Asthma and allergy are diseases that can have an effect on your respiratory system.
Asthma (Az-muh) is a chronic disease that affects your airways. The airways are the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways are inflamed (swollen). The inflammation (IN-fla-MAY-shun) makes the airways very sensitive, and they tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating. When the airways react, they get narrower, and less air flows through to your lung tissue. This causes symptoms like wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing, especially at night and in the early morning.
Allergy is the inappropriate and harmful response of the body’s defense mechanism to substances that are normally harmless. It involves the immune system and particularly an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE).
Use the navigation on the left to learn more about what these diseases are, how they are treated, and what you can do to prevent symptoms, or contact us to schedule an appointment.
