Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about asthma.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash asthma

or in the respiratory section of the Zero to Finals medicine book. So let's get straight into it.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease leading to variable airway obstruction.

The smooth muscle in the airways is hypersensitive and responds to stimuli by constricting, causing

airflow obstruction.

This bronco constriction is reversible with bronchodilators such as inhaled salbutamol.

Asthma is one of several atopic conditions which include eczema, hay fever and food allergies.

Patients with one of these conditions are more likely to have the others,

and these conditions characteristically run in families.

Asthma typically presents in childhood, however it can present at any age. Adult onset asthma

refers to asthma presenting in adulthood. Occupational asthma refers to asthma caused by

environmental triggers in the workplace. The severity of symptoms of asthma varies enormously between individuals.

Acute asthma exacerbations involve rapidly worsening symptoms and can quickly become life-threatening.

Let's talk about the presentation.

Symptoms of asthma are episodic, meaning there are periods where the symptoms are worse

and periods where they're better. There is diurnal variability, meaning the symptoms fluctuate

at different times of the day, typically worse at nighttime. Typical symptoms are shortness

of breath, chest tightness, a dry cough and wheeze.

Symptoms should improve with bronchodilators, for example salbutamol.

No response to bronchodilators reduces the likelihood of asthma.

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