Dr. Vikas Pilaniya · DM Pulmonologist Pulmonologist in Jaipur for Asthma, Allergy & Lung Care

See a chest specialist if you have:

• a cough lasting more than three weeks
• breathlessness climbing stairs or during routine activity
• wheezing or chest tightness, especially at night
• blood in the sputum, or repeated chest infections
• loud snoring with daytime sleepiness
• an abnormal chest X-ray or CT scan
• asthma or COPD that is not controlled despite regular inhalers

A pulmonologist confirms the diagnosis with lung function tests, imaging and, where needed, bronchoscopy — instead of treating symptoms in the dark.

Asthma cannot be cured permanently, but it can be controlled so completely that most patients live, work, travel and exercise without limits. Control comes from four things: the right preventer inhaler at the right dose, correct inhaler technique, avoiding your specific triggers, and periodic spirometry to confirm the lungs are stable.

The inhaled steroid used in asthma is a very low dose delivered straight into the airways, and it is safe for long-term use — including in children and during pregnancy under medical supervision.

Allergy has a genetic basis and is triggered by the environment — dust mites, pollen, mould, pets, cockroach, smoke and weather change — so it is not completely curable. It is, however, very controllable.

Allergy testing identifies exactly which allergens affect you, which makes avoidance practical instead of guesswork. Where symptoms persist despite medication, allergen immunotherapy gradually reduces sensitivity over time and can lower the need for daily medicines.

Asthma usually begins early in life, runs in families, is driven by allergy, and patients are often completely symptom-free between attacks. COPD usually begins after the age of 40, is caused by years of smoking or biomass (chulha) smoke, and causes breathlessness that is present every day rather than in episodes.

Spirometry tells them apart by measuring how far the airway obstruction reverses after a bronchodilator. COPD is preventable and treatable: stopping smoking, inhaler therapy, vaccination and pulmonary rehabilitation slow it down and reduce flare-ups.

A PFT or spirometry is a painless, non-invasive breathing test. You take a deep breath and blow hard into a tube connected to a machine, which measures lung volumes, airflow and gas exchange. It takes 15 to 30 minutes, with no injection and no radiation, and it is the single most important test for diagnosing and monitoring asthma and COPD.

FeNO measures allergic airway inflammation, and a six-minute walk test shows how your oxygen level behaves on exertion.

Loud habitual snoring, gasping or choking at night, breathing pauses that a partner notices, morning headaches, waking unrefreshed, daytime sleepiness, dozing off while driving, poor concentration and irritability all point to obstructive sleep apnea.

It is confirmed with a sleep study (polysomnography), which records breathing, oxygen level, heart rate and sleep stages overnight. Treatment usually combines CPAP with weight reduction, positional advice and treatment of nasal blockage. Untreated sleep apnea raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, diabetes and road accidents.

Bronchoscopy passes a thin flexible camera through the nose or mouth into the airways, so the problem can be seen directly and sampled (lavage, brushings or biopsy). EBUS adds an ultrasound probe, which allows lymph nodes and masses next to the airway to be sampled with a fine needle — without surgery.

Both are day-care procedures performed under local anaesthesia with sedation, take about 20 to 45 minutes, and have a very low complication rate. Most patients go home the same day.

Yes — pulmonary TB, lymph node TB, pleural TB and drug-resistant (MDR) TB. Diagnosis uses sputum microscopy, CBNAAT/NAAT, culture and drug-sensitivity testing, and where sputum is negative, samples obtained at bronchoscopy or EBUS.

Treatment follows national and international guidelines, with monthly monitoring for response and side effects, nutrition advice and screening of close contacts.

ILD is a group of conditions in which lung tissue becomes inflamed and then scarred, causing a dry cough and breathlessness that worsens over months. Causes include autoimmune disease, occupational dust, drugs, infection — and sometimes no identifiable cause.

Diagnosis needs an HRCT of the chest, lung function tests with diffusion capacity, autoimmune blood work and sometimes bronchoscopy. Scarring cannot be reversed, but anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory treatment, oxygen where needed, vaccination and pulmonary rehabilitation can slow progression — which is why early diagnosis matters.

Most lung nodules are benign. What matters is size, shape, position, your smoking history and whether it is growing. Small, low-risk nodules are simply watched with a repeat CT at planned intervals.

Larger or suspicious nodules are sampled — by bronchoscopy, EBUS or CT-guided biopsy — and if cancer is confirmed, staged with PET-CT and discussed with oncology and thoracic surgery so treatment starts without delay.

Hospital OPD: Room No. 28, Manipal Hospital Jaipur, Main Sikar Road, Sector 5, Vidyadhar Nagar, Jaipur 302039 — Monday to Saturday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Evening clinic: Jaipur Cosmetic Surgery and Advance Lung Care Clinic, Sarswati Marg, Chitrakoot, Chitrakoot, Vaishali, Jaipur — Monday to Saturday, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

Call or WhatsApp 080003 55461 to confirm a slot before visiting.

Bring previous prescriptions, the inhalers or nebuliser medicines you use, chest X-ray and CT films with reports, earlier PFT or sleep study reports, recent blood reports, and a list of all medicines including those for heart, diabetes or blood pressure.

Note when symptoms are worst — night, early morning, at work or in a particular season — and mention smoking history or exposure to dust, smoke, chemicals or birds at home or work.

Yes — second opinions are welcome, and patients travel from across Rajasthan for them. Bring all CT films, biopsy or histopathology reports, PFT results and treatment records.

You will be told plainly whether the diagnosis fits, which further tests would settle it, and what the realistic options are — including continuing with your current doctor.

Yes. Children with asthma, allergic rhinitis, recurrent wheezing, chronic cough and repeated chest infections are treated with age-appropriate spirometry, spacer and inhaler training for both child and parent, and school-friendly action plans. Children with complex congenital or neonatal lung conditions are managed jointly with paediatric colleagues.