Eosinophilic asthma is a chronic and severe subtype of regular asthma that has high levels of eosinophils, which is a type of disease fighting white blood cell in your blood, mucus and your lungs.
The excess levels of eosinophil cells accumulate and cause severe inflammation as well as swelling of the airways and difficulty breathing.
The differences between regular asthma and eosinophilic asthma is that unlike classic asthma that is often triggered by pollen, pet dander, dust mites, etc, the eosinophilic asthma usually develops independently of common allergens.
Eosinophilic asthma most often begins in a persons adulthood.
And people with eosinophilic asthma often also have chronic sinus disease and nasal polyps.
Symptoms of eosinophilic asthma are chest tightness, severe shortness of breath, chronic coughing, and even frequent asthma attacks that are debilitating.
Eosinophilic asthma is also diagnosed through targeted tests like a complete blood count test to check the levels of eosinophils and even sputum tests and bronchial tissue analysis tests.
Some people with eosinophilic asthma respond well to standard asthma controllers, although many people with eosinophilic asthma may have symptoms that are resistant to traditional inhaled corticosteroids.
Although the good news is that eosinophilic asthma is highly treatable, through use of biologic therapies, specialized injectable medications that block specific proteins and immune pathways, which are responsible for creating excess eosinophils.
The foods you should avoid if you have eosinophilic asthma are seafood/shellfish, nuts, eggs, soy, wheat and dairy.
Eosinophilic asthma is also not an autoimmune disease.
While both autoimmune disease and eosinophilic asthma involve an immune system malfunction, their core mechanisms also differ.
In autoimmune diseases, your body's immune system directly attacks it's own healthy cells or tissues.
And in eosinophilic asthma, your immune system does not attack your body directly.
But instead, your body's immune system becomes overactive and produces an excess of white blood cells that are called eosinophils.
These cells then build up in your airways and cause swelling, chronic inflammation and severe asthma attacks.