Asthma is a disorder of the respiratory system in which the passages that enable air to pass into and out of the lungs periodically narrow, causing coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. This narrowing is typically temporary and reversible, but in severe attacks, asthma may result in death. Asthma most commonly refers to bronchial asthma, an inflammation of the airways, but the term is also used to refer to cardiac asthma, which develops when fluid builds up in the lungs as a complication of heart failure. This article focuses on bronchial asthma.
More than 17 million Americans suffer from asthma, with nearly 5 million cases occurring in children under age 18. In the United States, asthma causes nearly 5,500 deaths each year. Asthma
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Asthma Attacks
Asthma attacks occur when the bronchi and bronchioles become inflamed, reducing the space through which air can travel through the lungs. This causes the asthmatic to work harder to move air in and out of the lungs. Asthma attacks usually begin with mild chest pressure and a dry cough. As an attack intensifies, wheezing develops and increases in pitch; breathing becomes difficult; and coughing produces thick, stringy mucus. As the airway inflammation prevents some of the oxygen-rich air from reaching the alveoli, the cells of the body start to burn oxygen at a higher rate, actually increasing the body’s demand for oxygen. The frequency of asthma attacks varies considerably among asthma suffers. Some people have daily attacks, while others can go months or even years without having an attack.
Inflammation of the airway occurs when an irritant—such as pet hair or cigarette smoke—comes into contact with the airway walls. Upon detecting the irritant as a harmful invader, the body’s immune system sends special cells known as mast cells to the site of irritation, in this case the airway walls. The mast cells release histamine, a chemical that causes swelling and redness in a process called the inflammatory response. Histamine also causes bronchospasms, in which the muscles lining the airway walls contract repeatedly, causing the airways to narrow even more. In addition, cells that lubricate the airways with mucus—called
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway that impacts a person’s and their family’s quality of life. In people with asthma, their airway becomes constricted with swelling and excessive mucous. This constriction or narrowing of the airway makes it difficult for the person with asthma to breath (Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2009). If asthma is left uncontrolled, it leads to further wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, tiredness, and stress. (Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2009).
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 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.
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects the airways, which is comprised of tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. People who experience difficulties breathing have inflamed airways. The inflammation causes the tubes to swell and become sensitive, especially when inhaling strong substances. As a result, the airways tighten and the muscles around the tubes become swollen and narrower. In addition, cells in the airways might produce more mucus. This sticky and thick mucus makes it even more difficult for air to pass into the lungs.
Breathing is a vital process for every human. Normal breathing is practically effortless for most people, but those with asthma face a great challenge. During an asthma attack, breathing is hampered, making it difficult or even impossible for air to flow through the lungs. Asthma is an increasingly common problem, and has become the most common chronic childhood disease. At least 17 million Americans suffer from it(1), and although it can be fatal, it is usually not that severe(4). There is no cure for asthma, but with proper care, it can usually be controlled.
Asthma is a chronic disease of the airways that makes breathing difficult. With asthma, there is inflammation of the air passages that results in a temporary narrowing of the airways that carry oxygen to the lungs. When this inflammation occurs, the asthma symptoms start to show, such as, coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Even though there are many treatments for asthma symptoms, it is still a very serious disease that affects more than 22 million Americans and brings nearly 2 million E.R. visits per year. Asthma can be lived with very well as long as proper treatment measures are taken (Wrongdiagnosis).
1. Nearly 25 million Americans suffer from asthma (over 8% of adults, over 9% of children), and 60% of
Throughout the years knowledge about asthma has grown, as well as treating it effectively. Over 300 million people are said to be victims of this disease with another 100 million being estimated by 2025 globally (Currie and Baker, 2012). In the United Kingdom, asthma is increasingly becoming one of the leading disease affecting individual of different age, ethnicity, race and gender. British Lung Foundation (2011) stated that it is more common at childhood stage and can also occur at a later age. According to Asthma UK (2014) asthma in men is less prevalence than it is in women and children troubled more with asthma than adults. Recent data in the UK shows that in children and occupational asthma in adult is on the rise with an estimate
Asthma is an inflammatory condition of the airways causing attacks of wheezing and breathlessness. It affects a person’s
Your airway has smooth muscles around the outside of the airway tubes also known as bronchial tubes. The tubes are open allowing air to flow freely; during an asthma attack those muscles begin to tighten that is called a bronchospasm restricting the airflow. During an asthma attack the lungs also become inflamed and the mucus in the tubes begins to become thicker and builds up, this makes it even more difficult for air to pass through the opening of the tubes. With the airway being restricted and the mucus build up causes a wheezing sound and shortness of breath and difficulty in inhaling and exhaling air (WebMD).
Asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts during childhood. Asthma is a chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways, which are tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs allowing one to take in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. The swelling also can worsen, making the airways even narrower and the ability to breathe more difficult. Sometimes asthma symptoms are mild and go away on their own or after minimal treatment with asthma medicine, but other times symptoms continue to get worse. When symptoms get more intense and more symptoms occur, you 're having what is commonly known as an asthma attack. During an asthma attack you are in complete panic and the swelling in your airways reaches a point where it is no possible to take air into the lungs. If action is not taken to reduce the swelling of the airways in order to restore breathing, someone could die of asphyxiation, or the lack of oxygen. The number of people being diagnosed with asthma is on the rise, especially in the rates of children developing symptoms of asthma at a young age.
It is difficult to obtain an accurate count of people living with asthma because many of its symptoms can be attributed to allergies or other health problems such as sinusitis or pneumonia.
A common lung condition affecting people of all ages often starting in childhood, although can appear for first time in adults. Asthma is an attack of shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing due to swelling (inflammation) or a spasm of the bronchial tube. The inflammation makes the breathing tubes highly sensitive so they become narrow temporarily. Symptoms are coughing, wheezing, breathlessness, tight chest with the severity of symptoms varying from person to person. Symptoms usually come and go, although for some people are more persistent. Hypersensitivity to allergens, such as pollen, pet hair, dust mites and various food types may trigger an asthma attack. Asthma can be exacerbated by exercise, anxiety, stress and\or smoking.
Asthma is a disease where your chest tightens up and you feel the shortness of breath. If it is very bad, you will get asthma attacks. If it isn’t that bad, you will rarely have asthma attacks. The causes of asthma mainly come from the airways. Your muscles that are in your airways will tighten up and lead to your chest tightening up. This will make it very hard to breathe and cause wheezing while you breathe. The genetic genes that causes asthma are ADAM33, PHF11, DPPIO, GRPA, and SPINK5. In addition,
Air quality alerts in the United States generally address individual pollutants, but this study explains that individuals are generally exposed to mixtures of pollutants more so than one single pollutant at a time. Outdoor air pollution data was obtained from the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the pollutants examined were daily ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). A case crossover analysis and conditional logistic regression was used to measure the association between pollutants and the ambulance treated asthma attacks in the city of Houston, Texas from 2004-2011. Results stated that ozone and nitrogen dioxide were important triggers and were simultaneously high during specific times of the year leading to the triggering of asthma attacks especially as concentrations increased particularly during the summer months. Clinical studies indicated that O3 and NO2 appeared to act similarly in triggering asthma attacks because they are both oxidant gases that cause inflammation of the respiratory tract. The results of the study lead to a discussion of recommendations for asthma action plans for asthmatics in Houston,