什么是哮喘？症状，原因，诊断，治疗和预防

哮喘是一种常见的慢性（长期）肺部疾病，其中肺部的支气管或气道发炎。

想进一步了解哮喘吗？继续阅读以了解专家对这种呼吸障碍的了解，为什么有些人会发展出来，而其他人则不知道，生活方式的变化可以帮助您管理哮喘，以及如何避免与疾病相关的并发症。

哮喘is a disease that affects your airways, which carry air in and out of your lungs. The type of asthma you have depends on your specific triggers.

Thanks to advances in asthma research, doctors have been able to identify the differenttypes of asthma。五种最常见的哮喘类型是：运动诱导的支气管痉挛（EIB），allergic asthma,cough- 变体哮喘，职业哮喘和nocturnal or nighttime asthma。EIB发生在身体劳累之后。确定您拥有哪种类型的哮喘并不总是那么容易。适当的诊断和与医生的定期沟通可以帮助您确定最佳的行动方案。

哮喘is a chronic lung disease, so it’s important to receive treatment as soon as possible to ensure that your condition doesn’t worsen.

了解有关哮喘类型的更多信息

Doctors differentiate severe asthma from other, milder forms of asthma according to the frequency and intensity of a person’s symptoms.

For starters, severe asthma is persistent, which doctors define as asthma that causes symptoms more than twice a week, explainsPatricia Takach, MD, an associate professor of clinical medicine in the section of allergy and immunology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. For many severe asthma sufferers, symptoms occur daily.

Learn More About Severe Asthma and How to Manage It

咳嗽？Wheezing？胸痛？如果这些症状听起来很熟悉，则可能是哮喘，一种慢性疾病，会煽动气道（支气管），将空气带入肺部和肺部。

When something triggers your asthma symptoms, the membrane lining your airways swells, the muscles around the tubes constrict, and the airways fill with mucus. As these tubes narrow it becomes more difficult to breathe, causing symptoms such as wheezing and coughing, congestion,shortness of breath, and chest tightness or pain. If you have asthma, performing normal daily activities can be strenuous, and it may take longer to recover from a respiratory infection, such as a冷或流感。

这些症状突​​然恶化，包括严重的喘息，无法控制的咳嗽，快速呼吸，出汗和焦虑。这些症状需要立即医疗护理。

But not everyone experiences asthma in the same way. Symptoms vary from person to person, can change with age, differ between attacks and may intensify during锻炼, with a cold, or under periods of elevated stress.

Learn More About Signs and Symptoms of Asthma

It's unknown what exactly causes asthma, but scientists believe that both genetic and environmental factors play a role in the development of the disease.

Why Do You Have Asthma?

在婴儿期或幼儿期间患有呼吸道感染是哮喘的另一个危险因素。这些感染会导致肺部炎症，并会损害肺组织，从而影响肺部后期的功能。

What Triggers an Asthma Attack?

Numerous triggers can cause哮喘发作， 包含：

烟草烟尽管吸烟对任何人来说都是不健康的，但对哮喘患者特别危险。如果您抽烟，应该退出。

Secondhand smoke can also trigger an asthma attack. Avoid situations in which people around you smoke. Also don't let people smoke in a place where you spend a lot of time, such as your home or car — even if you're not present when they smoke.

从木头或草中抽烟即使看起来“自然”，这些来源的烟雾包含有害的气体和颗粒。

避免在家里燃烧木头。如果您生活在发生野火的区域，请监视空气质量的预测，并在粒子水平最差时尝试呆在内部。

某些食物和食物添加剂While almost any food can cause anallergic reaction, a few additives (like sulfites and other preservatives) are widely believed to cause adverse reactions in some people.

酸回流can also trigger an asthma attack in some people, so any food that aggravates this condition may also be responsible for symptoms.

呼吸道感染These include流感（流感），普通感冒，呼吸道合胞病毒（RSV）和sinus infections。

了解有关哮喘和哮喘攻击原因的更多信息：常见的危险因素，遗传学等

如果您注意到自己呼吸困难，喘息或胸痛，请告诉医生，以便他或她可以确定您是否患有哮喘或其他问题。在某些情况下，您的初级保健提供者会将您转介给专家进行诊断。

Learn More About Diagnosing Asthma: Tests and Screenings, Early Diagnosis, and Your Doctors

儿童的哮喘预后与成人不同。

但是对于其他人，尤其是患有严重哮喘的孩子，这种情况可能永远不会消失。

由于所有这些原因，患有哮喘患者的长期预后差异很大。随着时间的流逝，有些人会变得更好 - 尽管他们的症状永远不会完全消失 - 而另一些人则变得更糟。艾米丽·彭宁顿（Emily Pennington），医学博士，俄亥俄州克利夫兰诊所的肺科医生和哮喘专家。

There is no cure for asthma, but you can alleviate and prevent your symptoms through quick-relief and long-term control medication. Long-term control medication works to reduce inflammation to make your airways less sensitive to asthma triggers. It’s usually taken daily through an inhaler or as an oral pill. Quick-relief medicines help to relieve symptoms when they happen, relaxing the tight muscles around your airways and easing the flow of air.

最新的指南还建议一种称为长效毒蕈碱拮抗剂的药物，以改善这些年龄段的症状。对于只有在呼吸道感染（无论是否被诊断出患有哮喘）的幼儿（最高4岁）的幼儿（最高4岁）皮质类固醇plus a rescue inhaler as needed. This can prevent worsening of breathing problems and forestall the need for corticosteroid pills.

