What is the Best Treatment for a Chronic Asthma Condition?

When a health condition that develops over time and persists for more than three months, it is often referred to as a chronic illness. Unfortunately, many of these chronic diseases can last for years and don’t have a cure. However, there are treatment options available that can manage many of these chronic health conditions, including chronic asthma, and oftentimes help improve the ailment as well. When you or your loved one are battling asthma symptoms, such as an asthma cough, it’s important to schedule an appointment at Nest Family Medicine with our family practitioner Dr. Priti Ranjan. She can perform a thorough health exam in Plano, TX to determine a diagnosis and the best asthma treatment.

What is asthma?

Asthma is a chronic condition in which your airways constrict making it difficult to breathe normally causing the sufferer to wheeze or cough. The condition affects people of all ages and ranges from mild cases to some that are quite severe.

There are four types of asthma that a patient can have, including:

Intermittent asthma: This means that you have symptoms less than twice a week and wake up less than two nights a month from asthma cough or symptoms.
Mild persistent asthma: Mild persistent asthma includes having symptoms two or more days a week and waking up no more than four nights a month.
Moderate persistent asthma: For those with moderate persistent asthma, you have symptoms daily and wake up at least once a week.
Severe persistent asthma: With severe asthma, you have symptoms during the day and wake up every night because of your asthma symptoms.

When you’re experiencing asthma symptoms, it’s important to never ignore them and have an exam with an experienced doctor, such as Dr. Ranjan.

Symptoms of asthma

Asthma symptoms vary from patient to patient as some only have symptoms at certain times. Some common asthma symptoms include:

Tightness in the chest
Shortness of breath
Wheezing when you exhale
Sleeping problems
Coughing/wheezing attacks

When you’re experiencing any asthma symptoms, call our Plano, TX office to schedule an appointment at Nest Family Medicine.

What are lung function tests?

When Dr. Ranjan is trying to determine the best chronic asthma treatment, she can recommend lung function tests. These tests look at how much air your lungs can hold effectively, how quickly air moves in and out, and how well your lungs put oxygen into and remove carbon dioxide from your blood. During these tests, your lung function is compared to others to see how well it work.

Chronic asthma treatments

It can be hard to determine which is the best treatment as this really depends on your asthma type. Some of the best chronic asthma treatments that Dr. Ranjan may recommend include:

Quick-relief inhalers: These can quickly open any swollen airways that limit breathing.
Inhaled corticosteroids: They can be used for days to weeks to help treat chronic asthma symptoms.
Anti-inflammatory asthma inhalers: This inhaler type treats inflammation associated with your asthma.
Leukotriene modifiers: Leukotriene modifiers help relieve asthma symptoms.
Theophylline: This daily pill helps keep the airways open by relaxing the muscles around your airways.
Allergy medication: Allergy medications may help if your asthma is triggered or worsened by your allergies.

Learn how to best manage your chronic asthma symptoms in Plano, TX

At Nest Family Medicine, we may recommend lung testing to help detect common lung conditions, including asthma. Dr. Priti Ranjan is well-trained in helping her patients resolve their asthma symptoms with different asthma treatments. To learn more about what we can do for your lung health, call our Plano, TX, office to schedule an appointment.