Asthma can be incredibly difficult to control, especially when it is moderate or severe persistent. Moderate asthma is a severe respiratory condition. It includes symptoms such as breathing difficulties or shortness of breath. It’s characterized by an increased number and severity of asthma attacks that may last for weeks at a time. Here’s how moderate asthma can be diagnosed and treated.
Four Stages of Asthma – Diagnosis
Asthma is classified into four stages. Grading depends on how often one experiences symptoms and how severe they are when they arise.
Mild Intermittent Asthma
Symptoms for such cases occur no more than two days per week or twice a month.
Mild Persistent Asthma
A patient who fits this category will experience symptoms more than two times per week.
Moderate Persistent Asthma
Daily and nightly asthma symptoms, worsening to the point of flare-ups lasting several days, make it hard for patients with this type of asthma to live their lives normally.
Severe Persistent Asthma
Symptoms frequently occur, sometimes several times per day, every day. One may also experience symptoms many nights each week. Treatment may not be as effective for this stage of asthma.
Moderate Asthma – Symptoms
For people with moderate persistent asthma, symptoms are more severe than those experienced by people with mild intermittent or persistent asthma. People with moderate persistent asthma typically experience symptoms every day, or at least during most of the week.
If one has moderate asthma, they may experience chest tightness or pain, shortness of breath, wheezing, and swelling of the airways and mucus lining. They may also experience coughing.
Moderate persistent asthma is less common than mild intermittent and mild persistent asthma. Severe persistent asthma is the rarest type.
Moderate Asthma – Treatment
There is a wide range of medications used to treat asthma. When a patient has moderate asthma, the doctor may recommend a combination of treatments to manage daily symptoms and flare-ups.
Long-Term Control Medicines
Some daily medications must be taken regularly; others offer longer relief and only need to be used on an as-needed basis. These medications may include combination inhalers, inhaled corticosteroids, or leukotriene modifiers.
Rescue Inhalers
Rescue inhalers, often bronchodilators, can open up the airways within minutes.
Allergy Medications
The doctor may prescribe allergy medications to reduce the risk of an attack in people with moderate asthma.