Asthma

What is asthma?

Asthma is a chronic condition that causes swollen, narrowed airways and breathing difficulty. Asthma-related breathing problems range in severity from mild to severe or even life-threatening in some cases. Treatment with Dr. Grewal and his team can offer you relief.

What are the symptoms of asthma?

Some common symptoms associated with asthma include:

• Chest pain or tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Difficulty breathing
• Coughing or wheezing
• Trouble sleeping

Your symptoms might get worse with exercise, colds or flu, allergies, or cold dry weather, or when breathing in chemical fumes.

What are the risk factors for asthma?

Your chance of developing asthma-induced breathing problems increases with family history of asthma. Other risk factors include being overweight, smoking, and exposure to pollution or workplace irritants. Asthma can interfere with your work, recreational activities, and sleep.

What’s the process for diagnosing asthma?

To find out if you have asthma, Dr. Grewal reviews your symptoms and medical history. He completes a physical examination and uses lung function tests to determine how well you can breathe before and after taking medications called bronchodilators, which help open your airways.

Houston Family MD specialists might recommend additional diagnostic tests, such as chest X-rays, other imaging procedures, or allergy testing.

What are my asthma treatment options?

Depending on the severity of your asthma, Dr. Grewal and his team might recommend one or more of the following treatments:

Management and counseling

To help prevent asthma attacks, it’s important to stop them before serious problems arise. The team at Houston Family MD helps you better recognize asthma triggers and take steps to avoid them and track your breathing.

Inhalers

Using an inhaler can reduce your symptoms when breathing becomes difficult. You might use an inhaler to prevent a severe asthma attack during exercise, when allergies flare up, or if you have a cold or flu.

Allergy treatments

If allergy symptoms exacerbate asthma-related breathing problems, Dr. Grewal might suggest taking allergy medications or receiving allergy shots to make breathing easier. 

Asthma trigger avoidance

You can take several steps to avoid asthma triggers. Examples include using an air conditioner, cleaning your home regularly, getting rid of pet dander, and removing mold if it shows up in your kitchen or bathroom.

Don’t let asthma go undetected and untreated if it diminishes your quality of life. Schedule an appointment with Houston Family MD by phone or online today.