Asthma, also called bronchial asthma, is a condition in which a person’s airways become inflamed, narrow, and swell, and produce extra mucus, which makes it difficult to breathe. It is a very common condition with more than 3 million U.S. cases per year. Asthma is a chronic condition than can last either a few years or it could be lifelong. It is unclear why some people get asthma and others don’t, but it is probably due to a combination of environmental and genetic factors. An asthma attack is brought on by triggers and the triggers vary from person to person. I know for myself animal dander, dust; pollen, mold, and fresh cut grass are triggers. Physical activity, air pollutants, certain foods, and certain medications are just a few more things
Asthma is when someone has trouble breathing. This is caused by spasms in the bronchi of the lungs. It can be triggered by allergies or sensitivities to something specific. Your bodies become stimulated and the through constricts, giving a feeling of not being able to breath. This can become very severe and is able to kill.
At various stages of asthma, preventative measures can be used to control or alleviate the symptoms associated with this disease. Education is an important component to every intervention phase, particularly in primary prevention, because the patient is encouraged to be proactive with their personal health in order to avoid and control the triggers. Prescribed medication, such as an inhaler, and an action plan that is individualized to the specific care of a particular patient is essential in the secondary prevention phase. Finally, in the tertiary prevention phase, the care is directed not only at the common asthmatic symptoms and triggers but also at the complications that result from long-term suffering of this disease. This paper focuses on environmental factors which trigger asthma, with specific focus on children from infancy to 16 years of age in low-income housing, and how the appropriate measure can minimize the triggers and symptoms. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the example we will use.
The good thing about asthma is that there are a lot of medications available to help treat asthma sufferers with acute onset of symptoms as well as help with the long term prognosis of patients. Asthma medications are classified into two groups, Controller and quick-relief. Controller medications are designed to help prevent asthma attacks. Their purpose is to try and reduce the chronic inflammation thus making the body less likely to react to triggers. Some of these include long-acting beta-agonists, Leukotriene modifiers, Mast cell stabilizers, Theophylline, and immunomodulators. Long-acting beta agonists are bronchodilators that assist in opening up your airways. These are normally aerolized medications. The bronchodilator causes the muscles
What is asthma? • Disease of the lungs that makes it hard to breathe. • Breathing tubes in the lungs that carry oxygen tighten. • This makes it hard for air to pass through the lungs.
- Another initiative of Asthma Australia, Asthma Kids is a fun, interactive website to teach children with asthma about their condition.
Asthma is a chronic condition. While there is no cure, you can work with your doctor to manage it. It is very important to know how asthma affects the lungs, even if you have had asthma for a while. Learning more about asthma signs and symptoms can help.
In the mid-summer of 2000, I was "Twin B" born at 38 weeks. When I was a-week old, I developed a high temperature fever. After changing my formula four times, my parents found out that I was allergic to milk proteins. A few weeks later, I developed a cough that literally took my breath away, and I would cough so much that my face would turn blue. Doctors had given me several types of nebulizer treatments in order to deliver a water vapor medicine into my lungs, which did not work. Then, I lost my voice due to vocal-cord paralysis, which tied ends to a whooping cough. As a result, I was hospitalized for more than a month. When I came home, I still had no voice to cry like a normal baby. Thus began my condition of asthma, evidently inherited
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
At merely two weeks old, I was admitted to the emergency room for not breathing, doctors administered my first breathing treatment for my asthma.This was the start to with my asthma that was dreadfully uncontrolled earlier in my life. Moy most vivid memory that stand out is when I ran across the playground, just a small kindergarten child, running with my friends across the playground, when terror struck me, that feeling the asthma attack gives you, my chest tight, unable to breathe, my mom not with me, feeling completely alone and scared. Many memories are of me with asthma attacks that would terrified me. But, I knew comfort when I received my treatments, my mom comforting arms with amazing hugs that are full of loves, and my dad's voice that sang to me.
Asthma is a chronic condition. There is no cure for it, but you can work with your doctors and figure out helpful ways to manage it. Inflammation is the cause of the airways closing with certain triggers it causes the airways to tighten and it makes it hard to breathe. It is easier to help asthma if you know the symptoms and triggers. Some symptoms are shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness. Some of the triggers
Asthma is a major health concern in children under the age of 18. Not only does it have an estimated annual cost of $3.2 million, it accounts for 10 million lost school days, and it disrupts a child’s ability to participate in physical activity. A child with asthma’s exercise performance may decrease from a sedentary lifestyle and the threat of developing an exercise-induced bronchospasm. Granted, keeping asthma patients physically active has proven health benefits and allows for an improved quality of life. The article Benefits of Swim Training for Children and Adolescents with Asthma examines numerous studies that show the benefits of using swimming as a non-pharmacological method for decreasing the severity of a child’s asthma symptoms.
Asthma is a common respiratory disorder that is mediated by T helper type 2 (TH2) cytokine production, leading to airflow obstruction and airway hyper-responsiveness. Infant infection of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been shown to be the greatest risk factor for developing asthma. Interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7), activated by TLR7 in pDCs, is a crucial regulator of type I interferon (IFN) in the antiviral response. This paper provides preliminary data to show that IL-13 levels are significantly increased in IRF7
First, an example of a disorder of the respiratory system is asthma. Asthma is a condition characterized by chronic inflammation of the airways in the lungs. The causes are not completely known, however, often there is a genetic component, and there is a specific type of asthma called occupational asthma, where a person’s asthma is brought on by breathing in particulates that cause inflammation of the airways. Symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, and chest pain. Diagnosis is relatively simple. Often, a pediatrician or allergist recognize that their patient shows symptoms, and puts the patient through lung tests that can include peak flow tests, as well as, chest x-rays. There is no known cure for asthma, however, people
Asthma affects approximately 25 million people in the United States and about 7 million of the affected are children ("What Is Asthma? - NHLBI, NIH," 2014). Asthma can affect people of all ages but is generally onset during childhood. Common risk factors for developing asthma include:
The Effects of Asthma Home Visiting Programs on Health Care Costs & Patient Quality of Life