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While some people develop asthma as children, and continue to suffer after they have grown up, there is another group of individuals that are not diagnosed, or do not appear to have asthma symptoms, until they are adults. There is also a third group of adults that may be diagnosed with adult asthma, and those are individuals that had asthma as a child, then seemed to have no asthma over their teens and early adult years, and then start experiencing the symptoms again when they reach their late forties or early fifties.

As we all know, asthma can be very serious if it is not closely monitored and certain precautions aren't taken. When a person is diagnosed as suffering from asthma as a child, they get more used to following precautions early on in their life. These precautions become almost second nature and so are easily followed later in adulthood. However, when adult asthma occurs as something completely new, it can take a lot of getting used to.

Causes of Adult Asthma

There can be a variety of reasons why adult asthma may appear. One of the most common types of adult asthma is allergic asthma, brought on by a reaction to one, or several different allergens. But whatever type of adult asthma is diagnosed, the person affected must take certain precautions they never had to deal with while growing up. And they certainly can't give in to the old saying that you can't teach old dogs new tricks: they must follow these precautions or else their adult asthma can seriously harm them or take their life. The precautions they need to take depend on what kind of adult asthma they suffer from.

Consult Your Doctor

The first step in taking back control of your life is to determine what kind of adult asthma you suffer from, and for that you'll need to make an appointment with your doctor. Your doctor will be able to tell you, after performing a series of tests, what kind of asthma you have as well, as what activities or things to avoid. For instance, if your adult asthma is caused by an allergy to animal (e.g. dog) dander, you'll want to avoid being in enclosed areas with any dog. Your doctor will also prescribe you medicine, usually in the form of an inhaler.

Fortunately, adult asthma doesn't mean your life is over. Adult asthma can be serious and it can, in fact, be life threatening if certain precautions aren't taken. It may take some getting used to but by making a small, conscious effort, you can do what you need to do in order to prevent asthma from controlling your life.

Precautions You need to Take

Many persons are frightened of the words 'adult asthma', but as long as you can make some small changes to your everyday life, there's no reason why you can't live as long and as normal a life as anyone without asthma. Obviously, you'll have to stay away from any activities or things that trigger your asthma and, above all, take notice of your doctor. If your doctor prescribes medicine, take your medicine. If your doctor gives you an inhaler, make sure you have your inhaler with you at all times. These small things are not difficult to get used to, but they can make a huge difference to the quality of your life, from both a physical and psychological point of view ' you'll find that you can soon start paying much more attention to enjoying your life and much less attention to your adult asthma.