Occupational Asthma
Occupational Asthma
A type of asthma that is induced during the exposure of chemical fumes, gases and in the air to the peoples on certain kind of jobs. This occur to the person either being already allergic to that substance or develop immunological reaction against at substance.
Symptoms
Symptoms of occupational induced asthma are as follows:
- Tightness of chest
- Frequent coughing
- Wheezing usually at night
- Problematic breathing
- Runny nose
- Congestion of nasal sinuses
- Irritation of eye and increased lacrimation
Causes
The main cause of occupational induced asthma is the triggering of immune system by the substances mostly found at workplaces. Some of these substances are:
- Fur, hair, saliva of animals.
- Paint, varnishes, adhesives, laminates and other chemicals which are found at workplaces.
- Some enzymes which are used in detergents and flour conditioner.
- Chlorine gas, Sulphur dioxide, smoke and other respiratory irritants.
Complications
Complications of this condition include:
- Worsening of symptoms
- Permanent lung damage
- Death
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of this condition include complete general physical examination and detailed history of the patient. Other testing techniques for the diagnosis involved
- Spirometry
- Peak flow evaluation test
- Allergy skin test
- Inhalation of suspected substance as a challenge test
Treatment
The main criteria to treat this condition is avoiding the substance which causes asthma attack at first. Other options for treatment are:
- Quick acting medications are prescribed to relieve the symptoms of the asthma attack. These medications include short acting beta agonist and intravenous or oral corticosteroids.
- For long term management of asthma some medications are prescribed like long acting beta agonist, leukotrienes modifiers, inhaled corticosteroids and some combination inhalers which have corticosteroids and long acting beta agonist.
Alternative Medicine
- Buteyko method, the Papworth method, lung-muscle training and yoga breathing exercises (pranayama) are some breathing techniques which could be beneficial for this type of asthma.
- Acupuncture