Asthma is More Common Than You Might Think
Asthma is a condition that affects the airways.
It is found in the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs.
Asthma is a health challenge for both adults and children all over the world.
Asthma is found in 3 to 5 percent of adults and 7 to 10 percent of children.
Airways When a person with asthma comes into contact with something that irritates their airways (an asthma trigger), the muscles around the walls of the airways tighten so that the airways become narrower and the lining of the airways becomes inflamed and starts to swell.
Sometimes sticky mucus or phlegm builds up which can further narrow the airways.
During an asthma episode, inflamed airways react to environmental triggers such as smoke, dust, or pollen.
The airways narrow and produce excess mucus, making it difficult to breathe.
The airways of asthmatics are "hypersensitive" to certain triggers, also known as stimuli.
Triggers Triggers are different for everyone, and sometimes it might be more than one trigger that sets off an asthma episode.
Triggers can be found in the home or outside.
Some common stimuli that can trigger an asthma episode are: Animal Skin, hair and feathers Cockroaches Cold and infections Dust and house mites Exercise Molds Pollen and outdoor molds Smoke Strong odors and sprays Tobacco smoke Weather Occupational dust and vapors such as plastic, wood, metals and grains Air pollution such as cigarette smoke, auto exhaust, sulfur dioxide and ozone.
Triggers are different for everyone, and sometimes it might be more than one trigger that sets off an asthma episode.
An important aspect of controlling your asthma is avoiding your triggers.
Allergies Many people with asthma have an individual or family history of allergies, such as hay fever (allergic rhinitis) or eczema.
It is easy to underestimate the impact of nasal allergies, or allergic rhinitis.
While only about 16 percent of those with allergies go on to develop asthma (as compared to 1 percent in the general population), 80 to 90 percent of people with asthma develop allergies first or at the same time.
These allergies may be seasonal (pollen allergies) or year-round (dust allergies).
The connection between allergies and asthma is common enough that the presence of one should prompt consideration of the other.
Medication Medication can control asthma at all of it's stages and great advances have been made in the study of asthma treatment.
These medications are available in both oral and inhaled forms to relieve asthma symptoms.
Treatment will often help to open up your air passages and relieve the problems of not being able to breathe.
Drugs that provide long-term relief include corticosteroids, beta agonists, leukotriene modifiers, Cromolyn, and Nedocromil.
With the proper use of prevention drugs, asthmatics can avoid the complications that result from overuse of relief medications.
Asthma is more common than you might think and is on the rise in the United States and other developed countries.
Although asthma is more common in affluent countries, it is by no means a problem restricted to the affluent.
The World Health Organization estimates that there are between 15 and 20 million asthmatics in IndiaIt is a very common disease in the United States,afffecting more than 17 million people.
The mortality rate for asthma is low, with around 6000 deaths per year in a population of some 10 million patients in the United States.
It is found in the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs.
Asthma is a health challenge for both adults and children all over the world.
Asthma is found in 3 to 5 percent of adults and 7 to 10 percent of children.
Airways When a person with asthma comes into contact with something that irritates their airways (an asthma trigger), the muscles around the walls of the airways tighten so that the airways become narrower and the lining of the airways becomes inflamed and starts to swell.
Sometimes sticky mucus or phlegm builds up which can further narrow the airways.
During an asthma episode, inflamed airways react to environmental triggers such as smoke, dust, or pollen.
The airways narrow and produce excess mucus, making it difficult to breathe.
The airways of asthmatics are "hypersensitive" to certain triggers, also known as stimuli.
Triggers Triggers are different for everyone, and sometimes it might be more than one trigger that sets off an asthma episode.
Triggers can be found in the home or outside.
Some common stimuli that can trigger an asthma episode are: Animal Skin, hair and feathers Cockroaches Cold and infections Dust and house mites Exercise Molds Pollen and outdoor molds Smoke Strong odors and sprays Tobacco smoke Weather Occupational dust and vapors such as plastic, wood, metals and grains Air pollution such as cigarette smoke, auto exhaust, sulfur dioxide and ozone.
Triggers are different for everyone, and sometimes it might be more than one trigger that sets off an asthma episode.
An important aspect of controlling your asthma is avoiding your triggers.
Allergies Many people with asthma have an individual or family history of allergies, such as hay fever (allergic rhinitis) or eczema.
It is easy to underestimate the impact of nasal allergies, or allergic rhinitis.
While only about 16 percent of those with allergies go on to develop asthma (as compared to 1 percent in the general population), 80 to 90 percent of people with asthma develop allergies first or at the same time.
These allergies may be seasonal (pollen allergies) or year-round (dust allergies).
The connection between allergies and asthma is common enough that the presence of one should prompt consideration of the other.
Medication Medication can control asthma at all of it's stages and great advances have been made in the study of asthma treatment.
These medications are available in both oral and inhaled forms to relieve asthma symptoms.
Treatment will often help to open up your air passages and relieve the problems of not being able to breathe.
Drugs that provide long-term relief include corticosteroids, beta agonists, leukotriene modifiers, Cromolyn, and Nedocromil.
With the proper use of prevention drugs, asthmatics can avoid the complications that result from overuse of relief medications.
Asthma is more common than you might think and is on the rise in the United States and other developed countries.
Although asthma is more common in affluent countries, it is by no means a problem restricted to the affluent.
The World Health Organization estimates that there are between 15 and 20 million asthmatics in IndiaIt is a very common disease in the United States,afffecting more than 17 million people.
The mortality rate for asthma is low, with around 6000 deaths per year in a population of some 10 million patients in the United States.
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