Asthma: Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatments

September 8, 2025

Dr Manjush R Mudadevannanavar
MD Pulmonary Medicine Fellow in Interventional Pulmonology Consultant Pulmonologist

This condition is a chronic respiratory disease that affects millions of people globally. It causes inflammation and narrowing of the airways in the lungs, which makes breathing difficult. During an asthma attack, the airways can become tight and swollen and produce extra mucus in response to a trigger. This may lead to multiple symptoms, including a lasting cough or a life-threatening incident. The condition may occur at any age. While most may experience mild symptoms, some individuals may be significantly impacted by this disorder. Understanding the causes, symptoms, and the need to diagnose the disease at an earlier stage is crucial to managing this condition and leading a fulfilling life effectively.

What Are the Different Types of Asthma?

There are different types of asthma, and many personal treatment plans should be implemented depending on the type of asthma you have.

• Allergic Asthma: This is the most widespread; the respiration is challenged by allergens (pollen, dust mite, mould or pet dander). It can also be caused by the interaction with other allergic disorders, such as hay fever or eczema.
• Non-allergic Asthma: These are not related to allergy and can be caused by many external factors, such as stress, cold air or viral infection.
• Occupational Asthma: This occurs as a result of irritants at the workplace, e.g. dust or fumes.
• Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction: It is a condition that occurs as a result of exercising, particularly with exercise in cold, dry air. Asthma symptoms in adults are likely to arise shortly after physical activity (2-3 min) and may last for 10-15 mins after stopping.
• Cough-Variant Asthma: This variety has a persistent dry cough as its symptom and is thus hard to diagnose. It is confused with a chronic cough caused by other diseases.

What Are the Causes and Risk Factors?

It is assumed that it is a mixture of environmental and hereditary factors. Individuals who have ancestors who have this condition or cases of allergy are at a greater risk of getting this condition. It can also be heavily influenced by exposure to environmental factors, and in particular, exposure as a child. They are second-hand tobacco smoke, air pollution, and exposure to allergens. Though these factors add up to the risk of developing it, they do not always mean that an individual will get it. A constant cough becomes the initial manifestation of the condition in a few. 

What Are the Common Symptoms of Asthma?

Asthma attack symptoms may differ significantly in different individuals. Some of the common symptoms amongst adults include tightness in the chest area, persistent coughing, and shortness of breath. Such symptoms could be mild, severe, occasional or frequent.

• Wheezing: A whistling or squeaking in the chest with breathing, esp. with expiration.
• Shortness of Breath: It is when you feel like you cannot get sufficient air into your lungs.
• Chest Tightness or Pain: The feeling of pressure or squeezing of the chest.
• Coughing: A cough that lasts all the time, however, mainly at night or in the morning.

Diagnosis: How is Asthma Identified?

The method of diagnosing asthma involves interrogating you with numerous questions about your past health condition and giving a physical analysis, coupled with checking the lung performance. Your doctor will become familiar with your symptoms, when they occur, and what appears to be the cause. The most prevalent test is the lung spirometry test, which is used to test the amount of air one can inhale and exhale and how fast the person can do it. Children may even struggle to undertake this test, and this is why the presence of symptoms, along with a physical exam, may become more influential in the diagnosis. In other cases, a peak flow meter can be used at home to monitor the breathing progress. This type of comprehensive initiative will be utilised to differentiate between this condition and other respiratory illnesses and come up with a proper diagnosis.

What Are the Asthma Treatment Options?

Although the asthma condition has no exact cure, it can be managed properly with the appropriate modalities. The therapy usually goes hand in hand with medication and a lifestyle change.

• Quick-Relief Medications (Relievers): Relievers are taken when asthma attack symptoms are being experienced. They act fast by easing the muscles surrounding your airways, opening them to facilitate easier breathing. One of the most common examples of this is a rescue inhaler.
• Preventers (Long-Term Loss of Control Medications): Preventers are required to manage airway inflammation and avoid symptoms and, therefore, are consumed every day. They do not ease their effects instantaneously; however, they are essential to management in the long term and in decreasing what are known as attacks.
• Biologics: Biologics could be taken into consideration in case the disease of an individual with severe asthma is not responsive to conventional treatments. These are medicines which affect the immune system to downplay swelling.

Lifestyle Management & Prevention

Asthma precautions are important in the avoidance of asthma attacks as well as keeping the symptoms under control. This means you need to know your triggers and avoid them. It is useful to make a diary of your symptoms, which helps in determining some of the things that could contribute to a flare-up.

• Allergen Avoidance: In case the trigger is an allergy, you can do something about the allergy by minimising the dust mite, mould, and pet dander exposure.
• Environmental Control: Seek to avoid exposure to air pollution, smoke, and strong chemical smells. Becoming a non-smoker by quitting is one of the most vital things that a smoker can ever do.
• Exercise Safely: Do not fear to exercise, but rather engage your doctor to help you in coming up with a physical activity that suits you. Preventing asthma symptoms in adults can even be done by taking your inhaler just before exercising.
• Stress Management: When one is stressed, their chances of having asthma attack symptoms increase. The good use can be the practice of relaxing behaviours such as yoga or meditation.

Nanjappa: How We Help You Live with Asthma

This condition is a lifelong condition, and you have to take charge of your health. The complications of asthma can be very serious, such as respiratory failure, without appropriate control. It may also cause your hospitalisation and a significant reduction in the quality of your life. Most individuals with this condition can, however, live full, pleasurable lives with proper medication and lifestyle. You should also possess an asthma action plan that is drawn up with your doctor. This is a plan of what happens when you get worse and when to get emergency help. It is also important to have routine check-ups so that your condition and treatment can be checked against and changed accordingly.

A certain point will come when an asthmatic person will be informed about an asthma attack. It is also an unusual case when an individual appears to have gotten out of his/her condition and can live without the symptoms showing throughout his/her lifetime without medication. This is unlikely, though; it is one of the possibilities with some asthmatic people. This is evidence of the fact that the right care can help lead to a long duration of remission and living without the fear of asthma attack symptoms.

Living with chronic illnesses is not easy, and you should not move on with it on your own. Nanjappa Hospital aims to provide comprehensive and patient-centred care to asthmatic individuals. Our team of experts will be there to support you through the diagnosis, treatment and long-term management process, hence you have the tools and support to live a better life by breathing easier.

FAQs