Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that mainly affects the lungs. It is caused by inflammation of the airways resulting in wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and tightness of the chest. Asthma can often be mild but there are times in which it can become fatal. Although it is most commonly diagnosed in children, people of all ages can be affected by it. As of now, no cure has been found for asthma, this means that any individual affected by asthma, even if they are well, still have the disease and could have an attack at anytime. Thankfully, however, even though no cure has been found yet, advancement in our knowledge and treatment helps in preventing and managing the disease, enabling those who are affected to live a normal and active lifestyle. …show more content…
Asthma attacks also known as flare-ups or exacerbations occur when the airways are irritated and when certain symptoms are more intense than usual. Airways are the tubes that carries air in and out of our lungs and as mentioned earlier those who are affected by asthma have their airways inflamed. When asthma triggers such as indoor allergens or secondhand smokes are exposed to the inflamed airways the muscles around them tightens and aggravates its swelling. This causes airways to narrow down making it more difficult for air to flow through our lungs and thus lead into asthma attacks. In addition, mucus can build up and clog the airways causing the asthma to
Asthma is a chronic long term lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. Asthma causes periods of wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath and coughing. Coughing usually occurs at night or early morning, can occur during the day if allergies flares your asthma. The airways are tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs. People who are diagnosed with asthma have inflamed airways, inflammation makes the airways swollen and very sensitive. The airways react strongly to certain inhaled substances, when the airways react the muscles around them tighten. This causes the airways to narrow and less air is able to flow into the lungs. When the swelling becomes worse the airways become even narrower. The cells in the airways then make more mucus than usual. Mucus is a sticky thick liquid that can narrow the airways even more. This is a chain reaction that can result in asthma symptoms. The symptoms of asthma can happen each time the airways are inflamed. The symptoms can be mild and go away on their own, or after minimal treatment with asthma medication. If the symptoms get worse or more intense and get worse you are having an asthma attack. Asthma attacks are also called flare ups or exacerbations.
Asthma Attack – An asthma attack is a sudden worsening of asthma symptoms caused by the tightening of muscles around the airways. During an asthma attack, the lining of the airways also become swollen or inflamed and thicker mucus, more than normal, is produced. All of these factors, cause symptoms of an asthma attack such as difficulty breathing,
Asthma is a respiratory disease that many people deal with every single day. “According to World Health Organization, approximately 180,000 people die from asthma each year.” (Jardins and Burton 187) Most people never think of asthma as a life threatening disease, but it can be crucial. As the number of people with asthma increases, the more likely you are to come in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with this disease. Asthma is a severe breathing problem that has many complications that is dealt with daily like shortness of breath, chronic cough, tightness of the chest and shortness of breath, my main focus is childhood asthma, allergic asthma, and medication to treat asthma.
Asthma is a chronic condition affecting the respiratory system and has a considerable impact on both individuals and a population. Everybody is susceptible to asthma, some more than others, depending of a variety of factors including, age, sex, geographical location and income. Asthma is particularly prevalent in younger children and the elderly and while it can be fatal, most people have mild cases of asthma that are relatively easy to treat. The condition mainly impacts an individual’s physical ability to contribute to a community.
Based on Ignatavicius and Workman, asthma is usually a chronic condition that causes obstruction. The pathophysiology behind asthma, is the hypersensitivity of the tissue in the lungs. When a trigger comes in to the lungs, the airway overreacts to it, and causes excessive swelling and mucous productions, which constrict the airway and makes it difficult for the individual to breath (2016). There are different types of trigger that can initiate an asthma attacks, and it also varies per individuals. Some of the triggers are allergens, dust mites, outdoor air
Asthma is a disease that affects your lungs. It causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and nighttime or early morning coughing. Asthma can be controlled by taking medicine and avoiding the triggers that can cause an attack. You must also remove the triggers in your environment that can make your asthma worse.
As the world population grows, so does the amount of people in this world with Asthma. “In the last decade, the proportion of people with Asthma in the USA grew nearly 15%, with 479,300 hospitalizations and 1.9 million emergency department visits in 2009 alone”(Kaur, Bani Preet). Asthma affects the bronchi, bringing of air into and out of the lungs. When an Asthma attack happens, the airways or passages to the lungs, swell up and close so the air passing through is very minimal, causing air not to be able to reach the lungs and pain to the person. In most cases it is not deadly unless not handled properly. This disease causes it to be harder to stay active than it is for others. It is easily manageable if properly diagnosed and properly treated. “4 million americans under 18 have Asthma” (Bronson). It is mistaken in young children for their crying and hiccuping is mistaken for Asthma. Especially when they are sick since they are unable to speak. Asthma is a painful
1. INTRODUCTION. Asthma is one of the most common diseases of childhood, affecting more than million children’s. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that can cause repeated episodes of cough, wheezing and breathing difficulty.(1) During an acute asthma episode, the airway lining in the lungs becomes inflamed and swollen.
different things that trigger asthma. For some it may be allergies and others it may be
To better understand the impact of asthma, a brief overview of the causes (aetiology) and disease progression (pathophysiology) must be shown. As common as asthma is, not much is known about its aetiology, according to findings presented by Subbaroa, Mandhane and Sears (2009, pg. 181-187) in a review from the Canadian
Asthma is a respiratory condition characterized by coughing and wheezing, mainly caused by the inflammatory response and narrowing of the bronchioles.
Every day, 30,000 people have an asthma attack. But what is asthma? Asthma is a condition in which a person’s airways narrow and swell and produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. For some people, asthma is minor, and it is just a nuisance. For others, it can be a major problem, that interferes with daily activities and may lead to a life-threatening asthma attack. Asthma can't be cured, but you can control it. If you know what triggers your asthma, you can simply stay away from those things. But when something triggers your asthma there are ways to control those symptoms. One way to cope with asthma is Long-term asthma control medications like Inhaled corticosteroids, Leukotriene
Asthma is a long-term lung disease. Those with asthma have sensitive airways in their lungs which triggers a flare up. When this flare up happens the muscle around the airways squeeze tight and the airways swell, become narrows and produce more mucus. (Anon., 2016) All these things make it harder for a person to breathe. Asthma effects the human body’s respiratory system. Asthma causes a spasm and constriction of the bronchial passages and the swelling and the inflammation of the mucous lining. The body responds by defence cells from the immune system, which causes the airways to swell and the muscles surrounding the airways to contract. Which is what cuts off the airflow. While a person is in asthma attack, the asthmatic cannot breathe which
Asthma, is a lung disease that causes distressed and labored breathing. In your lungs there are airways; and in an asthma attack (also called a flare-up), your airways become inflamed and the lining gets thick
Asthma is a chronic airway disease that can be difficult to manage, resulting in poor outcomes and high costs (Kuhn et al., 2015). It is characterized by episodes of expiratory airflow obstruction, which occurs in response to multiple stimuli or triggers. Asthma is a lifelong disease, and symptoms include wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. Attacks can be mild, moderate, severe, or even life threatening and limit a person’s way of life (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2011). There is no known cure for asthma, but symptoms can be controlled by avoiding the triggers and taking prescribed medicines that prevent or minimize symptoms.