Asthma, Allergies, COVID, and Travel may sound stressful. Thus, we have created a checklist to help you prepare for your trip, so you get the most out of your trip instead of getting bothered by the essentials that you didn’t consider before the trip.
As asthma is a common disease, most people are aware that it is a condition that affects the lungs. Asthma is a chronic illness—once a person has it, they will have it throughout their life, through periods of remission where they are asymptomatic do occur.
The main symptoms of asthma are coughing, chest tightness, wheezing (a whistling sound when exhaling), and dyspnea—also known as shortness of breath.
Asthma is controllable, but it can be scary and even dangerous if it’s not kept in check—and having allergies can be downright annoying. Having both asthma and allergies, though, can be the source of some major problems, and the two often coexist. Often, asthma worsens when allergies do—during the spring and late summer.
Acute bronchitis is an infection that leads to inflammation and increased mucus production in the lungs. The symptoms may be similar to other respiratory illness—coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, or chest tightness or pain are all common symptoms of acute bronchitis. [1]
A persistent cough is the most common symptom that indicates bronchitis—the cough may or may not be productive, and if it is, the sputum (mucus or phlegm) expelled may be yellow or greenish or clear. [1] Other non-respiratory symptoms include fatigue or tiredness, and slight fever or chills. [1] It is common for acute bronchitis to onset alongside or just after having a cold, flu or other respiratory virus or infection. [2] Nasal congestion or sinusitis may also accompany or lead to developing acute bronchitis. [3] [4]
If you’ve experienced acute bronchitis in the past, you’re not alone: 10 million Americans visit a doctor for symptoms diagnosed as acute bronchitis (more often simply known as “bronchitis”) each year. [1] Most often, acute bronchitis becomes apparent with a cough, caused by inflammation of the airways. [2] Most often, acute bronchitis is caused by a viral infection like a cold or flu, though sometimes it is caused by a bacterial infection or exposure to another irritant, like chemicals. [3]
Often, treatments developed for asthma can be used for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and treatments used for COPD can be used for asthma—because asthma and COPD are two different diseases, although, with similar symptoms, this may seem a bit perplexing. However, researchers have determined that these two lung diseases have many aspects in common.
Asthma and COPD remain two separate diseases with distinct characteristics and approaches to treatment, but an understanding of both diseases has helped us further our understanding.
Those with moderate to severe asthma, especially those who were diagnosed as children, may have an increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). According to a 2015 study in the Journal of Thoracic Disease, 16% of people with asthma will develop “insufficient airway reversibility after 21-33 years” living with the disease. [1] This is because, if uncontrolled with medications, the inner walls of the airways can undergo “remodeling” over time, causing the airways to be irreversibly narrowed—this is where COPD comes in: when the narrowing of airways is no longer reversible. [2]
Pulmonary fibrosis is a lung disease that affects about 200,000 Americans according to the American Thoracic Society. In pulmonary fibrosis, the tissues inside the lungs—the airways and alveoli, or air sacs—become scarred and stiff. This stiffness means the airways cannot contract and expand as easily when taking in air, and cellular damage within the alveoli (air sacs) does not allow oxygen to pass as easily to the bloodstream, also impairing carbon dioxide from passed through as easily to be exhaled. This impairs the body’s ability to take in oxygen.
Research indicates that children who are diagnosed with cystic fibrosis early have better outcomes. Soon after birth, babies in many countries including the United States and Canada will have a simple blood test done to screen for cystic fibrosis (CF) and other diseases. [1] Early screening, detection and diagnosis lead to better outcomes for children with CF. [1]
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder which affects the lungs and digestive system—thick, sticky mucus is produced, impairing the function of the lungs and pancreas [2], an organ responsible for secreting enzymes responsible for proper digestion of food. Symptoms that arise from CF are due to this mucus.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that causes abnormally thick, sticky mucus to develop in the lungs, pancreas and digestive tract. [1] In the lungs, this mucus clogs airways and causes inflammation, leading to scarring of the lung tissues—frequent infections lead to additional permanent lung damage. In the digestive system, mucus blocks ducts in the pancreas, impairing the release of enzymes required to effectively digest food.
