Asthma is a chronic disease that effects the airways to the lungs causing inflammation, irritation, and difficulty breathing. Most of you may not think of asthma as a killer disease, yet more than 5,000 Americans die of asthma each year. According to the Mayo Clinic web page, asthma also accounts for more than 400,000 hospital discharges annually. As the number of people with asthma increases, the more likely you are to meet a person who has the disease. I have had asthma my whole life but as I grow older it hasn’t affected me much. In this report I will discuss some interesting facts about asthma, I will specifically on focus on what it is, warning signs, symptoms, causes, and the treatments that are used.
The term asthma comes from the ancient …show more content…
Just a few are allergies, being over weight and smoking cigarettes. In allergies that cause asthma the mucus membranes in your nose and airways, the membranes in your eyes can be sensitive to allergens. "Once you have one allergy -- skin, food, nose, eyes -- you're at greater risk for developing other allergies and, in this case, asthma," says Neil L. Kao, MD, of the Allergic Disease and Asthma Center in Greenville and Spartansburg, S.C., and a fellow in the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ShareCare, 2017). Obesity can increase your risk for arthritis, diabetes, stroke, and other health conditions, and some people are unaware that with all of that comes asthma as well. Smoking is really just asking to get some sort of breathing problem and asthma is one of them. Your chances of developing asthma increase significantly when asthma runs in your family. Right now, there's nothing to be done about genetic risk, but doctors are hard at work to identify which genes are connected to the disease. Keeping a healthy lifestyle and staying away from things that trigger asthma is key to keeping the disease under control. Exercise and staying away from allergens. Also, not smoking is very important. Childhood asthma occurs more frequently in boys than in girls. It's unknown why this occurs, although some experts find a young male's airway size is smaller when compared to the female's airway, which may contribute to …show more content…
This keeps the airways wide open, thus resulting in free flow of air through the lungs during inhalation and exhalation. People who have asthma have difficulty breathing because the inner linings of their airways are thickened and inflamed, and the muscles around these tubes are tightened. Excessively thick and sticky mucus is produced, and the air passages become clogged. Whenever you breathe, less air passes through the narrowed airways, thus resulting in stressful respiration (Understanding Asthma, n.d.). To diagnose asthma, your doctor will discuss your medical history with you and perform a physical exam. You may need a lung function test and maybe other tests, such as a chest or sinus X-ray. If you or your child are having problems breathing on a regular basis, don’t wait! Visit a doctor immediately. Knowing what to expect during the diagnostic process may help. The types and doses of asthma medications you need depend on your age, your symptoms, the severity of your asthma and medication side effects, because your asthma can change over time, work closely with your doctor to track your symptoms and adjust your asthma medications, if needed. Anti-inflammatory drugs are the most effective and commonly used long-term control medications for asthma. They reduce swelling and tightening in your airways. You may need to use these medications for several
The term asthma comes from the ancient …show more content…
Just a few are allergies, being over weight and smoking cigarettes. In allergies that cause asthma the mucus membranes in your nose and airways, the membranes in your eyes can be sensitive to allergens. "Once you have one allergy -- skin, food, nose, eyes -- you're at greater risk for developing other allergies and, in this case, asthma," says Neil L. Kao, MD, of the Allergic Disease and Asthma Center in Greenville and Spartansburg, S.C., and a fellow in the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ShareCare, 2017). Obesity can increase your risk for arthritis, diabetes, stroke, and other health conditions, and some people are unaware that with all of that comes asthma as well. Smoking is really just asking to get some sort of breathing problem and asthma is one of them. Your chances of developing asthma increase significantly when asthma runs in your family. Right now, there's nothing to be done about genetic risk, but doctors are hard at work to identify which genes are connected to the disease. Keeping a healthy lifestyle and staying away from things that trigger asthma is key to keeping the disease under control. Exercise and staying away from allergens. Also, not smoking is very important. Childhood asthma occurs more frequently in boys than in girls. It's unknown why this occurs, although some experts find a young male's airway size is smaller when compared to the female's airway, which may contribute to …show more content…
This keeps the airways wide open, thus resulting in free flow of air through the lungs during inhalation and exhalation. People who have asthma have difficulty breathing because the inner linings of their airways are thickened and inflamed, and the muscles around these tubes are tightened. Excessively thick and sticky mucus is produced, and the air passages become clogged. Whenever you breathe, less air passes through the narrowed airways, thus resulting in stressful respiration (Understanding Asthma, n.d.). To diagnose asthma, your doctor will discuss your medical history with you and perform a physical exam. You may need a lung function test and maybe other tests, such as a chest or sinus X-ray. If you or your child are having problems breathing on a regular basis, don’t wait! Visit a doctor immediately. Knowing what to expect during the diagnostic process may help. The types and doses of asthma medications you need depend on your age, your symptoms, the severity of your asthma and medication side effects, because your asthma can change over time, work closely with your doctor to track your symptoms and adjust your asthma medications, if needed. Anti-inflammatory drugs are the most effective and commonly used long-term control medications for asthma. They reduce swelling and tightening in your airways. You may need to use these medications for several