Jessica White Asthma Paper

Asthma is a condition that effects a person’s breathing. During an asthma attack or episode, a person’s airways narrow and swell and extra mucus is formed. Breathing becomes difficult, especially upon exhaling. The person may cough or wheeze and feel shortness of breath. There are many things that can trigger an asthma attack or make a person’s asthma condition worse like having an upper respiratory virus such as a cold or flu, exercise, inhaling dust or fumes from chemicals or allergies to pets or pollen.

Asthma is one of the most common health problems in the United States that can not only affect patients' lives, at school or work, but also creates a significant burden on society. Diagnosis and management of asthma has traditionally been accomplished by clinical, exam, pulmonary function testing and patients perceived level of symptoms. The key factor in asthma is airway inflammation. Until recently, airway inflammation was very difficult to evaluate. It usually required invasive procedures that in some instances would not give us a complete answer. Without a knowledge of airway inflammation, clinicians can over or underestimate the severity of asthma and in turn may not provide the most effective

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 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 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).

Avoiding and controlling asthma triggers is important in every phase of the intervention process in order to manage the disease. However, many times because of lack of awareness and education, asthma

I have made no changes to Ms. Dahlberg's bronchodilator and inhaled corticosteroid use. She does have a prescription of prednisone at home, as she is well aware of her asthma exacerbation equivalents. She does have a history of steroid use psychosis and I advised her to initiate treatment at 40 mg per day. She should then seek further medical attention after initiating systemic steroids. She should also continue use of her current bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids.

About 10% of American children have asthma (Thakur et al., 2013). It is vital to understand what determinants cause childhood asthma to understand even with a low percentage, why it is still present. According to Williams et al., asthma is a health outcome which is a major impact on American youth (Williams et al., 2009). This health outcome not only impacts them throughout the years of being a child, but it has the potential of creating more serious health problems in the future. And without knowing what the causes are, it increases the rate asthma among children and prevents treatments from being implemented. It needs to be addressed by using results from prior studies in order to show how much of a problem childhood asthma is but also in finding and understanding the other underlying

This paper briefly discusses childhood asthma relative to three nursing theories. It entails background information, literature review, application of theories, and implications for the advanced nursing practice.

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).

The bronchi and bronchiole tubes are loosely wrapped with muscle. During regular breathing, the muscles around these airways are relaxed (5). This allows air to flow freely through these passageways to the alveoli. However, during an asthma attack, air has trouble reaching the alveoli, which prevents the body from receiving oxygen. This is because the airways become smaller. Firstly, the muscles around the airways spasm and contract. This then causes inflammation of the bronchioles and bronchi themselves, which causes a mucus to be produced.

Asthma is the leading cause of hospital admissions during childhood. Kumar and Robbins give an accurate definition of asthma as “a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways that causes recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and cough, particularly at night and/or early in the morning” (489). Asthma is a terrifying disease, especially in children, because of the sudden attacks that could claim lives if not treated immediately and effectively. Despite recent advancements in available drugs and overall therapy, the incidence of childhood asthma is rising (Dolovich 373). In order to effectively treat and eventually prevent the onset of asthma, more effective and economical therapies are necessary; although

1.2. During an asthma attack, the air passages become narrow, their surrounding muscles tighten, and stickier mucus is produced. Patients experience symptoms like coughing, wheezing, chest tightening and breathlessness. Severe asthma attack can cause restriction of oxygen into the lungs and bloodstream (British Lungs Foundation, 2014). This can be dangerous and life threatening if immediate medical treatment is not received. Asthma symptoms are usually severe at night (NHS Choice, 2014). This can disturb patient’s sleep and can affect their behaviour and concentration. Asthma can also affect the patient ability to do physical exercises as well as their daily routine.

The pathophysiology of Asthma includes inflammation of the airway. The way in which this works is from an irritant which can include dust, pollen, cedar, or cat hair. When a reaction occurs, the airways become inflamed and narrow. The narrowing occurs because once the inflammatory response is triggered by an irritant, histamines, immunoglobulin E antibodies, and leukotrienes are released. Because of this, mucous production occurs. Since the bronchioles are inflamed and narrow, breathing becomes difficult. Wheezing sounds can be heard due to the lack of air being able to easily move in and out of the narrowed bronchioles.