THE TYPES AND CATAGORIES OF ASTHMA

Asthma isn’t just “asthma” anymore. There are currently seven clinically recognized types of asthma: allergic, aspirin-induced, cough-variant, exercise-induced, nighttime, steroid-resistant, and occupational. The type of asthma determines the treatment and management options. Asthma can also be classified as intermittent or persistent. The symptoms are the same at every stage, but the severity and frequency are different. The stages of asthma—intermittent, mild persistent, moderate persistent, severe persistent, and acute persistent—are also used to help determine a treatment plan. Further, inflammation plays a role in all types of asthma, so asthma inflammation is categorized into four endotypes (biological pathways of inflammation); this helps doctors understand the role that inflammation plays in each type of asthma.

P.S. Uncontrolled asthma is not a type or category of asthma, but rather a term for asthma that is either not being managed properly or not being treated at all. What seems like severe asthma may be uncontrolled asthma instead.

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