Most cases of asthma develop during childhood, but if you are someone whose condition didn’t develop until middle age you may be dealing with a more serious health issue.
Asthma which develops in adults in their 20s and 30s is very similar to childhood asthma and is usually asthma which developed in childhood but remained undiagnosed.
But when the symptoms don’t start appearing until you reach your 40s and 50s, there are very different symptoms and effects on your health.
Asthma diagnosed at this age usually has nothing to do with family history and, more often than not, is nothing to do with the usual allergens that affect childhood asthma.
It can be very difficult to control and is unpredictable. It also appears to affect far more women than men.
Adults with asthma are more likely to have an allergic reaction to aspirin and related medication and a reaction to these is often the first sign an adult gets that something is wrong.
The older a person gets, the more likely they are to develop asthma and sometimes a person reaches 65 before they start showing symptoms.
It is very difficult to identify the triggers of asthma symptoms in adults, but they are mostly associated with respiratory tract infections and air pollutants.
Misinterpretation of symptoms is also a common factor in adults with asthma. Many of the symptoms can be traced back to other age related conditions, such as cardiovascular problems.
Disturbed sleep, which is one of the symptoms of asthma, may be mistaken for a urinary tract disorder.
Once a diagnosis of asthma has been confirmed in an older person, there may be difficulty with treatment.
The drugs prescribed for asthma may conflict with the medication an older person may be taking for glaucoma or high blood pressure. These contain beta blockers which can increase the symptoms of asthma. The dosages given to an older sufferer may be different to those given to younger patients, due to the number of medications they may be taking.
If you think that you are showing signs of asthma in older age, it is important to seek medical help as quickly as possible and follow your doctor’s recommendations, ensuring you take any medication as prescribed.