When it comes to symptoms, eosiniphilic asthma isn’t that different from other types of asthma. “Symptoms are almost identical,” says Purvi S. Parikh, MD, an allergist and immunologist at NYU Langone Health in New York City. That said, with eosinophilic asthma, symptoms may be more severe and persistent, and the usual asthma medications don’t provide relief. With this type of asthma, “it’s unfortunately much harder to get symptoms under control,” Dr. Parikh says. RELATED: What Is Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE)? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment According to the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APED), intense wheezing, coughing, trouble breathing (shortness of breath), and chest tightness are all common with eosinophilic asthma. Fatigue is also very common, Parikh says. “Patients get very tired or winded from doing simple activities, like walking a few blocks or doing household chores.” They may feel tired from breathing itself, she adds, especially if they’re not breathing effectively. People with eosinophilic asthma tend to feel winded, as if they are doing heavy exercise. “It can feel like full-body fatigue that affects your lungs, heart, and whole body,” she says. Your doctor may find inflamed and swollen nasal passages and benign polyps in the nose, all of which can cause a runny nose or a feeling of pressure in that area, the APED says.
When It Comes to Eosinophilic Asthma, Severity Varies
Symptoms of eosinophilic asthma can vary widely, according to Michael Peters, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “Some patients describe an impact on daily life that’s relatively mild, with just a little cough,” Dr. Peters says. For others, “it’s extremely debilitating — where you’re being treated in the hospital with high doses of corticosteroids … and it’s completely changed your quality of life to the point that you can’t really function at all.” According to Parikh, some people with eosinophilic asthma experience a squeezing sensation in the chest. Many have a hard time taking deep breaths, or even catching their breath. “Sometimes it’s so bad, people can’t even talk, or can’t talk in complete sentences.” Other signs that point to eosinophilic asthma include “ending up in the emergency room more, in the doctor’s office more, requiring higher doses of medicines … requiring prednisone,” says Parikh. “People will say they’re unable to do simple household chores or play with their children, or they describe chest tightness like a squeezing pain that can sometimes be mistaken for a heart attack. They’re missing work or school [as a result].” What’s more, “if you get woken up at night from your asthma,” Parikh says, “it’s a sign your asthma is uncontrolled.” All of these are potential signs of severe eosinophilic asthma, Parikh says, and if you’re experiencing any of these signs, you need to be seen by your doctor.
When Eosinophilic Asthma Gets in the Way of Daily Life
“Sometimes people with eosinophilic asthma have this misconception that they are just getting old,” Parikh says. “They think they’re out of shape, and it’s actually dangerous because they downplay their symptoms. Nobody wants to be labelled with a chronic disease, so they’ll say it’s not that bad, and then we find out their symptoms are really limiting their life.” In terms of lung function, experts still don’t know what the decline for people with this type of asthma will be over time, says Peters. “It’s been presumed that [lung function decline] happens,” he says, and that may be the case — “but it actually has never been shown or proven.” If your asthma symptoms are severe or persistent, or in any way feel out of control to you, be sure to contact your doctor. New medications, such as biologics that target eosinophils directly, may be able to make a big difference in how you feel and function, according to the APED.
