My Asthma Is Important To Me

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).

Growing up with asthma since a very young age, I cannot participate in sports and have to take asthma medications every day. I get used to ensure my inhalers are in my bag before going anywhere and seasonal allergies following up with runny nose or nasal congestion. However I still feel lucky because many people who have more severe asthma were struggling with their schooling. For me, as I grow older, I learn to manage my medical situation. I try my best to avoid dusty places, cigarette smokers, and car exhausts. Although I was not able to do sports in school, I manage to run every week with my sister to conquer asthma. I found that the more time that I spent to warm up before running, the better I can keep my asthma from acting up. Even though

R.J. is a 15-year-old boy with a history of asthma diagnosed at age 8. His asthma episodes are triggered by exposure to cats and various plant pollens. He has been using his albuterol inhaler 10 to 12 times per day over the last 3 days and is continuing to wheeze. He normally needs his inhaler only occasionally (2 or 3 times per week). He takes no other medications and has no other known medical conditions. Physical examination reveals moderate respiratory distress with a respiratory rate of 32, oximetry 90%, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) 60% of predicted, and expiratory wheezing.

Many individuals develop asthma as children and have to hear about their disability from adults. “How Asthma Makes Me Fell” is a picture book with artwork from real children about how they feel before and after an asthma attack. When you can learn from your peers about their experiences it makes you feel more comfortable with your condition.

My biggest obstacle was August 1, 2005 when our apartment building caught fire. My Mother, Brother, Sister, and I were home, it was the most distressing thing I've ever had to encounter. The night of my Aunt's birthday a fire started and the smoke made me feel as if I was drowning. My cousin Kendrick Weber woke me up, because I wasn't waking up when my sister tried. He pulled me out through the window and my forehead

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 action plans are an effective way to communicate from the healthcare provider to the school nurse. Action plans can also be used to inform the necessary school staff of student diagnosed with asthma and what to do when symptoms occur. A qualitative study by Egginton, Textor, Knoebel, McWilliams, Aleman, and Yawn (2013), address the effectiveness of incorporating asthma action plans into students’ care plans. The sample size used included 103 participants within 14 focus groups, two of which were physicians. The sample was from five school districts within four counties. Data collection was from February 2011 to May 2011. The method used for this study, included 14 focus groups that were audiotaped, while asked approximately twelve

In this section of the report the support available for Asthma and Influenza are discussed. There are many different people with different roles who provide support to patients who suffer from these diseases. Support is about providing the right care, treatments and assistance for those people who are experiencing your chosen diseases (classroom notes, 2015). Both individuals who were interviewed stated that they got some statutory support this was more the case in the individual with asthma, but the main support for both cases was informal support from their families (Detail of this interview is available in appendices).

While traveling through the daily path of life, have you ever stumbled upon a hidden pocket of the universe? Well I have, especially as an athlete. As an athlete my life consists mainly around 3 things school, practices and lots of late night studying. I've faced a lot of obstacles growing up because I wasn't always an athlete. I was a short, chubby, asthmatic kid. Asthma is a chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows our airways. As a victim of asthma it was a huge part of my life. At the age of 8 I had about 47 walking pneumonia's in 1 year! But that didn't stop me, when I just has started the fifth grade I had a long, miserable talk with my parents about football and if whether I should play or not. It all came down to my mom deciding

The Australian average statistic for people that smoke is 23.3%. The employed adult average statistic is 84%. Knowing this we can roughly estimate that in the average workplace 1 out of 4-5 people will smoke. The Australian average for people that suffer from asthma is 18%. This makes 1 out of 5 people in the workplace will suffer from some form of asthma. Unfortunately, having smokers allowed to smoke in and around the premise of a workplace limits the interactions the asthma sufferers can have with other workmates as well as limiting the areas the sufferers may go due to the thick, tar soaked air.

As I jogged in early February, my chest tightened and I felt like each breath I took was more and more painful. It was happening, an asthma attack. The cold had made my breathing almost impossible and each step I took felt worse and worse. My asthma had always affected me since I was a child but now as an adult I felt like everywhere I went I had to carry around my Ventolin, which didn’t make me feel socially accepted. When others were running in the cold, I felt left behind, needing to rely on a device in order to breathe. This feeling of incompetence and rejection is felt by those affected by this chronic illness. Asthma is defined by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute as a chronic disease that affects the lungs by inflaming and

Furthermore, keeping the child athlete’s prescription asthma medication e.g. Ventolin in the team first aid kit during training and game days is vital to ensure that the child’s wellbeing is being looked after. Another measure that can be undertaken is for both coaches and the parents of the child having spare puffers on them. It is important that the coach/parent gets in the routine of giving the athlete 1-2 inhalations of a Ventolin 15 minutes prior to exercise just to open the airway and decrease the risk of an asthma attack occurring. Which in turn, by providing coaches and parents with the awareness and preparation for asthma, the risk of an asthma attack occurring is decreased. Thus, the child or young athlete’s wellbeing will not be in danger nor will their sports performance be jeopardised while participating in their chosen sporting activity.

While the majority of students spent their spring break on a warm beach, under the swaying palm trees, I was bed ridden. I had only spent a mere three days at home before I, as per usual, sustained yet another injury. One of my core values is living a healthy lifestyle, and to do so I like to run on the treadmill or track for three miles each day. As I was carrying out my normal routine at the local gym, I started noticing my breathing acting up. I was diagnosed with asthma during my eighth grade year, however my regular albuterol inhaler generally does the job. Not only was I having a very hard time breathing, despite the use of my regular inhaler, I actually began to have an asthma attack and slide right off the end of the treadmill. As humorous

Hi Jackie! My names Danielle D'Alesio and I'm a sprinter and long jumper from McDonough Georgia! I don't know if you will ever read this message but lately I've been struggling with asthma. In practice I've tried and tried to keep up with some of the athletes on the team and in the winter I was totally fine with reps of 400s no problem at all. However when the spring season hit all of sudden one day it became a struggle to breathe. Over and over my coaches told me to stand up and catch my breath telling me I was fine but as much as I took my inhaler I try and not complain and make excuses. I came across your story online seeing your struggles with asthma and I wanted to ask for tips on how you managed yours over the years. Thank you for your

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.