Types of asthma

Asthma is broken down into types based on the cause and the severity of symptoms. Healthcare providers identify asthma as:

Intermittent: This type of asthma comes and goes so you can feel normal in between asthma flares.

Persistent: Persistent asthma means you have symptoms much of the time. Symptoms can be mild, moderate or severe. Healthcare providers base asthma severity on how often you have symptoms. They also consider how well you can do things during an attack.

Asthma has multiple causes:

Allergic: Some people’s allergies can cause an asthma attack. Allergens include things like molds, pollens and pet dander.

Non-allergic: Outside factors can cause asthma to flare up. Exercise, stress, illness and weather may cause a flare.

Asthma can also be:

Adult-onset: This type of asthma starts after the age of 18.

Pediatric: Also called childhood asthma, this type of asthma often begins before the age of 5, and can occur in infants and toddlers. Children may outgrow asthma. You should make sure that you discuss it with your provider before you decide whether your child needs to have an inhaler available in case they have an asthma attack. Your child’s healthcare provider can help you understand the risks.

In addition, there are these types of asthma:

Exercise-induced asthma: This type is triggered by exercise and is also called exercise-induced bronchospasm.

Occupational asthma: This type of asthma happens primarily to people who work around irritating substances.

Asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS): This type happens when you have both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Both diseases make it difficult to breathe.

How Is Asthma Classified?

Doctors rank how bad asthma is by its symptoms:

Mild intermittent asthma. Mild symptoms less than twice a week. Nighttime symptoms less than twice a month. Few asthma attacks.

Mild persistent asthma. Symptoms three to six times a week. Nighttime symptoms three to four times a month. Asthma attacks might affect activities.

Moderate persistent asthma. Daily asthma symptoms. Nighttime attacks five or more times a month. Symptoms may affect activities.

Severe persistent asthma. Ongoing symptoms both day and night. You have to limit your activities.

Your asthma may be getting worse if:

You have symptoms more often and they interfere more with your daily life.

You have a hard time breathing. You can measure this with a device called a peak flow meter.

You need to use a quick-relief inhaler more often.

Types of Asthma

There are several:

Adult-onset asthma. Asthma can start at any age, but it’s more common in people younger than 40.

Status asthmaticus. These long-lasting asthma attacks don’t go away when you use bronchodilators. They’re a medical emergency that needs treatment right away.

Asthma in children. Symptoms can vary from episode to episode in the same child. Watch for problems like:

Coughing often, especially during play, at night, or while laughing. This may be the only symptom.

Less energy or pausing to catch their breath while they play

Fast or shallow breathing

Saying their chest hurts or feels tight

A whistling sound when they breathe in or out

Seesaw motions in their chest because of trouble breathing

Shortness of breath

Tight neck and chest muscles

Weakness or fatigue

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. You might hear this called exercise-induced asthma. It happens during physical activity, when you breathe in air that’s drier than what’s in your body, and your airways narrow. It can affect people who don’t have asthma, too. You’ll notice symptoms within a few minutes after you start to exercise, and they might last 10 to 15 minutes after you stop.

Allergic asthma. Things that trigger allergies, like dust, pollen and pet dander, can also cause asthma attacks.

Nonallergic asthma. This type flares in extreme weather. It could be the heat of summer or the cold of winter. It could also show up when you’re stressed or have a cold.

Occupational asthma. This usually affects people who work around chemical fumes, dust, or other irritating things in the air.

Eosinophilic asthma. This severe form is marked by high levels of white blood cells called eosinophils. It usually affects adults between 35 and 50 years old.

Nocturnal asthma. Your asthma symptoms get worse at night.

Aspirin-induced asthma. You have asthma symptoms when you take aspirin, along with a runny nose, sneezing, sinus pressure, and a cough.

Cough-variant asthma. Unlike with other types, the only symptom of this kind of asthma is a long-term cough.