Adult-onset asthma refers to a condition where asthma sets in for the first time in someone who is middle-age or older. Breathlessness, wheezing and a productive cough are the symptoms of adult asthma.
Asthma is a long-term lung disease. A person suffering from asthma has airways that are narrow and the lining of which is persistently inflamed. Patients usually experience recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath and coughing. For most patients, the coughing occurs at night or early in the morning.
Most people think of asthma as a childhood disease, because it usually starts starts sometime during childhood. However, it affects people of all ages. When asthma is diagnosed in people older than 20 years of age, it is known as adult-onset asthma. In contrast to childhood asthma, adult-onset asthma is more persistent and permanent. Often, constant medication is required to help keep adult-onset asthma under control. In the United States, out of the over 22 million people known to have asthma, 16 million are adults.
