Reactive airway disease causes wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing after exposure to irritants. It is often misdiagnosed as asthma, but has no known cause and may not respond to asthma medication. Proper diagnosis is important for effective treatment.
Reactive airway disease, also known as reactive airway dysfunction syndrome (RADS), is a respiratory condition characterized by wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing. It is sometimes confused with the related condition asthma, but there are some important distinctions between asthma and reactive airway disease that can have a profound impact on treatment approaches. Some physicians object to the use of the term “reactive airway disease,” arguing that anything that can inhibit a correct diagnosis is used as a catch.
People with reactive airway disease usually develop respiratory symptoms after exposure to an irritant that causes inflammation of the airways. For example, someone may start coughing and wheezing following a major bushfire, due to irritation from smoke and particulate matter. Typically, mucus production is increased, which leads to further inflammation and discomfort for the patient. Airway irritation leads to a chronic symptom syndrome.
Doctors can also diagnose RADS in young children when they experience symptoms such as wheezing and coughing because asthma is difficult to diagnose at a young age. Rather than assuming a child has asthma and putting them on a regimen of asthma medications, doctors may approach the situation from a perspective that involves dealing with inflammation and discomfort until further tests can be used to determine whether or not the child has asthma.
The key difference between asthma and reactive airway disease is that people with asthma fit a specific profile, which includes certain diagnostic criteria. Individuals with RADS may experience the same symptoms as asthmatics, but their condition has no known cause and may not be relieved with the use of asthma medications. It usually takes only a single exposure for reactive airway disease to develop, and people with the condition experience less sensitivity to environmental pollutants than asthmatics.
Because RADS is sometimes used as a quick diagnosis for a patient in lieu of further investigation, patients may wish to see a respiratory specialist or ask their doctors for more information if they are diagnosed with this condition. Adults should receive pulmonary function tests which can be used to distinguish between reactive airway disease and asthma, and additional diagnostic tools can also be used on children to explore the cause of the respiratory syndrome. An inability to get a proper diagnosis for a respiratory condition can lead to long-term problems and delays in treatment.
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