Asthma Test Necessary Or Not?
Question:
My doctor doesn't seem to think so.
I have been on asthma medince & it seems to help.
But sometimes the inhaler works & sometimes it doesn't.
I only have one symptom which is having a hard time breathing.
What ALL else could be wrong with me?
Wouldn't I have more symptoms if something else was wrong with me?
I read on a asthma site that u can only have one symptom of it.
I'm only 22.
I have had this problem for like 5 weeks now.
I had xrays done & they were normal.
Answers:
Not really, if your signs and symptoms all point to asthma, thats probally what you have. Here's a few things to consider:
*Inhalers are not properly used 50% of the time, therefore they may not properly work
*X-rays will ONLY show Asthma if taken when you are in an attack. This has always been a common misconception, that its always visible. Thats simply not true so X-rays are useless in diagnosing Asthma.
*Allergies are a common factor in asthma attacks and will cause attacks. Unless you treat the allergies, you won't see optimal results from asthma meds.
*Asthma is NOT an age discriminatory disease. It doesn't care if your 1month or 99 years, it can happen, and out of no where. Being 22 means nothing.
*Stress causes difficulty breathing, if your stressing this and trying to figure out whats wrong, you could be making things worse.
i have asthma to u should get tested for assurance OK i hope u get better
They way they diagnose asthma is to give you a breathing test (blow hard into a tube which measures output, force, etc.), then use an inhaled asthma medication (usually albuterol) and retest in about 15 minutes. If there is an improvement on the test, you have asthma.
If you've only had the problem for 5 weeks, it could be from an infection or allergies, rather than asthma. Have the doctor do the test or see one who will.
I have been having breathing problems for months now and I actually have asthma. My asthma is fine now, but I'm still having problems! I don't get it! Its so frustrating. Get the test done--all it is is this tube-like thing that you take a deep breath and breath as long as you can into with a clamp over your nose and it tests your breathing. It is fast and easy. If that is fine, then go to the doctor and see what else it could be!
Make sure your allergies are tested too!
basically you dont need a breathing test. and if you had one it is not conclusive (definitively diagnostic) for asthma. the other issue associated with a breathing test is, if you dont have the actual symptoms at the time the test is given then the results will look fairly normal. when you do have a serious asthma attack the peak flow will be decreased, but when that is happening you will be treated as though you are having an asthma attack and wont need the test either.
what i can derive from your question is that you are worried about having a hard time breathing and you are 22. since nothing showed up on an xray then that would at least help rule out pneumonia or perhaps TB, but after five weeks of ongoing symptoms maybe a second xray would give you peace of mind.
as for the asthma medication, well you are right, sometimes it works and sometimes not. the underlying problem here is that the medication is useful for only one thing, bronchospasm of the airways. if your breathing problem is not related to bronchospasms then the meds are really of no significant help. also if you are only using them when you think about it then that too can mean the difference between helping or not.
on the guesswork side: if you are having no fever, chills, heart irregularities, fainting, dizziness, excess mucus production, or colored (green, red, frothy) mucus, severe chest pain, or audible wheezing, and your xrays are normal, and you have absolutely no other medical history associated with a disease then i's say stop worrying, follow the doctor, or get a second opinion.
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