Glossary of Asthma, Cold, and Flu Terms
| Term | Definition |
| Asthma | Asthma (AZ-ma) is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that causes airway inflammation and constriction of the smooth muscle around the airways (bronchospasm). Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing often occurs at night or early in the morning. Asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts in childhood. In the United States, more than 22 million people are known to have asthma. Nearly 6 million of these people are children. |
| Asthma/COPD Action Plan | During cold and flu season, be sure to follow your personalized written Asthma/COPD Action Plan per your doctor’s recommendations. Also, be sure to talk to your doctor if you have a cough, chest discomfort, wheezing or difficulty breathing with a cold or flu so you can update your Asthma/COPD Action Plan as needed. That plan may involve monitoring your peak flow rates at home and having an inhaler or nebulizer on hand in case your asthma flares up. |
| Beta-agonists | Drugs that relax the muscles around the bronchial tubes (bronchodilators) to open the airways. There are two main types of bronchodilators. The long-acting type is taken every day to prevent symptoms and should always be used in combination with an inhaled corticosteroid. The short-acting type is used for quick relief of symptoms during an asthma episode/attack. Albuterol is the most commonly used inhaled short-acting beta-agonist. |
| Bronchodilators | Drugs that relax the muscles around the airways, thus opening the airways up. Some bronchodilators are used for quick relief of symptoms during an asthma attack. Others are taken every day to prevent symptoms. |
| Cold & Flu | The flu and the common cold are both respiratory illnesses but they are caused by different viruses. Because these two types of illnesses have similar flu-like symptoms, it can be difficult to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone. In general, the flu is worse than the common cold, and symptoms such as fever, body aches, extreme tiredness, and dry cough are more common and intense. Colds are usually milder than the flu. People with colds are more likely to simply have a runny or stuffy nose. |
| Controller Inhaler |
People who have persistent asthma need to take long-term controller medicines daily to help prevent symptoms. The most effective long-term controller medicines, inhaled corticosteriods, reduce airway inflammation. These medicines are taken over the long term to prevent symptoms from starting. They don’t give you quick relief from symptoms.
Remember, asthma is serious and attacks can occur quickly. It is critical that an inhaler be reliable, effective and ready-to-use at all times. Not all inhalers are the same. Patients should consider the following when discussing inhaler options with their physicians:
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| COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) | COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary (PULL-mun-ary) disease, is a progressive disease that causes airway obstruction. “Progressive” means the disease gets worse over time. COPD patients may have a daily cough productive of mucus (a slimy substance). Because of airway obstruction, COPD patients may also have wheeze, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of COPD. Most people who have COPD smoke or used to smoke. Long-term exposure to other lung irritants, such as air pollution, chemical fumes, or dust, also may contribute to COPD. |
| Corticosteroids | Corticosteroids are the most common and effective drugs used for long-term daily control of asthma (prevention of symptoms). They are most frequently inhaled using a metered dose inhaler, dry powder inhaler, or nebulizer. Corticosteroids primarily decrease or prevent inflammation. |
| Exacerbations/ Asthma Attack/ Flare-ups | Sometimes asthma symptoms are mild and go away on their own, or after minimal treatment with an asthma medicine. At other times, symptoms continue to get worse. When symptoms get more intense and/or additional symptoms appear, this is called an asthma attack. Asthma attacks also are called flare-ups or exacerbations. |
| Exercise- Induced Bronchospasm | Exercise-induced bronchospasm is contraction of the smooth muscle around airways, which can cause wheeze, shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough, triggered by exercise or physical exertion. Many people with asthma experience some degree of symptoms with exercise. However, there are many people without asthma, including elite athletes, who develop symptoms only during exercise. |
| H1N1 Influenza Virus | The 2009 H1N1 (sometimes called “novel H1N1” or “swine flu”) is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. This new virus was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009 and is spreading from person to person worldwide, most likely in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread. On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) signaled that a pandemic of 2009 H1N1 flu was underway. Approximately 70 percent of people who have been hospitalized with the 2009 H1N1 virus have had one or more medical conditions previously recognized as placing people at “high risk” of serious seasonal flu-related complications. This includes pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and kidney disease. |
| Metered Dose Inhaler | The most common device people use to take asthma and COPD medication. A metered dose inhaler (MDI) allows you to inhale a specific amount of medicine (a “metered dose”). It consists of a metal canister, which keeps the medication under pressure, and a plastic sleeve or actuator, which helps to release the medication. When you press the canister, medicine particles are propelled as an aerosol spray out of the canister, through the actuator toward your throat where you can inhale them. |
| Nebulizer | A device that creates a mist out of your asthma drug, which makes it easy to breathe the drug into the lungs. The drug is placed into a small cup. Air from a small compressor converts the drug into an aerosol mist, which travels through a hose with a mouthpiece attached. By taking slow, deep breaths, the medicine is delivered into your lungs. |
| Peak Flow | A measurement of how well you can blow air out of your lungs. If your airways become narrow and blocked due to asthma, you can’t blow air out as well, and your peak flow values drop. |
| Rescue Inhaler |
Quick-relief, or “rescue,” medicines relieve asthma and COPD symptoms that may flare up. All people who have asthma or COPD need a quick-relief medicine to help relieve symptoms related to airway obstruction that may flare up. Inhaled short-acting beta-agonists are the first choice for quick relief. These medicines act quickly to relax tight muscles around your airways when you’re having a flare-up. This allows the airways to open up so air can flow through them.
Remember, asthma is serious and attacks can occur quickly. It is critical that an inhaler be reliable, effective and ready-to-use at all times. Not all inhalers are the same. Patients should consider the following when discussing inhaler options with their physicians:
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| Respiratory Infection | When you have asthma, any upper respiratory infection—like a cold or the flu—can affect your lungs, causing inflammation and airway narrowing. It is important to take measures to stay healthy and be aware of any asthma symptoms, even mild, so that you avoid a more serious asthma attack. |
| Wheezing | A whistling sound when you breathe. |
