Which Medical Tests Are Done To Detect Asthma?

After experiencing symptoms like, wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath and chest tightness, you go to doctor for treatment. Then the doctor will try to gather information for proper diagnosis. He will ask questions about your symptoms and will ask you to do some physical tests. Here are the tests the doctor will do.

Questionnaire Test

In the first step of diagnosis the doctor asks about the symptoms and the health condition. From your answers the doctor will trace whether it is asthma or anything else which is creating these symptoms. The doctor will ask about the triggers which foster to worsen asthma symptoms. His/her questions may be as following:

• What types of symptoms do you experience and in which time they occur? Are the symptoms found in a certain time in a year or in certain place? Is there anything which worsens them? Are the symptoms getting worse at night?
• Does fever come when the symptoms are found or do you have any allergy?
• Do you come in contact with tobacco smoke, dusts, pollens or any airborne allergies?
• Is there any hereditary condition of asthma, allergy or high fever?
• Is there any other health problem with you?
• What type of medications or any alternative treatments you are taking?
• Which type of work you do?
• Do you keep any pet animals or birds at home?

Physical test:

Your doctor will do the following tests:

• He/she will check your throat, nose and upper airways.
• He/she will examine your chest with a stethoscope to listen the breathing. During breathing, if a whistling sound, which is known as wheezing comes, then it is one symptom of asthma.
• He/she will check your skin to find any allergic conditions, like hives or eczema.

The doctor will also ask about the usual symptoms of asthma are found or not. The symptoms are as follows:

• Shortness of breath
• Coughing
• Wheezing
• Chest tightness
• Symptoms that are increased when come in contact with cold, pollen, dust and also due to exercise.
• Symptoms which come and worsen in mid night

Test for children:

Asthma in children is found in an early stage before 5 years of age. It is very difficult to diagnose asthma in very young children whose age range from 0-5 years.

Sometimes the symptoms of asthma appear with other conditions. So in this stage, it is difficult to diagnose the disease.

It is also found that the children who suffer from wheezing by getting cold or other respiratory infections, they may not have asthma after 6 years.

The wheezing in a child may be due to small airways and it may become narrower due to swelling by cold or any other infections in respiratory tract. With increase in age the airways increase and the symptoms of asthma may not occur.

The following symptoms in children show that, asthma may be present:

• Recurrent coughing or coughing which worsen during and after energetic playing.
• Breathing may sound more than normal breathing and the number of breathing is more than normal breathing. For example, new-born babies take 30 to 60 breathes in a minute and toddlers take 20 to 40 breathes in a minute.
• One or both the parents suffer from asthma.
• The child has allergies by pollution or by pollens.
• The child has some skin allergies like eczema.
• Coughing with a runny nose and high fever.
• The child has also wheezing symptoms even in the absence of infections and cold.
• Less participation in physical activities.
• Frequent absents in school days.

Doctor gives stress on lung function test, physical test and medical history for diagnosis of asthma. But in case of children, lung function test is not easy under 5 years. Thus, the doctor uses child’s medical histories, physical tests and symptoms for diagnosis of asthma. The doctor also gives medicines for 5-6 weeks as a trial to find, how the condition of the child improves.

Tests for diagnosis:

Lung function test:

To examine the lungs’ working ability, the doctor do a test called, spirometry (spi-ROM-eh-tre). By this test the doctor is able to know the amount of air you use in inhale and exhale. It also measures the speed rate by which you exhale air. Then the doctor will prescribe some medicines to take and again may test you to find any improvement in your symptoms after taking medicines.

If the initial stage of disease is lower than normal condition and you get relief by taking medication and your family history and medical history show the signs of asthma, then the doctor will conclude that it is asthma.

Other tests:

If the doctor does not find sufficient clues from the above test, he will ask for other tests for correct diagnosis. Other tests may be as follows:

• The doctor does a test to know the sensitivity of your airways. The name of this test is bronchoprovocation (brong-KO-prav-eh-KA-shun). This test is done during physical activity by using spirometry to measure lung function. This test can also be done after giving extra doses of cold air or by inhaling a special chemical.
• To know about the allergens that cause allergy, an allergy testing is done.
• Another test is done to get information that you have some other problem like reflux disease, sleep apnea or vocal cord dysfunction.
• A chest x-ray or ECG known as electrocardiogram is done to find whether there is any foreign object or any other disease might be causing asthma symptoms.