The breath that becomes short and labored. The feeling that the air is no longer able to enter the respiratory tract normally, with a progressive worsening of the situation. For those suffering from asthma manifestations of the pathology can also reach these severe symptoms, but often appear with less intense ailments. The important thing is to make the correct diagnosis and follow the therapy, also considering the gender.
Men and women, faced with asthma, may not behave in the same way, both for the mechanisms that facilitate the onset of the pathological picture and in the outcome of the pathology. Sex hormones in particular act as a “watershed” between the two sexes. To report this is a research published on Journal of Asthma and Allergy.
There is peri-menstrual asthma
Generally in the male sex asthma is more common in childhood. Then, with the advent of puberty and therefore of the particular hormonal profile, after the fertile age begins, the disease tends to be more common in women, with a growth that is maintained even in adulthood. As if that were not enough, while children tend to have more cases of asthma related to atopy, or allergic predisposition, when the respiratory pathology manifests itself in adulthood (therefore predominantly female) the picture tends not to follow the classic rules allergy, to become more serious and with a heavy prognosis.
Female hormones, with their natural “fluctuations” in the course of life, according to what the research reports could have a significant role, at least according to the studies reported in the analysis. The fluctuations of the estrogen and progestin hormones, real “regulators” of the endocrine structure in women, would affect the response mechanisms of the respiratory system, contributing to the development of classic air hunger and asthmatic crises.
The hypothesis is that the secretion of estrogen and progestin hormones during the fertile life can somehow favor the onset of asthma, while the decline of these hormones after menopause could help explain the onset of some forms of asthma that occur in old age.
Above all, in terms of preventing severe cases, according to experts it could interfere with the juvenile forms through the classic hormonal contraceptives, which in some way tend to limit the secretion of hormones by the ovary. In this sense, speaking of young people, there are studies that indicate that there may be a “side” benefit of hormonal contraception even when the symptoms tend to occur in conjunction with menstrual losses, then at the beginning or during the cycle. In these cases we speak of “Asthma perimestruale” and obviously hormones represent a key factor in the genesis of the picture. In conclusion, it must be said that the study did not reveal particular benefits of hormone replacement treatment for women suffering from asthma after menopause on large populations.
The research, of course, does not lead to definitive conclusions that justify or not an action on hormones for the treatment of asthma, so much so that at the moment there are no defined scientific indications, i.e. guidelines, which define the prescription methods and the rationale. use of these drugs in women.
It is important to recognize the picture
Asthma is a chronic disease of the bronchi and is due to inflammation with bronchoconstriction, that is, a narrowing of the caliber of the bronchi. The various symptoms that can occur, in a more or less intense form, are due to these two mechanisms. They range from dyspnea, or from breathing difficulties that can reach the sensation of “hunger for air” up to coughing and wheezing along the respiratory tract, which are formed due to the narrowing of the passage of air. Particular attention should be paid to coughwhich in asthma is almost always dry and without mucus production and can be the first warning sign.
The first test to define possible asthma is the respiratory function test which is performed with a spirometry. The examination, very simple, is carried out to evaluate how much the airways are blocked and how much the lung is able to fill and empty during a breath. It is applied by inhaling and exhaling in a mouthpiece connected to a machine (the spirometer) which records the different parameters of the breath, transforming each respiratory act into numerical parameters.
The results of the examination are essential for assessing the state of severity of diseases that lead to partial occlusion of the respiratory tract. In particular, for asthma, the FEV1 (Maximum expiratory volume per second) is important. The patient should exhale with maximum power after filling his lungs, and empty himself as quickly as possible. If you are asthmatic, the elimination of air in one second is less than the norm expected for that person, since the bronchial narrowing prevents the correct elimination of air.