Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract that is associated with obstruction, attacks of shortness of breath and cramping of the bronchial muscles. Bronchial asthma can have different causes, so that an allergic asthma can be distinguished from a non-allergic asthma. This plays an important role in both diagnosis and therapy.
However, most people have mixed forms of both types of asthma, with children’s asthma often being triggered by an allergy. Adults, on the other hand, more often suffer from the non-allergic form of asthma. Allergens that can trigger asthma are e.g. pollen or other environmental stimuli.
Those affected suffer an excessive immune reaction with the release of various allergenic substances such as histamine, bradykinin and leukotrienes. The development of the non-allergic form of asthma is influenced by various factors. These include drug side effects (see analgesic asthma), infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, reflux diseases and physical exertion.
Toxic or irritating substances such as cleaning agents or room sprays also have an influence. Finally, tobacco consumption also has a negative effect on lung health and the development of asthma diseases. In asthmatics, three important factors come together to explain the occurrence of such asthmatic attacks.
On the one hand, there is an increase in inflammatory reactions of the bronchial tubes, which are sometimes accompanied by strong immune reactions. In addition, the bronchial system of asthmatics exhibits hyperreactivity, which can be provoked by various substances in medical tests. Finally, the bronchial tubes lack sufficient cleansing.
This lack of self-cleaning of the lungs results in secretions not being able to drain off, thus creating a vicious circle in which the bronchial tubes become increasingly poorly ventilated and increasingly blocked. There are now various tests for assessing lung function that are used in asthma. The following text deals in detail with the procedure of the various lung function tests, the parameters to be recorded and the evaluation.
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