The Difference Between Asthma, Flu and COVID-19

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease, but it can be controlled by following treatments and guidelines prescribed by experts. Despite this, it is estimated that half of patients stop taking their medication when they are asymptomatic. Dr. Luis Manuel Entrenas Costa, Director of the Pulmonary Department at Quirónsalud Córdoba Hospital, reminds us of this: “Asthma patients should not stop treatment to control their asthma.even if the symptoms are relieved, lung function can be preserved.

Additionally, during the fall and winter, asthma symptoms can be confused with symptoms of the flu or COVID-19, which are very common viral infections. Given this situation, experts insist on the importance of asthma patients understanding their disease.

In this article, we discuss asthma and how it differs from most viral winter infections, as well as the risks of not taking your asthma medications.

What is asthma?

This inflammatory disease of the airways causes the bronchi to narrow. When this happens, symptoms include difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chest tightness or whistling, and coughing.

Asthma can occur alone and be limited to the airways. But it is also often associated with other manifestations of the nose, such as rhinitis or sinusitis; or even on the skin, such as dermatitis, especially in patients with inflammatory or allergic processes.

In more detail, the doctor explained to us “Asthma has varying degrees of disease involvement and different forms., depending on age of onset, association with other processes, type of underlying inflammatory process, and comorbidities. “

Fortunately, asthma medications can help control the disease, as experts point out: “In most cases, it can be easily controlled with medication.usually administered by inhalation.

However, There are also cases of severe asthma that really affects their quality of life.. In fact, they tend to have more frequent seizures, require more medications, and have symptoms that interfere with daily life and rest.

The difference between asthma, flu or coronavirus

Asthma often coexists with viral infections like the flu or COVID-19, which can also cause difficulty breathing or coughing. Therefore, it is important to distinguish them. The doctor explained to us, “Respiratory viruses are one of the most common viruses; Asthma attacks and Covid-19 infections are difficult to distinguish

because the symptoms of a respiratory infection can mimic those of asthma.

In order to distinguish asthma from influenza or COVID-19, it must be taken into account that asthma attacks do not cause fever and can be relieved by rescue medications. “Generally speaking, an asthma patient already knows the symptoms of his disease Fever or headache are uncommon and usually improve with bronchodilators or rescue medications.“Experts pointed out.

What happens if you don’t take your asthma medications

Symptoms may return after a few days or weeks. People diagnosed with asthma often stop treatment when they notice an improvement in their symptoms. However, this is a mistake. Doctors warn us: “Patients who have their condition under control have a very small chance of having an asthma attack.”

Unfortunately, I guess More than half of patients have uncontrolled asthma due to lack of treatment compliance. Sometimes, they become overconfident and discontinue prescribed medications because of their effectiveness and anti-inflammatory properties. At first, patients usually don’t realize they need to take these medications again, but over the next few days or weeks, they may notice that the inflammatory processes they controlled with the medications are activated, so asthma symptoms return. They need to make greater use of rescue treatments.

Typically, people with asthma can use:

• rescue treatment. Take it promptly during an asthma attack.
• Maintenance treatment. It should be used daily to control asthma, even if the patient is asymptomatic.

Finally, we must remember that asthma cannot be prevented and there are many factors that can intervene, such as genetics, allergens, or exposure to pollutants. Like other chronic diseases, it is necessary to control it and avoid asthma attacks.