Types Of Asthma

What are the different types of asthma? Asthma can be defined as a chronic disease that is characterized by inflammation of the airways. The symptoms of asthma include reversible obstruction of airflow, bronchospasm, wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing. There are many different types of asthma. Some of the most common types of asthma are child-onset asthma, adult-onset asthma, exercise induced asthma, cough induced asthma, occupational asthma, and nocturnal asthma.

Child onset asthma is asthma that is begins during childhood, hence the name. These types of asthma can happen because a youngster can be sensitized to allergens that are in the environment. Most of the time, the child onset asthma are passed on through genetics.

Adult onset asthma, on the other hand, is asthma that develops after a person reaches 20 years old. These are the types of asthma that are less common as they are also commonly seen in women. Adult onset asthma are triggered and caused mostly of allergic reactions. In fact, more than 50% of adult onset types of asthma are connected to allergies.

Exercise induced asthma are, well, asthma that is caused by exercise. These are the types of asthma that are felt when an unfit person runs fast then stops because he or she is out of breath. The main characterizing factor about the exercise induced asthma is that the person experiencing it will have bronchial tube inflammation. Generally, exercise induced asthma happens when a person exerts too much physical energy. The good thing about these types of asthma is that they can be managed. With proper treatment and asthma management, you can now exercise as much as you want without having breathing difficulties.

Next, we have the cough induced asthma. As the name implies, these types of asthma happens when a person has cough. Although among the many different types, this is the type that is most difficult to diagnose. There are many kinds of illness that can show as this type – bronchitis, sinus disease, and many others.

Occupational asthma is asthma that is mainly trigged by something in the workplace. They can be gases, vapors, smoke, fumes or other particles that can only be found there. Also, occupational asthma can be caused by virus, pollen, molds, and even animal products. To some people, occupational asthma is caused by stress at the workplace. Given that this is caused by factors that are seen in the workplace, when the person experiencing it transfers to a new one, the signs and symptoms of occupational asthma will start to disappear.

Nocturnal asthma, as the name implies, is asthma that occurs as a specific time – from midnight to 8AM. This can be allergen triggered. Sometimes, dust or pet dander as well as sinus conditions can cause this, too. Nocturnal asthma is also called nighttime asthma. They only occur during the evening and the person experiencing it can be normal and symptom free. Nocturnal asthma is known to commonly occur just once in a while. As many would know, there is also an illness called night time cough. If a person has this it may be confused with nocturnal asthma.