Asthma is an ever-present disease causing inflammation of the lungs. Asthma is found mainly in children and female adults. It has been around for a long time going back to ancient Greece and Asia. Asthma comes from the Greek word “panos” which means panting; Greeks also used asthma to describe shortness of breath. The Chinese thought asthma was an unbalanced qi, a vital energy believed to circulate the body, while Hindu healers used yoga to help control it. Asthma affects 1 in every 15 children and 5% of adults in North America. 5,000 Americans and 500 Canadians die from asthma every year while 1 million Canadians and 15 million Americans suffer from this disease. Many people have asthma but for the people who don’t they have to be careful of a few risk factors. Asthma has many risk factors such as smoking cigarettes and breathing industrial or agricultural chemicals. Some other risk factors are if a person is born light weight or is overweight now. If someone lives in a large urban area or has a parent with asthma their chances of getting asthma is higher. Different risk factors can lead to different types of asthma. There are two ways to categorize asthma: by what causes the asthma and how often symptoms appear. Asthma can be grouped into two categories, extrinsic and intrinsic, based on the cause of the disease. Extrinsic it caused by something specific outside the body while intrinsic has no specific cause. There are four types of asthma based on how often the symptoms appear. They are mild intermittent when symptoms appear less than twice a week and attacks are brief, mild persistent with more frequent attacks, moderate persistent when attacks are more severe, and severe persistent when attacks appear almost continually. For any type of asthma, symptoms can be used to tell what kind someone has. Asthma does not have many symptoms but the few are easy to notice. They vary from person to person and can vary at different times. “The symptoms are coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.” These symptoms get worse the longer they go untreated. The cough might be chronic, at night and the early morning, after exercise, or after exposure to cold, dry air. Shortness of breath normally appears at night or with exertion. Since these symptoms can appear in respiratory and heart conditions it is important to determine the setting of the symptoms. The tests used in diagnosis are also important. When checking for asthma doctors have three main methods of diagnosis; a physical exam, the patient’s and their family’s medical history, and a lung function test. During the physical exam the doctor checks the patient’s breathing and looks for signs of asthma or allergies. When the doctor looks at medical history they look for a history of asthma or allergies. The lung function test, also called a spirometry, tests the condition of your lungs by measuring the amount of air breathed in and out and measuring how fast that is done. While taking this test doctors might have the patient do it once then give them medicine. After the medicine has had time to become effective the test is done again. If the numbers of the test were bad at first than good with the medicine the patient may be diagnosed with asthma. There are many medicines that can be used for this test and asthma in general. Asthma has many different treatments that can be taken in a couple of different ways such as orally, inhaled, or intravenously. Inhaled medications are the most reliable because they work the fastest. There are many inhaled medications for asthma like beta-2 agonists, corticosteroids, anticholinergic, and cromolyn sodium. Some of the oral medications include aminophylline, leukotriene, beta-2 agonists, and corticosteroid tablets. The few medicines that can be taken intravenously are theophylline and aminophylline. These are just main types of medications but there are many types of beta-2 agonists and corticosteroids that full under these medicines. They are used for different purposes and at different times. There is no way to prevent someone from getting asthma but there are ways to prevent an asthma attack. Since allergies can be linked with asthma it is important to find out the allergies of someone with asthma and avoid them as much as possible. Tobacco smoke can also lead to asthma so avoiding that can help. Getting a yearly flu shot can decrease the risk of contracting asthma. Warm, moist air is best for an asthmatic to be in and avoiding cold, dry air can prevent an attack. Taking these precautions can make living with asthma easy. Living with asthma does not have to be much different than living without it. Knowing what can trigger an individual’s asthma and staying away from them as well as things that they are allergic to can make asthma seem to disappear. It is important to make sure to take whatever medications that are needed but do not over use them because they can be harmful. Another great tip for living with asthma is to always keep an inhaler close by. A tool that can come in handy with asthma is a peak flow meter which lets the asthmatic measure how well they are breathing. One way to keep one’s asthma in check is to exercise. Exercising and playing sports are a very good way to help control asthma. When someone with asthma exercises they can boost their immune system and strengthen their lungs. When exercising outside warm, damp air is the best weather to be in while cold, dry air can cause an asthma attack. Some exercises that are good for asthma are swimming and yoga. Along with exercise a healthy diet can make life with asthma a lot easier. Overall, just being healthy and active can help in managing asthma.
