| Physical examination will give a clear indication of | | | | asthma. Common tests include a nasal or sputum in |
| symptoms of asthma to most specialist doctors. The | | | | which mucus from the nose or chest is examined |
| asthma specialist will focus on your skin, eyes, ears, | | | | under a microscope for an excess amount of white |
| nose, throat, and chest. The doctor will look at your | | | | blood cells known as eosinophils. These Eosinophils are |
| skin for signs of eczema or hives. Inflammation in the | | | | the indication of asthma or an ongoing allergic |
| ears or eyes may signify an underlying allergy. Dark | | | | reaction, and they are found in excess amounts in |
| circles under the eyes, called allergic shiners, and | | | | those afflicted with hay fever and asthma.. |
| swelling in the nose are signs of allergic rhinitis, or hay | | | | Eosinophils normally comprise around 4 per¬cent |
| fever, which is often associated with asthma. | | | | of all white blood cells, but in patients with asthma |
| The chest exam is the most important part of the | | | | the eosinophil blood count is frequently elevated. |
| asthma specialist's physical examination. The doctor | | | | Another, though not a common ailment that mimic |
| will rely on a stethoscope to detect wheezing and | | | | most symptoms of asthma is cystic fibrosis. The |
| gauge the rate of air movement in and out of your | | | | sweat test in infants can give the indication of cystic |
| chest. The doctor will ask the patient to take a deep | | | | fibrosis. |
| breath or briefly exercise to make it easier for him to | | | | Another major blood test in the diagnosis of asthma |
| detect wheezing. An asthma specialist can often | | | | is the Immunoglobulin E or IgE test, which measures |
| diagnose asthma by just looking at a patient's chest. | | | | the amount of allergic or IgE antibody in a person's |
| When patients with chronic asthma constantly use | | | | serum or body. A high IgE level indicates that allergies |
| their chest and rib muscles to move air in and out of | | | | may be causing the asthma. If the IgE level count is |
| their lungs, the chest wall is stretched to the limit, | | | | less than 32 the patient may not be having allergic |
| and it expands, giving the chest a barrel-like shape. | | | | asthma. IgE count of above 50 shows clear |
| Laboratory testing can also give a clear indication for | | | | propensity to allergic asthma. |