| Complications of asthma | |||||||
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- What is asthma?
- Symptoms of asthma
- Causes of asthma
- Prevention of asthma
- Risk factors for asthma
- Complications of asthma
- When to see a doctor about asthma
- Diagnosis of asthma
- Conventional treatment of asthma
- Alternative/complementary treatment of asthma
- Living with asthma
- Caring for someone with asthma
There are a number of complications of asthma, some of which can be quite serious:
- Collapsed lung - the lungs (either one or both) can either partially or totally collapse and make breathing very difficult. This is a life threatening condition that needs urgent medical attention
- Infection of the lungs - an infection of the lungs, such as pneumonia, can be have very serious consequences in people with asthma. The lungs of an asthmatic person are damaged and not functioning properly, so they can be more prone to developing a serious infection (like pneumonia) which can be life threatening and requires urgent medical attention
- Respiratory failure - if the levels of oxygen in the blood become dangerously low, or the levels of carbon dioxide become dangerous high (due to inability to breath properly), this can lead to respiratory failure. This is a life threatening condition that needs urgent medical attention
- Severe asthma not responding to treatment - in a small number of people, the asthma may becomes so bad and the lungs become so damaged that it does not respond to appropriate treatment. This is potentially an urgent, life-threatening condition which has built up over time and which needs urgent medical attention
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Badly controlled asthma in children can lead to the following complications:
- Absences from school - many children with more severe forms of asthma tend to have more sick days away from school due to the severity of their condition, mainly due to the number of severe asthma attacks they have which require hospitalisation
- Psychological problems - children with asthma may feel a bit isolated from other children their age, because they may not be able to do/eat everything their friends are doing/eating such as sports, but especially they may also feel left out because they are "different" to other, more healthier children and if the isolation is prolonged, they may develop psychological problems such as stress, anxiety and depression
- Underperformance at school - if a child who has asthma needs to be away from school on a great number of days due to hospitalisation or just because they are sick quite often due to the asthma, this can cause them to fall behind in their school work, which can lead to under performance and the child may not get the opportunity to be the best they can be, due to the complications of this chronic disorder
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< 5:risk factors for asthma 7:when to see a doctor > Last reviewed: 7 October 2007 || Last updated: 3 January 2009
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NOTE: Mega doses of any type of vitamin, mineral, amino acid or herbal supplement cannot cure illnesses and in fact can be very dangerous and produce toxic side effects and interfere with medicine you are taking. Always ensure you consult your doctor before taking any type of complementary supplements.
Disclaimer: This guide is not intended to be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. For any treatment or diagnosis of illness, please see your doctor.
