness of breath, which often occurs at night or early in the morning. Exhalation is particularly difficult and is accompanied by whistling breath sounds, so-called gumming. Coughing, coughing-fits, shortness of breath, strong wheezing when breathing, difficulties speaking and tightness in the chest, are also among the most common ailments of an asthmatic. Other signs of bronchial asthma include pain behind the breastbone, difficulty breathing out and a dry cough. Such characteristic asthma symptoms often occur even after physical exertion. However, an asthma attack that leads to acute respiratory obstruction and shortness of breath can occur at any time, and shortness of breath and difficulty breathing quickly leads to anxiety, nausea and panic. The intensity and frequency of the seizures vary from person to person. The symptoms of bronchitis, bronchial carcinoma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are similar to those of asthma, but asthma persists throughout life.

Asthma Inhaler

There are three different types of asthma sprays that use different types of mechanisms to release the drug. These include dosage inhalers (MDIs), MDIs with a spacer that gives more time to inhale the drug, and dry powder inhalers. The most commonly used inhaler is the brown inhaler (prevention) and the blue spray (for asthma attacks and/or prevention).

Asthma Sprays at Apomeds

Apomed has the following asthma sprays in its assortment:

• Salbutamol
• Ventolin
• Atrovent
• Pulmicort

If you already use an asthma spray, you can have a follow-up prescription issued by Apomeds and have the spray delivered directly to your home by the mail-order pharmacy!

More information

• Asthma.co.uk
• Asthma attacks are increasing