Treating Asthma with Virtual Consultation and E-Healthcare during Coronavirus Pandemic - Gigadocs - Online Appointment with Best Doctors

COVID19 has dramatically changed our lives in recent months, as social distancing, facemasksand work from home become the new normal. Aided by teleconsultation, health care delivery is no different, now using virtual consultation, you can consult digital doctors from your home for chronic and non-chronic diseases, pre-existing comorbidities like hypertension, cardiovascular ailments, cancer,asthma proved to be high-risk for Coronavirus infectivity owing to immunosuppression and surface contamination.

What is Asthma?

Asthma characterized with its distinctive wheezing, persistent coughing, and breathing difficulties can be scary and uncomfortable because there are many triggers behind an Asthma attack diagnosed by a variety of tests. Potential triggers include bronchial disorders, allergies, sinus infections, environmental factors like pollen and pollution, dust, and smog.

Asthma has no cure; however, it is a treatable disease. The current asthma treatments available are highly effective. Asthmatics under medication have experienced a nearly-complete control of symptoms. Here are the six most common forms of Asthma-

Adult-Onset Asthma

Adult-onset Asthma occurs when symptoms develop in people older than 20 years of age. Those who are more likely to be suspectable to contract adult-onset asthma include women facing hormonal changes like pregnancy or those experiencing menopause

Allergic Asthma

Allergies and asthma are quite common. When the inside lining of the nose is inflamed, it gives way to allergic rhinitis or hay fever. Allergic asthma is characterised by ongoing sneezing, excess mucus, constant runny nose, swollen nasal passages, scratchy throat and weepy eyes

Exercise-Induced Asthma

Exercise-induced asthma is triggered by physical exertion or strenuous exercise. Asthma symptoms are quite common among people with asthma when they exercise. The symptoms are at peak for five to 20 minutes at the beginning of the exercise, making it difficult to catch your breath and may worsen for a few minutes after stopping exercise

Cough-Variant Asthma

Cough-variant asthma is vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated common triggers are usually respiratory infections and exercise. Severe coughing is the most common symptom of cough-variant asthma. Cough variant asthma may be caused by postnasal drip, sinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease or chronic rhinitis.

Occupational Asthma

Occupational asthma triggers at the workplace, your office or workplace may have allergic conditions that trigger your asthma making it difficult to breathe especially when you are at the job. Occupational Asthma symptoms include nose congestion, runny nose, cough or eye irritation. Common jobs that are associated with Occupational Asthma include bank tellers, animal breeders, hairdressers, farmers, nurses, woodworkers and painters.

Nocturnal Asthma

Nocturnal asthma or night-time asthma is also quite common. The symptoms of Night-time asthma are more prevalent during sleep, triggers are influenced by the sleep-wake cycle (circadian rhythms). If you have experienced troubled breathing wheezing or cough particularly at night-time, it may be Nocturnal Asthma, book a virtual consultant on the Gigadocs app and discuss your symptoms and triggers with an asthma specialist doctor.

Asthma vs Coronavirus-The Difference

Asthmaand COVID-19 both are respiratory diseases, which can affect your lungs, throat, and nose. Among them, Coronavirus is more dangerous with a very high rate of transmission, and mortality rate. Shortness of breath is the most common factor of comparison as explain under

Factors	Coronavirus	Asthma
Fever	Yes	No
Fatigue	Yes	No
Dry Cough	Yes	No
Loss of appetite	Yes	No
Body Aches	Yes	No
Chest Tightness	No	Yes
Coughing	No	Yes
Breathing sounds (like wheezing or whistling)	No	Yes
Shortness of Breath	Yes	Yes

Discussing Asthma Triggers on Virtual Consultation

Asthma causes inflammation in your airways making breathing difficult for the air to move in and out of the lungs. The severity of Asthma symptoms may vary from an individual to individual for some asthma is a minor nuisance but for others, it may cause a major interfere with daily activities. If your or your near ones are Asthmatic, stay cautious from the potential triggers-

Cold air
Respiratory infections
Allergies
Physical activity can cause exercise-induced asthma.
Airborne particles like smog, smoke, dust etc.

As the seasons change, influenza or seasonal flu is quite common, a telemedicine consultationcan help you mark the difference between flu and an Asthma attack. During a video consultation on the Gigadocs practice management app, your digital Pulmonologist will ask targeted questions to understand the triggers that are behind your asthma attack. Your virtual consultation is based on the severity of symptoms and your medical history. Following your telemedicine consultation, your digital doctor will consider various treatment plans subsequently you will receive your digital prescription on the Gigadocs app.

Controlling Asthma with E-Healthcare and Telemedicine

Online apps like Gigadocs allow you to securely upload and access your medical records round the clock from the comfort of your home maintaining social distancing measures, here is how you can leverage E-Healthcare for your Asthma consultation-

Gigadocs healthcare app allows you to securely upload your health records, record your daily symptoms, and health trends. This is a piece of very vital information for your digital doctor to analyze and develop a customized medical plan for your asthma prevention and treatment.
Video calls let you connect one-on-one with a specialist on asthma care. Log on to the Gigadocs app and book a virtual teleconsultation at a time convenient to you.
Your digital consultant can choose simple telephone calls, to educate the potential triggers and how you can avoid them.

What Should you Discuss with Your Digital Doctor During an Asthma Virtual Consultation?

The care plan you should follow, and which kind of face mask you should use a surgical mask or an N95 respirator when you go for emergency shopping and work.
Discuss and understand inhaler techniques for many of the most common inhalers available.
Additional safety precautions you must adopt in addition to social distancing, face mask, food safety measures to stay safe from COVID-19.

Tele-consult a Virtual Consultant on Gigadocs

In these tough times, Gigadocs lets you consult a digital specialist of your choice on the Gigadocs E-Healthcare app. All you need is a smartphone or a tab with camera facilities, and an internet connection to start your telemedicine appointment and subsequent follow-up calls. Gigadocs app is available to download from the App Store and Play store.

Follow these easy steps to book your Digital Consultation on the Gigadocs app-

Check the availability of pulmonologists, respiratory disease specialists to consult.
After you have zeroed down on the specialist, digitally share your consent for them to view your healthcare records for an accurate consultation.
Your appointment details will be shared on the Gigadocs app after your appointment is confirmed.
On the date of your digital appointment, be present along with all your health care records, and questions you want to discuss with your digital doctor.
If the concerned specialist is not available, you can consult another specialist registered on the Gigadocs app.

Download the Gigadocs app from-