Understanding allergies

Allergic asthma

A distinction should be drawn between allergic asthma, characterised by hyperreactivity of the airways specific to inhalation of certain allergens and asthma, which is a non-specific disease whose causes are different.

Asthma is characterised by recurrent attacks triggering paroxysmal dyspnoea (shortness of breath, difficulty breathing with increased frequency and amplitude of respiratory movements) and wheezing. These attacks can be alleviated by the use of a symptomatic treatment like bronchodilators.

Classification of allergic asthma¹

Characteristic	Controlled	Partly controlled	Uncontrolled
Day symptoms	Never/2 or less weekly	More than 2 weekly	3 or more asthma symptoms partly controlled
Limitation of activities	Never	Never
Nocturnal symptoms/nocturnal awakenings	Never	Never
Rescue treatment	Never/2 or less weekly	More than 2 weekly
Activity of lungs (PEF or FEV)	Normal	< 80 %
Risk factors: exacerbations, instability, decline of pulmonary functions, side effects
Poor clinical control, exacerbations, attainment of a sole criterion, low FEV 1, exposure to tobacco smoke, high consumption of medication

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¹ Bateman ED. et al. Global strategy for asthma management and prevention: GINA executive summary. Eur Respir J. 2008 Jan; 31(1):143-78.