最多哮喘药物通过使用吸入器或雾化器来呼吸。吸入器有两种主要类型；一种计量剂量吸入器（MDI），该吸入器使用加压药罐和干粉吸入器（DPI），其中含有粉末状药物。雾化器使用口罩，并将药物作为薄雾。重要的是要学习使用这些设备来确保药物到达肺部的不同技术。

There are few evidence-backednatural remedies for asthma, particularly if your case is severe. But lifestyle changes, like controlling stress, and some complementary therapies, like acupuncture, may help manage symptoms.

了解有关哮喘治疗的更多信息：药物，替代和补充疗法等等

Doctors aren’t sure why asthma develops in the first place. The condition seems to stem from a mixture of genetic and environmental factors. That said, there are established risk factors for asthma. Avoiding them may lower your risk for developing the disease.

• 遵循您的医生的指示在服用药物并避免哮喘触发时。

  

• Get vaccinated.Viruses and infections can trigger flare-ups. You can lower your odds of developing one of these triggers by getting your seasonalflu shotand other scheduled vaccinations.
• Monitor your asthma.使用峰值气流计，可以在您的病情上保持标签，这可以帮助您发现并前往即将来临的爆发。
• 请留意警告信号。咳嗽或频繁的吸入器使用是两个迹象，表明卡片中有不良的爆发。认识到这些危险信号可以帮助您采取步骤防止攻击不良。

对于大多数患有哮喘的人，使用药物（例如吸入皮质类固醇）并改变生活方式（例如quitting smokingand maintaining a healthy weight) will allow them to manage their symptoms and avoid most short- and long-term complications.

了解有关哮喘并发症的更多信息：短期和长期影响您的身体

More than 19 million of these people were adults age 18 or older.

The causes driving these disparities are multifactorial.

"Poverty, exposure to pollution, and limited access to medical care play a big role in racial disparities in asthma," says Kenneth Mendez, AAFA's president and CEO.

他解释说：“这些因素是相互关联和代际的。他说，以及优质的医疗保健服务。这种住宅隔离还负责少数族裔人口与污染的来源不成比例，例如工业中心，主要道路，石油和天然气炼油厂，分销枢纽和与交通相关的污染，以及与交通相关的污染。门德斯解释说，可能会使人们患哮喘的风险更高，并取得更严重的结果。

• While the asthma rate among white Americans is about 7.6 percent according to the AAFA report, it’s 10.6 percent among Blacks and 14.9 percent among Puerto Ricans — the highest rate among all racial and ethnic groups.
• The number of asthma deaths per one million people is highest for Black Americans, at 23.9, followed by Puerto Ricans at 21.8, Hispanic Americans at 8.4 and white Americans at 7.4.
• Emergency-room visits for asthma — a sign of asthma that’s not well-controlled — were five times higher for Black Americans compared with white Americans in 2017. The rate was 164.3 ER visits per 10,000 people for Black Americans, compared with 33.9 for white Americans. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Hispanic Americans are twice as likely to visit the ER for asthma compared with non-Hispanic white Americans.

  

• There’s little data on asthma’s effects in indigenous communities in the United States, but the AAFA report states that “tribal nations have among the highest rates of asthma prevalence, morbidity, and mortality.”

哮喘can be associated with several other conditions and health problems. In some cases, asthma can increase the likelihood of certain illnesses, like:

• Bronchitis
• Pneumonia

此外，有些疾病和健康状况似乎与哮喘有关，因为患有一个人的人更有可能拥有：例如：

• 过敏
• COPD
• 气肿
• Sleep apnea

Favorite Orgs for Essential Asthma Info

美国过敏，哮喘和免疫学学院

这个总部位于美国的国际组织致力于教育人们和医生有关哮喘和相关疾病。它发布了有关哮喘的学术期刊和资金研究，其网站提供了涵盖疾病各个方面的有用资源。

American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

This association of doctors is committed to helping people with asthma find knowledgeable experts in their area. It also provides helpful resources on managing asthma and its symptoms.

美国肺协会(ALA)

ALA是该国领先的肺健康组织之一，雇用了研究哮喘的科学家和研究人员，以改善患有疾病的人的护理。它还提供有关哮喘和其他肺部状况的有用的公共教育材料。

哮喘and Allergy Foundation of America

This nonprofit organization was started to help people with asthma learn about and manage their condition. It helps fund research on asthma, and it provides a wealth of information about the condition and the best ways to manage it.

The Cleveland Clinic

This Ohio-based medical institution offers helpful educational resources that explain哮喘是原因，症状，治疗选择和其他疾病的其他方面。克利夫兰诊所还拥有医生和设施，可以帮助患有哮喘患者的病情。

Mayo Clinic

了解常见的哮喘症状和治疗— and a lot more — from one of the country’s preeminent medical institutions. You can also connect with Mayo Clinic doctors and clinicians for treatment options.

Favorite Blogs About Living With Asthma

哮喘过敏儿童

哮喘过敏儿童博客是两位医生的工作，既接受过敏和免疫学培训。该博客涵盖了诸如药物依从性，护理成本，医生的宠儿，综合医学，新研究和其他新闻等主题。（请注意，该博客涵盖过敏和其他免疫障碍以及哮喘。）有关及时的引人注目的主题，请检查一下。

BreathInStephen

斯蒂芬·高迪特（Stephen Gaudet）于60多年前出生于严重的哮喘，并于2004年创立了他的博客。该博客记载了试验和磨难哮喘的疾病以及胜利。迄今为止，高迪特（Gaudet）已经完成了21场比赛和9次马拉松比赛（他走路是因为他没有肺能力跑步）。阅读有关他的衰弱诊断以及如何克服的更多信息。

Additional reporting bySari Harrar。