Different Types Of Asthma

Early Onset of Asthma or Atopic or Extrinsic Asthma is the start of breathing disorder in early childhood and generally occurs in atopic individuals who form IgE antibodies to commonly encountered allergens. These of type allergens can easily be identified by skin hypersensitivity tests which produce positive reactions to a wide range of common allergens. Other kind of allergic disorders, like allergic rhinitis and eczema, are generally present. There is also a family record of asthma.

In this type of atopic asthma the concerning allergens are inhaled or inspired through air and are derived from animal dander, house dust, feathers, mites and fungal spores etc. These types of allergens provoke bronchial constriction and an inflammatory reaction of allergic type in the bronchial wall. If a person is already allergic to such allergens, his or her asthmatic symptoms will aggravate as soon as he or she again comes into contact with them. Similar effects can be created by ingesting allergens derived from food items like fish, eggs, wheat, milk, yeast which are said to enter the bronchi by means of blood stream.

Late Onset of Asthma is actually the majority of asthma. In this case, patients develop asthma in their later years of life and they are called, Non-atopic individuals. There is not much support to prove that this Non-atopic type of asthma is triggered by extrinsic factors, hence it is rightly called intrinsic asthma. Chronic Asthma comes with breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness; along with spontaneous cough, labored breathing or breathlessness on exertion are symptoms of chronic asthma. Recurrent episodes of free respiratory infection are common in this type of asthma. In Episodic type of Asthma, the patient has no such respiratory symptoms between two episodes of asthma but paroxysms of wheeze and dyspnoea or shortness of breath may occur at any time and may be of sudden onset. Episodes of asthmatic symptom can be caused by exercise, allergens, viral infections, common cold or else may be apparently spontaneous.

Asthmatic attack could also be either severe or mild and may last for hours, days, or even weeks or months. Extrinsic asthma can again be classified as that form of asthma which develops when the people prone to it are exposed to surroundings containing various allergens. Generally the people of this area do not show any symptoms and appear to be perfectly healthy but upon exposure to an allergen that has the potency to develop symptoms in them they can develop the symptoms of asthma very quickly.

The asthmatic symptoms thus manifested can range from mild to chronic depending upon the reaction of the body towards the allergen. The susceptible people who generally develop asthma this way show a tendency towards other allergies and infections also like eczema. If tested clinically it is seen that such people generally show allergic reactions to one or more than one allergens. These types of allergens can be of any kind. They can generally be food allergens or dust or animal dander or smoke or pollutants of any other kind. It has been seen that people who are normally prone to various kinds of asthma may have been suffering from recurrent mild to severe bouts of cold, cough and repeated sneezing.

• Matt Thompson
• 07/01/2009, 6:59 PM
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