FRIDAY, Sept. 4, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Asthma is a long-term condition, but there are ways to keep it under good control so that you feel your best.
What Is Asthma?
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that may cause tightness in the chest, a cough or wheezing. It affects your airway, which includes all of the air passages from your nasal cavity down into your lungs. When your airway is inflamed, your chest may feel tight or you may cough or wheeze. In asthma, the airflow is limited as the muscles that surround the airway tighten and narrow. The airway walls may also thicken and produce more mucus, making it harder for air to flow through.
There are several types of asthma — we call these phenotypes — with the most common being "type 2-high" allergic and/or eosinophilic. Allergic asthma means that you have become more sensitive to environmental particles. In eosinophilic asthma, the airway fills up with a kind of white blood cell called eosinophils, causing inflammation.
"Type 2-low" asthma does not show the allergy-type swelling, and the airway may have a different blood cell (called a neutrophil) or no swelling cells at all.
You may present with features of one or the other, and it is your doctor's role to identify and properly classify your asthma.
Asthma can appear in childhood or adulthood, and symptoms vary from person to person.
What Are The Symptoms Of Asthma?
Asthma presents in diverse ways, and every person is different. However, the most common symptoms of asthma are:
Cough: This can be dry or with phlegm.
Chest tightness: Your chest may feel tight when breathing.
Breathing problems: You may have difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
Wheezing: Wheezing is a high-pitched sound that comes from your chest — like a soft whistle — when you are breathing.
Slow recovery from colds: If you have undiagnosed asthma, you may notice that recovering from common colds takes much longer. Many people with asthma describe it this way: "Every common cold goes into my chest, and I keep coughing for weeks."
How Is Asthma Diagnosed?
The single most important diagnostic tool for asthma is a thorough history and physical examination. Often, a primary care physician or pediatrician makes the initial diagnosis and, when needed, will refer you to a specialist for further testing and management.
There are two main medical subspecialties that evaluate and treat patients with chronic respiratory symptoms: a board-certified allergist or a pulmonologist.
Allergists are doctors who complete two to three years of additional subspecialty training to diagnose, classify and treat patients with asthma, allergies and other atopic conditions. Pulmonologists also pursue extra specialized training in managing complex respiratory conditions such as asthma.
The most common tests that your allergist may use to help diagnose, classify and manage your asthma include:
Breathing test, also known as spirometry or pulmonary function testing. Medications such as inhalers may be given during the test to evaluate for changes in your lung function.
Skin testing to evaluate allergic reactions to the most common indoor and outdoor environmental allergens. Allergens are natural substances that are harmless to most people, but when some people are exposed, an allergic response may occur and asthma gets triggered.
Bloodwork to evaluate your blood cell counts and to measure allergy proteins.
Fractional exhaled nitric oxide, a breathing test that measures whether there is a specific type of inflammation that has been linked to allergic or eosinophilic asthma.
What Are The Triggers Of Asthma?
Several factors can trigger or worsen asthma:
Allergens such as house dust mites, animal dander (e.g., cats and dogs), cockroaches, mold spores, and tree, grass or weed pollens
Viral respiratory infections, such as common colds
Exercise
Weather changes, such as changes in humidity, cold temperatures, air pollution, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires
Smoke from tobacco or vaping
Emotional stress
Obesity
Medications, for example, aspirin
How Do You Treat Asthma?
The treatment for asthma depends on which type you have and how severe it is.
Asthma treatment starts with understanding each individual and their potential triggers. That is why your doctor will complete a thorough evaluation to understand which factors can make your asthma worse. If allergenic triggers are identified, you will be provided with strategies to avoid them.
The treatments often come in the form of inhalers, which help you to breathe the medication deep into your lungs and airway. Because airway inflammation is present, medications called inhaled corticosteroids are commonly used to decrease it.
Inhalers that help reduce airway muscle constriction are also needed; these are called bronchodilators. Inhalers come in different forms, and your allergist will help select the best combination to achieve disease control.
Oral medications are also used. When oral and inhaled medications are not keeping your asthma well controlled, your allergist may consider injectable medications called biologics. These are usually reserved for moderate-to-severe asthma and work by targeting the underlying inflammation.
What Causes Asthma?
Multiple factors are thought to predispose a person to asthma and other factors that are thought to worsen it.
Asthma can develop in childhood, and there is a strong genetic component, as children of parents who had asthma are more likely to have it. However, it does not follow any specific pattern of inheritance.
Respiratory infections that have been linked with asthma development include respiratory syncytial virus (commonly referred to as RSV) and human rhinovirus.
The environment plays a key role as well, since patients who have animal and environmental allergies, called aeroallergen sensitization, are more likely to be asthmatic. Asthma that develops in adulthood seems to be determined by environmental and lifestyle exposures.
Asthma risk factors include:
Family history of asthma in your father or mother
Recurrent wheezing episodes, even when not sick
Personal history of allergic conditions, such as allergic rhinitis (hay fever), eczema (atopic dermatitis) and/or food allergy
Sensitization to airborne allergens such as house dust mites, animal dander (e.g., cats and dogs), cockroaches, mold spores or pollens
Elevated number of blood eosinophils
Living With Asthma
Living with asthma can be very manageable. What matters most is keeping it well controlled — asthma that is not well controlled can seriously affect daily life. Once asthma is diagnosed, keeping it under good control becomes the top priority of your care team.
If you think you have asthma, it is important to talk with a doctor about your symptoms. If not properly treated, asthma can progress over time and lead to lasting airway changes. Doctors call this “airway remodeling,” which is when inflammation progresses and scar tissue can build up. These changes can make the airway permanently narrower and stiffer, so breathing problems may no longer fully improve even with medicines later on.
The good news is that starting the right therapy early and keeping your symptoms well controlled will prevent any of this from happening.
Partnering with an allergist is the best way to keep asthma well controlled and protect your lungs in the long run. The goal is for you to focus on your daily activities — the ones you must do and the ones you love to do — without struggling with airway symptoms.
More information
The American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology offers a helpful tool to locate a board-certified allergist near you.
About the expert
Dr. Juan Carlos Murillo is a double board-certified allergy and immunology specialist based in Miami, with expertise in pediatric and adult asthma and allergic diseases. He is president-elect of the Florida Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Society. Since 2017, Dr. Murillo has served as an assistant professor at the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. His clinical and academic interests include asthma, allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, food allergy and ocular allergies. Dr. Murillo has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications on asthma therapies and ocular conditions, with his work cited in several scientific journals. He is a spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and serves on multiple national and regional committees, contributing to education, advocacy and clinical leadership in allergy and immunology.