• Chronic cough, especially while sleeping
• Wheezing, a whistling sound when you breathe out and in
• Shortness of breath
• Chest tightness, feeling as though you can't breathe in deeply
• Frequent colds that "go to your chest" or hang on for 10 days or more

When you go in to see your doctor, he or she will want to know more about how those symptoms feel exactly, when they occur, what you were doing beforehand and what -- if anything -- helps relieve them. So starting to keep a written diary of all that information can really be helpful to your doctor.

Your doctor will need to examine you, listening to your breath sounds and your lungs with a stethoscope. You may also be asked to breathe into something called a peak flow meter. This is a small device that measures how forcefully you can exhale. That can tell the doctor a lot about whether asthma might be your diagnosis. Another respiratory test called spirometry may also be ordered. Chest x-rays cannot show asthma, but they may help rule out other lung problems, so your doctor might order those too. In addition, your doctor may decide to test you for allergies.

Two other respiratory diseases that can be confused with asthma are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD for short) and chronic bronchitis. Though similar in some respects, all 3 diseases are separate entities. You might even have 2 of them at the same time. But it's important to understand the difference.

Next up in this series on asthma in the older adult is a discussion of asthma management in seniors.

This Post:Getting the Right Diagnosis

Part 2:Manging Asthma As an Older Adult

Part 3: Staying Healthy as an Older Adult With Asthma