Effects Of Air Pollution On Asthma Essay

“Asthma is a chronic respiratory illness often associated with familial, allergenic, socioeconomic, psychological and environmental factors.” (Rhodes 2002) Traffic related air pollution at home and school has been associated with adverse health effects, specifically on the respiratory system, resulting in an increased prevalence of asthma in children. The Southern California Children’s Health Study was designed to look at the chronic effects of air pollution on respiratory health. Previous research has shown an association of asthma with those that live in residential areas in close proximity to major roadways and exposure to traffic pollutants.

Air Pollution today has lead CDC's fight against environmental -related respiratory illness, including asthma.An estimated number of 6.5 million deaths are attributed each year to poor air quality, making this the world's largest threat to human health.According to the World Energy Outlook and the IEA estimate that death due to household air pollution in Africa may decrease by 110,00 to 2040.However, due to economic growth, urbanization and automobile emissions, outdoor air pollution may rise from 300,00 to 450,000 over the same period. Am going to be looking at the causes of air pollution. the problems emerging with air pollution and also how we as a community can help decrease the amount of death rate associated with air pollution.I remember growing up in Africa Air pollution was always a talk about a subject that always comes out because it is really contagious due to the fact that we are breathing bad air that is caused by our human contribution to the environment.Air pollution is considered to be a public health problem, it is responsible for most of our health problems after some research has been conducted in many different parts of the world and regions. According to the Geochemistry and Health paleopathological research suggests that air pollution is a form of smoke, plagued our oldest ancestors.Air pollution has emerged as one of the leading risk factors for stroke worldwide.

Did you know many upper respiratory diseases such as asthma and others diseases like cataracts and skin cancer are aggravated by air pollution. The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) states that “the following air pollutants are common triggers of asthma, ground level ozone, sulfur dioxide, fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxide.” Air pollution is the presence in or introduction into the air of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.

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.

The feeling of a lead brick on your chest, desperately needing air but unable to draw a breath and the feeling of drowning in the very substance you need to survive. Shaking hands squeeze a canister and suddenly there is a rush of medication, an odd taste and then the brick gets lighter and lighter as gradually more oxygen comes in and once again air is flowing in and out properly. For an individual with asthma, an inhaler feels like the most amazing invention ever to grace the human mind or hands. Without the medicine stored in the tiny canister, life as is known by the average non-asthmatic would be but a dream for myself and around 25.7 million other people (Akinbami and Johnson, 2012). The idea of inhaling medicine to cure ailments started

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

The primary health issues that come with the impact of air pollution are asthma, cardiovascular illnesses and premature mortality. These health issues are due to pollution and the poor air quality such as ozone. Thus, human health becomes a concern and issue. The individuals who are usually more vulnerable to such illnesses are the children and elderly. For example, there’s approximately 162,438 children under the age of and 258,586 adults aged 65 years and older in Riverside county that are prone to environmental health illnesses (cdph). According to UCLA institute of the Environment and Sustainability,

The video speaks to public health starting with the prevalence of asthma in children—a chronic disease due to city pollution. Treating asthma is at one end of the public health continuum;

Some risk factors include genetic components, like having an immediate relative that has asthma, or having another allergic condition. Some behavioral and environmental risk factors are being a smoker, being overweight, being born to a mother who smoked while she was pregnant, exposure to second-hand smoke, exposure to outdoor pollutants like ozone and exhaust (ncbi), and exposure to occupational triggers. Some weather conditions that might trigger an asthma attack are breathing in cold, dry air, or thunderstorms or high humidity. According to The prevalence and cost of asthma in New York State, adults in New York are more likely to be smokers than those without asthma (23.2% compared to 17.6%, respectively, in 2011), and New York adults with asthma are more likely to be obese than those without asthma (33.4% compared to 23.5%, resepectively, in 2011). The percentage of respondents that participated in a survey from 2003-2010 who were obese or smoked were dependably greater among adults with asthma, as compared to adults without asthma. As of now, there is no known cure for asthma, but there are important tools and approaches that can help the roughly 1.7 million children and adults of New York State with their asthma management to minimize their symptoms and critical health risks. Although there has been a reduction in hospitalizations and deaths from the disease, the

Asthma is another health concern that is affecting one’s community as well. Some of the factors that are contributed to this concern could well be the pollution in the air as well the constant smoking around their children. On the other hand, member of the community failed to take care of themselves or to seek medical treatment until they are having an asthma attack.

Asthma has become a rising issue at hand, especially in Oakland, California. Asthma is at an all time high in Oakland because of the factories and smog that surrounds the local communities. After conducting research, I decided to dig deeper in asthma in Oakland because I wanted to learn more and to see if there was a way to reduce the rise of asthma. Asthma in Oakland is an issue for all ages, especially the younger ones because their lungs are still developing. For my term paper, I plan to explore the disproportionate burden of hazard of the population of air quality in Oakland, California, an area that is impacted by factory smoke, which can lead to asthma in children who are 18 years of age or younger.

The problems that develop from this is bad lung function. This condition is affecting many people and diagnosed as asthma. It prevents people from strenuous activity because they can catch their breath. All the chemicals that are in the air affect our genome as well. Which will cause deficiency in our immune system. This will put us at risk for developing other disease not just asthma. In the Gale database “Asthma, heredity and air pollution” research shows that “air pollution exposure suppressed the immune system's regulatory T cells (Treg), and that the decreased level of Treg function was linked to greater severity of asthma symptoms and lower lung capacity” (“Asthma”). Therefore it affects everybody not just the people that have asthma. It has come to the point that they have a flag code to indicate how bad our air quality is. They indicate what days are safe for rigorous outside activity, moderate activity, or just be enclosed in your

One of the main challenges we face today is being able to distinguish if symptoms such as wheezing are due to concomitant asthma or due to their underlying CF-related lung disease. There are many CF patients that produce asthma-like symptoms such as wheezing and coughing but it is a weak indicator in diagnosing people with CF asthma16. A global study demonstrated a prevalence of 2-37% of asthma-like symptoms found in teenage children which varied when taking into consideration the country they were based in16.

Everyone in the New York metropolitan area breathes air that fails to meet the health standards, and citizens suffer serious health impact from breathing that dirty air. The relationship between air pollution and health affects everyone. Air pollution is constantly affecting people and putting them at sick, even though the degree of pollution is not at its highest. The public health significance of smoke, dust, gas, pollen, and microorganisms in the air are with a range of adverse health effects. These diseases spread and cause new disease to originate. Exposure to common urban air link to a wide range of adverse health outcomes, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, asthma exacerbation, reduced lung function and premature death.

Recent studies have established that genetic and environmental factors are associated with the development of asthma (Maddox L, Schwartz DA, 2002). Numerous environmental factors such as allergens, air pollution and other environmental chemicals have been associated with the development and increased asthma severity (F. J. Kelly, 2011). Other factors can include low air quality from high ozone levels, traffic pollution as well as smoking during pregnancy and after delivery (Gold, Diane R., 2005). Asthma runs strongly in families; it is believed that three-fifths of all asthma cases are hereditary (WebMD, 2014). According to a CDC report, if an individual has a parent with asthma, that person is three to six times more likely to develop asthma than someone who does not have a parent with asthma (WebMD, 2014).