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Saturday, October 10, 2009 Mssweepea asks

Q: I get chest tightness and cough easily, could I have Asthma?

I get a feeling like there is a band constricting my chest and I have to breathe very deeply to get a full breath.  I also cough a lot.  I don't notice wheezing though.  Does this sound like Asthma, or could it be something else? I had a lung function test a few years ago and it didn't show much loss of function. 

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10/11/09 12:55am

Asthma is a disease that can appear to come and go without much warning.  And while you are feeling well, your pulmonary function test can be relatively normal.  Therefore, I would recommend you call you doctor and tell him how you are feeling and allow him or her a chance to reassess you.  Perhaps he may want to redo the tests to determine if you have asthma.  He also may diagnose you with something else.  Either way, I would highly recommend you call your doctor.  Or, if your breathing feels bad enough, you should go the the emergency room.

 

That said, the symptoms you describe above do sound like they might be asthma.  And it is not uncommon to not wheeze when you have asthma.  Here are some other signs of asthma

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