Asthma Education

Need for More Asthma Education

Sara Upton, a ninth-grade student in New Mexico, ran sprints in her physical education class and began to have difficulty breathing. Sara asked the substitute teacher to let her stop running sprints, and the substitute refused to let her stop her workout. During Sara's next class period, she passed out due to an acute asthma attack and died . The substitute teacher was uneducated about the seriousness of asthma. Sara's life could have been saved if the substitute teacher, other classmates, and Sara herself knew the seriousness of asthma and what to do in the case of an attack. More needs to be done to educate the general public, professional educators, parents, and community members. Asthma education should not be limited to those who are asthmatic, but should be taught to asthmatics and non-asthmatics alike.

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic disease categorize by difficulty breathing. According to the American Lung Association, during an asthma attack there are three responsesthat happen in the lungs; cells produce more mucus, bronchioles (air tubes) tend to swell, and muscles in the air tubes tighten . The cells that line the bronchioles produce excess mucus that irritates the lungs, and narrows the diameter of the airway. The asthmatic has no trouble breathing air in, the trouble comes as they try to exhale the air out, because the air has no where to escape; so bronchioles swell. The muscles in the air tubes tighten to further increase the difficulty in breathing. "The inflammation makes the airways very sensitive, and they tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating. When the airways react, they get narrower, and less air flows through to our lung tissue. This causes symptoms like wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing, especially at night or in the early morning" Chest pain can often be associated with an asthma attack because of the swelling air tubes who are trying to make room for the trapped air. The seriousness and frequency of the asthma attacks are different for every asthmatic. Some asthmatics have sensitive lungs that over react to triggers and have severe attacks, that are life threatening. Other asthmatics have mild attacks that are not recognized as asthma, and seldom occur.

Today scientist research to find the cause of asthma in hope that one day scientists will find a cure to the chronic disease of asthma.

Asthma is managed by a pill or an inhaler which comes in two types of medications. The first type is quick relief, and the second is long-term control . The quick relief medication is used when an asthmatics feels an attack approaching. The quick relief, often in the form of an inhaler, helps the bronchioles to dilate and allow air to pass freely to and from the lungs. The long-term control type of management can be in the form of a pill or inhaler, and gives the lungs of an asthmatic more resistance to triggers to prevent asthma attacks from occurring. Part of managing asthma is finding the balance between the quick relief and the long-term controlled medications. A doctor should been seen on a regular basis to guide the asthmatic into a controlled asthma plan.

Doctors do not know how one gets asthma, but they do know that once a person has asthma, the lungs can overreact to triggers and other stimuli to set off an attack . The stimuli and triggers that cause reactions from the lungs are: environmental factors, tobacco smoke, dust mites, outdoor air pollutions, cockroach allergen, pets mold, strenuous physical activity, foods, and strong emotions . These triggers and stimuli are found everywhere. Asthmatics need to receive education about different triggers in their environment to control for, so they can continue a healthy lifestyle and enjoy favorite activities. Attacks can happen after one trigger, or they can occur after several exposures to triggers. It is therefore, difficult to predict when a person will have an asthma attack. Asthma is unpredictable.

Asthma education will educate asthmatics about triggers that stimulate an attack, and teach non-asthmatics information that will help an asthmatic during an attack by removing the trigger, taking their inhaler, comforting them to prevent other complications of panic, and shock.

Current State of Asthma:

Asthma is the 3rd ranked cause of hospitalizations, and the number one cause of school absences in the US among children 15 years and younger . About 20 million Americans currently have asthma, and over 4,000 deaths are attributed to asthma annually . In a classroom of 30 students 3 will mostly likely have been diagnosed with asthma . There are about 53 million school-aged children who attend school, and of those children, almost 9 million have been diagnosed with asthma .

The prevalence of asthma is on the rise. According to the CDC "from 1980 to 1996, asthma prevalence among children increased by an average of 4.3% per year" . .

"Asthma isn't always obvious; you can't always tell an Asthma sufferer from looking at them" . Along with outsiders not being able to see that an asthmatic has asthma, there are a lot of people who do not know themselves they have asthma because their lungs are not sensitive, they only have acute asthma attacks, and are in denial of having a chronic disease.

The increased prevalence and lack of knowledge about asthma re-enforces the importance of education for asthma. Education techniques can guide asthmatics to seek the attention and get the help that is needed to manage asthma. When non-asthmatics learn about asthma, techniques can be developed to help and asthmatic during an attack, and degrading labeling and teasing will be stopped for the often excluded asthmatic.

Current Education Programs

American Lung Association Open Airways for Schools program:

One program that is currently promoting asthma education is the Open Airways for Schools program. Trained volunteers from the American Lung Association volunteer to go to elementary schools and teach six 40-minute lessons to asthmatic school-aged children . "Open Airways for Schools program informs students of actions they must take to help prevent an asthma attack and empowers them to better manage their asthma with the assistance of parents, teachers, school nurses, and physicians."

The American Lung Association Open Airways for Schools program was developed in 1987 by Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and tested and evaluated in