Allergic asthma is probably a term you're familiar with. That's because allergy and asthma are closely connected. Most people who have asthma also have allergies, and many people, especially children, who has allergies also have asthma. Allergic asthma is the most common type of asthma and is sometimes referred to as allergy induced asthma or extrinsic asthma.
As with other types of asthma, diagnosing allergy-induced asthma requires a medical history and possibly testing. Since most people with allergies and asthma have a family history of it, your doctor will ask you about your parents' and siblings' medical history of allergy & asthma. There are lung function tests, such as spirometry and peak flow rates, that can tell the doctor more about how well your airways are working. But with allergic asthma, your doctor may also want to do some allergy testing via skin tests, to learn more about whether allergens are what is causing your symptoms.
The main difference with allergic asthma is what sets off, or triggers your symptoms. In people with an allergy and asthma, those triggers tend to be what are called airborne allergens. That means they circulate via air currents and are inhaled into your body when you breathe. In addition to tracking triggers and symptoms to gain insight into how your body reacts to the world around you, allergic asthma treatment focuses on avoiding triggers (prevention) and medicine. It may also include immunotherapy, which is often referred to as allergy shots.
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