Health Blog

Asthma Symptoms

Asthma is characterized by inflammation of the bronchial tubes with increased production of sticky secretions inside the tubes. People with asthma experience symptoms when the airways tighten, inflame, or fill with mucus. Common asthma symptoms include:

• Coughing, especially at night
• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath
• Chest tightness, pain, or pressure

Still, not every person with asthma has the same symptoms in the same way. You may not have all of these symptoms, or you may have different symptoms at different times. Your asthma symptoms may also vary from one asthma attack to the next, being mild during one and severe during another.

Some people with asthma may go for extended periods without having any symptoms, interrupted by periodic worsening of their symptoms called asthma attacks. Others might have asthma symptoms every day. In addition, some people may only have asthma during exercise or asthma with viral infections like colds.

Mild asthma attacks are generally more common. Usually, the airways open up within a few minutes to a few hours. Severe attacks are less common but last longer and require immediate medical help. It is important to recognize and treat even mild asthma symptoms to help you prevent severe episodes and keep asthma under better control. 

Know the Early Symptoms of Asthma

Early warning signs are changes that happen just before or at the very beginning of an asthma attack. These signs may start before the well-known symptoms of asthma and are the earliest signs that your asthma is worsening.

In general, these signs are not severe enough to stop you from going about your daily activities. But by recognizing these signs, you can stop an asthma attack or prevent one from getting worse. Early warning signs of asthma include:

• Frequent cough, especially at night
• Losing your breath easily or shortness of breath
• Feeling very tired or weak when exercising
• Wheezing or coughing after exercise
• Feeling tired, easily upset, grouchy, or moody
• Decreases or changes in lung function as measured on a peak flow meter
• Signs of a cold or allergies (sneezing, runny nose, cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, and headache)
• Trouble sleeping

If you have early warning signs or symptoms of asthma, you should take more asthma medication as described in your asthma action plan.

Know the Symptoms of an Asthma Attack

An asthma attack is the episode in which bands of muscle surrounding the airways are triggered to tighten. This tightening is called bronchospasm. During the attack, the lining of the airways becomes swollen or inflamed and the cells lining the airways produce more and thicker mucus than normal.

All of these factors -- bronchospasm, inflammation, and mucus production -- cause symptoms such as difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and difficulty performing normal daily activities. Other symptoms of an asthma attack include:

• Severe wheezing when breathing both in and out
• Coughing that won't stop
• Very rapid breathing
• Chest pain or pressure
• Tightened neck and chest muscles, called retractions
• Difficulty talking
• Feelings of anxiety or panic
• Pale, sweaty face
• Blue lips or fingernails

Astigmatism and Your Eyes

What Is Astigmatism?

Astigmatism is a common eye condition that's easily corrected by eyeglasses, contact lenses, or surgery.

Astigmatism is caused by an eye that is not completely round. This is one type of refractive error. Astigmatism occurs in nearly everybody to some degree. For vision problems due to astigmatism, glasses, contact lenses, and even vision correction procedures are all possible treatment options.

A person's eye is naturally shaped like a sphere. Under normal circumstances, when light enters the eye, it refracts, or bends, evenly, creating a clear view of the object. However, the eye of a person with astigmatism is shaped more like a football or the back of a spoon. For this person, when light enters the eye it is refracted more in one direction than the other, allowing only part of the object to be in focus at one time. Objects at any distance can appear blurry and wavy.

What Causes Astigmatism?

Astigmatism is a natural and commonly occurring cause of blurred or distorted vision. The exact cause in not known.

What Are the Symptoms of Astigmatism?

People with undetected astigmatism often have blurred vision which can be associated with fatigue and eyestrain. While these symptoms may not necessarily be the result of astigmatism, you should schedule an eye exam if you are experiencing one or more symptoms.

How Is Astigmatism Diagnosed?

Your eye doctor can diagnose astigmatism with a thorough eye exam. Astigmatism may occur with other vision problems such as nearsightedness and farsightedness. Because astigmatism may increase slowly, you should visit your eye doctor whenever you notice changes in your vision. 

How Is Astigmatism Treated?

Almost all degrees of astigmatism can be corrected with properly prescribed eyeglasses or contact lenses. For a person with only a slight degree of astigmatism, corrective lenses may not be needed at all, as long as other conditions, such as nearsightedness or farsightedness, are not present. If the astigmatism is moderate to high, however, corrective lenses are probably needed.

• Corrective lenses (eyeglasses or contact lenses). For astigmatism, special soft contact lenses called toric lenses are prescribed. Soft toric lenses have greater light bending power in one direction than the other. Another option, particularly for higher amounts of astigmatism, is a gas permeable rigid contact lens. After performing various tests, your eye doctor will determine the ideal prescription for your astigmatism.
• Refractive surgery. Another method for correcting astigmatism is by changing the shape of the cornea through refractive or laser eye surgery. While there is more than one type of refractive surgery, specific treatments are recommended on an individual basis.

Refractive surgeries require healthy eyes that are free from retinal problems, corneal scars, and any eye disease. As technology progresses, it is becoming more and more important that you explore all options and possibilities before deciding which refractive surgery and treatment is right for you.

Cataracts and Your Eyes

What Causes Cataracts?

The eye functions much like a camera. Light rays enter the eye, passing through the cornea, the aqueous humor -- transparent fluid in the front of the eye -- and then the pupil and into the lens. The lens bends the light rays to focus objects onto the retina lining the back of the eye. From there, the image passes through the retinal cells, into the optic nerve, and finally to the back of the brain which process the images.
Cataracts occur when there is a buildup of protein in the lens that makes it cloudy. This prevents light from passing clearly through the lens, causing some loss of vision. Since new lens cells form on the outside of the lens, all the older cells are compacted into the center of the lens resulting in the cataract.
Types of cataracts include:

• Age-related cataracts. As the name suggests, this type of cataract develops as a result of aging.
• Congenital cataracts. Babies are sometimes born with cataracts as a result of an infection, injury, or poor development before they were born, or they may develop during childhood.
• Secondary cataracts. These develop as a result of other medical conditions, like diabetes, or exposure to toxic substances, certain drugs (such as corticosteroids or diuretics), ultraviolet light, or radiation.
• Traumatic cataracts. These form after injury to the eye.

Other factors that can increase a person's risk of developing cataracts include cigarette smoke, air pollution, and heavy alcohol consumption

What Are the Symptoms of Cataracts?

Cataracts usually form slowly and cause few symptoms until they noticeably block light. When symptoms are present, they can include:

• Vision that is cloudy, blurry, foggy, or filmy
• Progressive nearsightedness in older people often called "second sight" because they may no longer need reading glasses.
• Changes in the way you see color because the discolored lens acts as a filter.
• Problems driving at night such as glare from oncoming headlights.
• Problems with glare during the day.
• Double vision (like a superimposed image).
• Sudden changes in glasses prescription.

How Are Cataracts Diagnosed?

An eye exam will be given to test how well you can see (remember to bring your glasses or wear your contacts to the appointment). Your doctor will also dilate your pupil in order to examine the condition of the lens and other parts of the eye.