What is Asthma?

[damon harvey]

Asthma (pronounced AZ-muh) is defined in Essential Allergy, by Niels
Mygind, Ronald Dahl, Soren Pedersen and Kristian Thestrup-Pedersen 2nd
edition as:
A lung disease characterised by:
1. variable and reversible airway obstruction; 2. airway inflammation;
and 3. bronchial hyper-responsiveness.
Asthma is a continuing inflaming illness that makes airways (bronchial
tubes) especially sensitive to irritants, and this is characterized by
problems in breathing.
Asthma is a greatly ranked inveterate health state in adults in most
western countries, and it is the foremost chronic disorder of
children.
Asthma cannot be cured, but for most patients it can be controlled so
that they have just minimum and infrequent symptoms and they can live
an normal life. If you have asthma, managing it is an significant part
of your life.
Managing your asthma means keeping away from things that irritate your
airways and taking medicines as directed by your physician. By
controlling your asthma every day, you can avoid serious symptoms and
take part in all regular activities.
If your asthma is not well managed, you are liable to have symptoms
that can make you skip school or work and retain you from doing things
you like. Individuals with asthma have additional tender or hyper-
responsive airways.
When a person experiences a worsening of their asthma symptoms, it is
called an asthma episode or, in hard cases, an asthma attack. During
an asthma attack, smooth muscles nearly the bronchial tubes contract,
making the airway openings narrow so less air can stream through.
Infection increases and the airways become more expanded and narrowed.
Cells in the airways also make more mucus than common, which narrows
the airways more. The changes to the airways cause the symptoms of
asthma.
For example, it is difficult for air to pass in and out of the lungs
and the oxygen levels in the blood reduce.
Asthma attacks are not all the same-some are worse than others. In a
severe asthma attack, the airways can close so much that not
sufficient oxygen gets to essential organs. This condition is a
medical emergency. People can die from severe asthma attacks. A person
suffering from an asthma attack has a feeling comparable to drowning.
If you have asthma, you should see your doctor regularly. You will
need to discover what things occasion your asthma symptoms to worsen
and how to avoid them. Your doctor can also prescribe medicines to
hold your asthma under control.
This narrowing of the air passages is due to several combinations of:
* contraction of muscles around the air passages,* distension of the
airway lining due to airway infection, and,* extreme mucus in the
airways.
About one in 13 adults and one in 8 children have asthma in the
western world, and rates are on the grow. It can affect anyone, at any
age, anywhere.
Asthma is becoming increasingly frequent in the developed world and is
now the most usual chronic condition in the west. Aspects of our
contemporary environment such as air pollution, processed foods, and
centrally heated, double-glazed houses (an ideal breeding grounds for
house dust mites) are thought to be principal contributing factors.
An asthma 'attack' describes the symptoms of tightness in the chest, a
wheezing or whistling noise in the chest, coughing, breathlessness,
and difficulty breathing that arise when the airways become narrowed,
inflamed, and blocked by mucus.
An asthma attack can occur suddenly. However, many people with asthma
learn to recognise the warning signs that herald an attack, such as an
itchy nose or itchy skin, dizziness or light-headedness, or an
irritating cough.
Learning the warning signs can often alert a sufferer in time to take
preventive action, such as medication.
Asthma is a chronic condition, which means that attacks can occur over
a long period of time. Although there are times when acute episodes
strike asthmatics, most asthma sufferers say that there are long
periods during which they suffer few, if any asthma symptoms.
Asthma changes progressively during the lifetime of someone who has
it. For example, children may grow out of asthma, but some of these
people develop asthma again later in life.
Drugs, such as those resembling two of our hormones, help asthma.
These two hormones are adrenaline (epinephrine in the USA) and
hydrocortisone (a steroid).
There are also other drugs which help treat asthma. Whilst drugs can
remove all your symptoms if you have mild asthma, people with more
severe or long-standing asthma don't get nearly such good results, so
alternate medications are required.
In people who have lifelong asthma, the effectiveness of drugs in
removing the obstruction of the airways decreases. One of the aims of
treatment, according to current concepts, is to minimise the
inflammation in the lung airways which we believe causes this long-
term decline.
At a Glance...What is Asthma?
* Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder that makes airways
(bronchial tubes) particularly sensitive to irritants, and this is
characterized by difficulty in breathing.
* Asthma is a greatly ranked chronic health condition in adults in
most western countries, and it is the most important chronic illness
of children.
* Asthma cannot be cured, but for most patients it can be controlled
so that they have only minimal and infrequent symptoms and they can
live an active life.
* If you have asthma, managing it is an significant part of your life.
Controlling your asthma means keeping away from things that bother
your airways and taking drugs as directed by your physician.
? By Bjorn Gutter