Asthma Treatment in Erie, PA

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that makes it difficult for air to pass through your lungs properly. It can start at any age and nearly 26 million Americans have asthma, 7 million of them being children. Unfortunately, there is no cure for asthma. However, with proper management, people living with asthma can live completely normal and healthy lives without asthma.

If you or your child are struggling with symptoms of asthma in the Erie area, contact Community Health Net today to schedule an appointment. Our physicians are board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and have extensive experience treating patients with asthma. We see patients from across the Erie area including Girard, Conneaut, Northeast, Edinboro, and Ripley.

What Causes Asthma?

The swollen airways in the lungs become sensitive to certain triggers, and when those triggers enter the body, those airways create extra mucus making it difficult to breathe which leads to asthma attacks, complications, and sometimes death. The key is to understand the triggers that cause asthma. Sometimes, you may not even know you have it until you’re exposed to those triggers. This means the environment you live in is a huge cause and risk factor for asthma. Additionally, genetics is a risk factor for asthma.

What Are the Symptoms of Asthma?

You may be wondering if your child has asthma, but unsure if it’s something else. If any of these symptoms occur chronically or only around certain triggers, they may have asthma:

• Tight feeling in the chest
• Shortness of breath
• Coughing
• Wheezing

However, it’s very possible a variety of other conditions are causing these symptoms, such as different allergies. Consult with your pediatrician about whether or not your child has asthma.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Your pediatrician will need to conduct tests to diagnose your child. First, they will ask about symptoms, medical history, experiences, etc. to get a good sense of whether asthma is a possibility. After that, the most common test is called a Spirometry, in which the pediatrician will use a device to measure the airflow of the lungs.

Typically, if your child has the above symptoms, has a parent with asthma, and also has allergies (including skin allergies), your pediatrician will conduct a lung functioning test. After that, usually, a trial period of asthma medication will be given, depending on the results, with a follow-up appointment to monitor the outcome.