Diagnosis
Like for any other disease correct diagnosis is important. According to Dr. Susan Tarlo:
“It is important to recognize, since if due to a workplace sensitizer and, if undetected and if the patient continues to work with even small exposure to the relevant sensitizing agent, the prognosis is worse”. She also concluded that, “the chance of eventual improvement in Asthma severity after stopping exposure decreases with the duration of exposure after the onset of the symptoms. The best chance of asthma clearing or significantly improving is associated with early diagnosis and early removal from ongoing exposure”.
However, the biggest challenge is the first step – Family doctors and patients alike do not have sufficient knowledge about Occupational Asthma - only 15% of the asthmatic patients are asked by their doctor if their symptoms are related to work. And often, patients do not mention this possibility due to the fear of losing their jobs or simply because they are not aware of the association between their work and asthma. What they do not realize is that if they continue working under such circumstances, not only are they sure to lose their job in the long run but their asthma will also reach an irreversible stage. Clearly, an incorrect diagnosis will have considerable medical, social and financial consequences.
Diagnosis of OA is a process and has to be done over a period of time. First, the patient’s occupational and clinical history is taken and his symptoms are charted (Charting is usually done at the end of a typical work week and within 24 hours of the occurrence of symptoms in order to get objective information). Once this has been established, the following diagnostic methods are used:
Read more about this topic: Occupational Asthma