How would I know if I have asthma as an adult?
Adult asthma announces itself in patterns of cough, wheeze, chest tightness or breathlessness. The symptoms come in episodes, worse at night and early morning. Triggers include colds, exercise, allergens, cold air or smoke. A dry night cough can be its only voice.
It is confirmed with breathing tests, not guesswork, and modern inhaler treatment returns most people to full unrestricted life.
Untreated asthma quietly remodels airways, so recurring episodes deserve diagnosis rather than an emergency inhaler borrowed indefinitely. Severe breathlessness, blue lips or inability to finish sentences is an emergency now.
Source: NHS, asthma
See a doctor promptly if
- Breathlessness with chest pain, tightness or pressure
- Breathlessness at rest, or waking at night gasping for air
- Needing extra pillows to breathe, or new swelling of both ankles
- Sudden breathlessness with a fast heartbeat, or with calf pain and swelling
- Fainting or near-fainting on the stairs, or coughing up blood
- Breathlessness that has clearly worsened over days rather than months
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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