Question about Asthma Tests

[jessibrown]

I recently joined this community. I am an asthma patient too. I want to get more information on asthma and asthma tests. What kind of tests are conducted to diagnose asthma? Can anyone help me out?

Thanks for your help.

[holistic_doc]

I recently joined this community. I am an asthma patient too. I want to get more information on asthma and asthma tests. What kind of tests are conducted to diagnose asthma? Can anyone help me out?

Thanks for your help.

Hi Jessi
Usual breathing tests are for blockage of airways, called "spirometry." This blockage varies in asthma, after exertion, after using a drug to open up your airways, after exposure to "triggers" which bring on an attack etc.
Another breathing test is for exhaled nitric oxide (eNO.) This is used to measure the amount of inflammation in your airways, which causes the blockage.
Other tests could be blood tests (IgE and IgG4) or skin ***** tests, for the allergies which cause the airway inflammation.
You could have tests for the balance in your immune system (Th1 versus Th2,) which makes you more or less prone to allergies in the first place..

[jessibrown]

Hey Holistic,

Thank you so much for the information. Found it really interesting. I came to know about my asthma one year back and they did pulmonary function test for me. This is a test, done at doctor's office, which measures how well your breathing passages can move air in and out. The test is done by blowing forcefully into a mouthpiece that is connected to a computer. The computer measures the air moving through the mouthpiece and will show whether your breathing is normal for your age and height.

But I am hearing about the exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) test for the first time. Even my doctor never mentioned it. I just need to know whether this test is helpful in monitoring asthma and also wish to know if this test has been used frequently by physicians to monitor the asthma level of patients. Can you explain me more about eNO test?

[holistic_doc]

Hi Jessi,
The test isn't available where I live, so I've no experience with it's use. The literature suggests people are still undecided as to it's place - whether it adds anything much extra in addition to the breathing test you have already had, which can be used again at any stage to see how you are going.
If you put in the search "eNO asthma office measurement," the first site is that of the people who developed the equipment used. It has more information.

[jessibrown]

Hi Jessi,
The test isn't available where I live, so I've no experience with it's use. The literature suggests people are still undecided as to it's place - whether it adds anything much extra in addition to the breathing test you have already had, which can be used again at any stage to see how you are going.
If you put in the search "eNO asthma office measurement," the first site is that of the people who developed the equipment used. It has more information.

Hey Holistic,

Thank you for the information. I am researching on exhaled nitric oxide and I have decided to talk to my doctor about the eNO test when I visit him next time. Will research more and share information with you.

[jessibrown]

Hey Holistic, I researched on exhaled nitric oxide and came across an instrument called "Insight eNo" by Apieron. It measures patient’s degree of airway inflammation. Based on the exhaled nitric oxide levels doctors can tune their medication accordingly. FDA has approved it for testing patients at the physician’s office.

Also I came to know that the largest health care insurer, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in the Mid-Atlantic has adopted a policy stating that measurement of exhaled nitric oxide is considered medically necessary in the management of asthma patients.

Hope you find this info useful.

[jessibrown]

Hey All,

Came across this link on web. Found it informative and helpful. Just take a look in to it.

http://asthma.about.com/b/2009/08/22...-necessary.htm

[jessibrown]

Hey All,

Came across this link on web.Just take a look at it.

http://www.slideshare.net/exhalednit...hma-management

[jessibrown]

Hey All,

Exhaled Nitric Oxide Monitoring for Asthma

http://www.wikio.com/article/exhaled...thma-148681263

[jessibrown]

Check this link......

Exhaled nitric oxide in the diagnosis of childhood asthma


http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extra.../dec29_1/b5418