Demystifying Asthma - Causes and Symptoms

[damon harvey]

Asthma has become a very prevalent chronic disease these days.
However, there is still a lot of misinformation and myth surrounding
it. I'd like to take some time now to clear up some of the erroneous
information that is circulating out there and help us all begin our
study of asthma on the same page.
One question I keep running into is this: What does an asthma attack
feel like? After doing a lot research and finding explanation after
explanation I finally heard the perfect description. Asthma feels like
a fish out of water. Now use your imagination a little and you'll be
able to identify with both the terror and physical pain associated
with asthma attacks.
Another fact that I have run into a lot while researching this topic
is that no matter how long you have had asthma or how many asthma
attacks you have had you never get used to the attacks. That is also a
big issue to understand. Usually when you experience something over
and over again you may not be able to stop it however you do become
better at dealing with it.
Due to it's magnitude you probably know one or more people who have
asthma today. Despite the new treatments that are out -- the incidence
of asthma is growing. However there are still myths and misconceptions
about this chronic disease. Let' begin by getting to the real
information.
Asthma is now the most common chronic disease in children as it
affects 1 in 15 of them today. A total of 5% of adults in North
America have asthma as well. That works out to about 1 million in
Canada and 15 million in the United States.
An asthma fact worth noting is there are about 5,000 deaths annually
in the United States from asthma and about 500 deaths annually in
Canada. Over the last 20 years the rate of new asthma sufferers has
risen by 30%. Even with the new advances in treatment the deaths of
young people from asthma has doubled.
Asthma affects breathing by narrowing the airways which interferes
with the normal movement of air in and out of the lungs. Asthma only
involves the bronchial tubes and not the air sacs or the lung tissue
itself. The narrowing that is caused by asthma is caused by three
factors: inflammation, bronchospasm and hyper-reactivity. The
combination of these three things is what causes the difficulty in
exhaling.
As a result the person with asthma has to forcefully push the air out
of their lungs which then causes the wheezing sound. Some people with
asthma begin to cough to try to expel the thick mucus plugs.
Asthma may be caused by many different triggers and each person can be
triggered by a different substance. Once a person who is suffering
with asthma discovers their own triggers they are better able to
manage their condition and alleviate some of their attacks.
Another important asthma fact is that 80% of children and 50% of
adults who have asthma also have allergies.
Remember today asthma is treatable especially if the individual can
identify their own personal triggers. With this knowledge you can
assist those you know with asthma to live a better life with less
attacks.
Now with the most current information you can understand how this
chronic disease can be truly be managed. From this point on you will
have a better understanding of just what people you know or meet that
have asthma are truly going through.