Asthma

Introduction

Little Johnny has had a cold for the past few days. He is coughing and has a runny nose. A few days have passed, but his cough just keeps getting worse. While bathing him, his Mom notices that his chest seems to be compressing with each breath. When she puts him to bed, she can hear a strange high-pitched wheezing sound as Johnny tries to sleep. Finally, Mom takes him to the hospital because his fingertips, around his mouth and his little toes are grayish. The doctor at the emergency room tells the Mom that Johnny has pneumonia, caused by asthma that has gone untreated. See, he explains that as Johnny's airways were swelling up, mucus developed, and eventually a bacterial infection began in that mucus. The doctor gives the baby a breathing treatment with special medicine to open up his airways, and after some vomiting of mucus, Johnny can breathe again. The doctor informs Mom that her child has asthma, and if she had waited much longer to bring him in, he could have literally suffocated to death from his own mucus. This is asthma.

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a disorder of the bronchial tubes characterized by an abnormal "twitchiness" of the large and small airways to multiple stimuli, leading to widespread narrowing that may change in severity. It is a reversible obstructive disease. Asthma is a disease that affects your lungs. It is the most common long-term disease of children. It causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and nighttime or early morning coughing. It is with you all the time, but you may have asthma attacks only when something bothers your lungs.

Who is affected?

Asthma affects all people, both young and old. All income levels, ethnicities and sexes are affected. Studies have shown however, that the incidence of asthma is higher among low-income and minority populations. A great many children who fall into this category suffer from this condition silently, remaining undiagnosed. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), children, low income, and non-Hispanic minority populations have higher rates of asthma. In addition, according to the CDC, blacks die from asthma at a rate twice that of whites and three times that of Hispanics. The reason behind this may be environmental factors that have been determined to be a contributing factor in the disease. Low-income and minority populations often have poor access to healthcare.

Signs and Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of an asthma attack can vary from mild to severe, depending on the type of attack the person is having. For an asthmatic, the common cold or some other type of respiratory infection can trigger an asthma attack. Or the person might get an attack when breathing in something that bothers sensitive lungs such as cigarette smoke, dust or feathers. When this happens, three changes take place in the lungs. The first is that cells in the air tubes make more mucus than normal. This mucus is very thick and sticky. It tends to clog up the tubes. Second, the air tubes tend to swell, just as skin swells when one gets a scrape. Third, the muscles in the air tubes tighten. These changes cause the air tubes to narrow and this makes it hard to breathe. Asthma attacks may start suddenly. Or they may take a long time, even days, to develop. Attacks can be severe, moderate or mild. When attacks happen, the patient becomes breathless and has trouble talking. The lips and fingernails of the asthmatic might have a grayish or bluish color. The skin around the ribs of the chest might be sucked in although this happens most often in children. The person may start to feel tightness in the chest and start to cough or spit up mucus. Wheezing often accompanies asthma attacks as the air struggles to make it past the narrowed air tubes.

Causes and contributing Factors

Doctors are not exactly certain how you get asthma. But they do know that once you have it, your lungs can overreact to things that can start an asthma attack. The causes of such obstruction in children include allergy, viral respiratory infections, bacterial sinusitis, irritants, and changes in the weather, exercise, gastro esophageal reflux, stress, and drugs. The precipitating environmental causes include heavy concentrations of toxic matter in the air, pollens and molds, food, and general stress. Allergic asthma is caused by an immediate-type hypersensitivity reaction to allergens that usually are inhaled but occasionally are ingested. Commonly inhaled allergens include pollens (grasses, weeds, trees), molds (fungi), house dust (house dust mites), and household pets. Respiratory viral infections commonly precipitate attacks of asthma. Asthmatic attacks in children less than age 5 years are most frequently due to these infections.

Short and Long Term effects

If the physical symptoms are left untreated, children and adults can die from asthma. Short of bringing death, asthma has broadly debilitating effects and can be terrifying to one who has it. The asthmatic will have to take measures for the rest of their life to reduce the chances of having an attack. Taking the prescribed medications daily, avoiding antagonistic triggers and knowing the plan in case of emergency is the life of the asthmatic. Often, a medical alert bracelet or necklace is recommended, as talking during a severe attack can be difficult. However, with proper preventative care and medications, an asthmatic can life a full productive life.

Statistics related to incidence

The nation's asthma crisis has surpassed epidemic proportions says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC). The number of asthma cases in the United States is expected to double by 2020, raising the number of affected Americans to 29 million. Also according to the CDC, the United States reported 17.3 million cases in 1999. Of those, each year there is about 14 million asthma-related visits to private physicians' offices and hospital