Chronic disorders affecting the lungs often include asthma. Asthma makes breathing hard, often leading to coughing, wheezing, and tightness in the chest. It affects millions across the globe, especially children, and raises a very important question: Can you grow out of asthma?
What Is Asthma?
Asthma is a chronic condition that affects the air passage of your lungs. Having asthma means that your air passage is becoming inflamed and narrowing down. This leads to difficulty in breathing. People suffering from asthma generally have symptoms such as:
Wheezing (whistling sound when you breathe)
Shortness of breath
Chest tightness
Coughing especially at night or perhaps in the morning
Symptoms of asthma appear or disappear. Other times, the symptoms can get worse with exposure to pollens, dust, smoke, exercise, or stress. Mild asthma does not often bother a handful of patients. However, severe asthma would need daily treatment for healing.
Types of Asthma
Childhood Asthma: Asthma which is born during childhood Asthma onset compared to adults: adult-onset asthma taking longer to develop
Exercise-Induced Asthma: exercise-triggered asthma attack. Knowing the type of asthma would benefit you by tailoring the treatment plan specific to your child or you.
How Asthma Affects Children
There are more chances of children getting asthma compared to adults. In some kids, asthma symptoms are observed very early in their infancy. However, some develop asthma as they grow. Certain causes that will trigger asthma in children include:
– Family asthma or allergic history
– Cigarette smoke or air pollution exposure
– Recurrent respiratory infections
– Allergies to pollen, mould, and pet dander
Most of the time, children with asthma will cough, wheeze, or call for a parent’s help when they want to play or run due to shortness of breath. All the symptoms mentioned will give such a child a very poor quality of life and will make participating in sports or keeping the same pace as their peers almost impossible.
The immediate thought hovering around in the minds of the parents is whether the symptoms will disappear with age or continue into adulthood.
Asthma may fade at times and become less troublesome to some children when they get older, while for others, it stays for a lifetime. Therefore, careful monitoring of the symptoms of the child will go a long way toward helping the physician plan treatment.
Can You Grow Out of Asthma?
Studies research that many children have fewer asthma symptoms as they age. Indeed, almost 50 per cent of children having asthma, when they turn adults, become symptom-free. However, asthma does not go away: it can return later in life, especially as a result of allergies, infections, or other events.
Things Influencing Outgrowing Asthma
Whether a person outgrows their asthma depends on the following factors:
Age at Diagnosis: Children diagnosed at a younger age would mostly outgrow their conditions.
Symptoms Severity: More improvement is expected in persons with mild asthma.
Allergy Eczema: Most children with allergies or eczema are not going to outgrow asthma.
Family History: A strong family history of asthma makes persistence more likely.
Some individuals do outgrow asthma, while others sometimes experience long periods of symptom-free remission, only to have symptoms reappear later. A proper understanding of these aspects enables an individual to manage the situation better.
Why Do Some People Outgrow This Asthma?
During the growing up of children, many things happen in the body, which might affect the performance of asthma symptoms. It seems that, with age, some children outgrow asthma since their lungs and airways grow much larger. This makes breathing easier at times, even during airway inflammation. A larger airway decreases the chances of wheezing or chest tightness.
Immune System Changes
It is said that the immune system matures as a child becomes older. This might result in an increased reduction of the inflammation in the airways and may cause asthma symptoms. For some people, this would cause fewer asthma attacks or even no symptoms at all. However, the immune system’s relationship with asthma is more complex, and not all people with asthma improve.
Less Trigger Exposure
As a child grows, he might move into some new settings or cannot avoid some of the triggers, like cigarette smoke or pet dander. Over time, such changes help reduce asthma symptoms. For example, a child may shift from a polluted city to a rural place and notice almost immediate improvement in breathing.
Even with these varying symptoms, some people still have their airways sensitive. This means that they could still go back to asthma with some triggers or infections. Regular monitoring and avoiding triggers remain essential.
Why Asthma May Persist into Adulthood
Most people’s asthma does not disappear but may improve. However, some of the lifelong symptoms can still be there. Here are reasons why asthma could persist:
Severe Childhood Asthma
Childhood asthma is severe and less frequently outgrown. The airways remain inflamed as the child grows older. Hence, persistent inflammation causes permanent changes in the lungs, making asthma very difficult to control later.
Allergies or Problems with Sinuses
Asthma is most likely to persist in a patient with allergies or chronic sinus problems. Asthma becomes worse in those with allergic disease or chronic sinus disease. The presence of perennial pollen in the air-arid months triggers asthmatic symptoms whenever the season for it returns, even if there have never been an incidence of the issue before.
Smoking or Pollution Exposure
Asthma may worsen in the adult population due to smoking and air pollution exposure. Smoking damages the lungs and complicates the control of asthma. Becoming more evident is the fact that high air pollution areas could trigger asthma symptoms with subsequent long-term effects.
Obesity
Obesity has been noted to worsen asthma-related symptoms. It increases weight pressure on the lungs and causes difficulty in respiration. Weight maintenance is important in controlling asthma symptoms and it reduces the frequency of symptoms.
Managing Asthma Throughout Life
Whether asthma will resolve itself or not. But one has to learn how to manage it throughout these years. Here is some common advice on controlling asthma at any age:
Regular Check Ups
Your doctor will be able to routinely assess your condition in relation to asthma and adjust your treatment schedule accordingly. This is especially vital for children, as with the other visits regular check-ups will need to have their symptoms and triggers change as they grow.
Identify and Avoid Triggers
Identify what provokes symptoms of asthma and try not to be exposed to it. The list of stimuli includes the following:
Pollen
Dust mites
Smoke
Cold air
Exercise (If Left Untreated)
Keeping a journal can most probably give clues to the possible asthma triggers.
Use Prescribed Medications
Asthma medications like inhalers can also help control the symptoms. They act as having anti-inflammatory effects by opening up the airways quickly in an attack event. It is best to use the medications as per the doctor’s instructions.
Make a Healthy Choice.
A healthy diet, physical exercise, and good management of stress may also keep one’s asthma symptoms at bay. Losing excess weight can also help in improving breathing. Staying fit will improve breathing capability, but it is advisable first to seek medical attention for the best way to exercise safely.
Asthma Action Plan
Be prepared by having a plan in case of emergencies. This personalized guide helps the person who has the condition find out what to do in the following situations: daily medications, how to recognize worsening symptoms, and what to do during an asthma attack. Having it around can make things less anxious and ensure one’s preparedness for any situation.
Read also: Can Dogs Get Asthma?
FAQs About Growing Out of Asthma
Asthma symptoms may return after many years of having no such symptoms. This often appears to be resurfaced due to infections, stress, and exposure to allergens.
What Are the Differences Between Controlled Asthma and Outgrown One?
Controlled Asthma indicates the symptoms are very much controlled with the help of the treatment. Outgrown Asthma means the individual does not experience any symptoms, even otherwise.
Can An Adult Outgrow Asthma?
Some adults who have a very mild disease may show fewer symptoms over time, but adult-onset asthma is more likely to be present over a longer lifetime.
Does Asthma Recession Mean Cure?
Remission means that the symptoms are disappearing at the moment, but this does not imply that they cannot come back again. A cure means that it is totally gone, and that is not true about asthma.
Is It Possible To Outgrow Asthma by Changing One’s Lifestyle?
Lifestyle changes such as avoiding the triggers, eating healthy, and being active may help to lessen the symptoms but will not cure asthma entirely.
Conclusion
Asthma is a chronic disease; however, a good number of children are likely going to improve or remit as they grow. Age, severity, and lifestyle were possibly great factors in determining whether asthma will disappear or continue.