Asthma is an ever-present disease causing inflammation of the lungs. Asthma is found mainly in children and female adults. It has been around for a long time going back to ancient Greece and Asia. Asthma comes from the Greek word “panos” which means panting; Greeks also used asthma to describe shortness of breath. The Chinese thought asthma was an unbalanced qi, a vital energy believed to circulate the body, while Hindu healers used yoga to help control it. Asthma affects 1 in every 15 children and 5% of adults in North America. 5,000 Americans and 500 Canadians die from asthma every year while 1 million Canadians and 15 million Americans suffer from this disease. Many people have asthma but for the people who don’t they have to be careful of a few risk factors.
Asthma has many risk factors such as smoking cigarettes and breathing industrial or agricultural chemicals. Some other risk factors are if a person is born light weight or is overweight now. If someone lives in a large urban area or has a parent with asthma their chances of getting asthma is higher. Different risk factors can lead to different types of asthma. There are two ways to categorize asthma: by what causes the asthma and how often symptoms appear. Asthma can be grouped into two categories, extrinsic and intrinsic, based on the cause of the disease. Extrinsic it caused by something specific outside the body while intrinsic has no specific cause. There are four types of asthma based on how often the symptoms appear. They are mild intermittent when symptoms appear less than twice a week and attacks are brief, mild persistent with more frequent attacks, moderate persistent when attacks are more severe, and severe persistent when attacks appear almost continually. For any type of asthma, symptoms can be used to tell what kind someone has.
Asthma does not have many symptoms but the few are easy to notice. They vary from person to person and can vary at different times. “The symptoms are coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.” These symptoms get worse the longer they go untreated. The cough might be chronic, at night and the early morning, after exercise, or after exposure to cold, dry air. Shortness of breath normally appears at night or with exertion. Since these symptoms can appear in respiratory and heart conditions it is important to determine the setting of the symptoms. The tests used in diagnosis are also important.
When checking for asthma doctors have three main methods of diagnosis; a physical exam, the patient’s and their family’s medical history, and a lung function test. During the physical exam the doctor checks the patient’s breathing and looks for signs of asthma or allergies. When the doctor looks at medical history they look for a history of asthma or allergies. The lung function test, also called a spirometry, tests the condition of your lungs by measuring the amount of air breathed in and out and measuring how fast that is done. While taking this test doctors might have the patient do it once then give them medicine. After the medicine has had time to become effective the test is done again. If the numbers of the test were bad at first than good with the medicine the patient may be diagnosed with asthma. There are many medicines that can be used for this test and asthma in general.
Asthma has many different treatments that can be taken in a couple of different ways such as orally, inhaled, or intravenously. Inhaled medications are the most reliable because they work the fastest. There are many inhaled medications for asthma like beta-2 agonists, corticosteroids, anticholinergic, and cromolyn sodium. Some of the oral medications include aminophylline, leukotriene, beta-2 agonists, and corticosteroid tablets. The few medicines that can be taken intravenously are theophylline and aminophylline. These are just main types of medications but there are many types of beta-2 agonists and corticosteroids that full under these medicines. They are used for different purposes and at different times.
There is no way to prevent someone from getting asthma but there are ways to prevent an asthma attack. Since allergies can be linked with asthma it is important to find out the allergies of someone with asthma and avoid them as much as possible. Tobacco smoke can also lead to asthma so avoiding that can help. Getting a yearly flu shot can decrease the risk of contracting asthma. Warm, moist air is best for an asthmatic to be in and avoiding cold, dry air can prevent an attack. Taking these precautions can make living with asthma easy.
Living with asthma does not have to be much different than living without it. Knowing what can trigger an individual’s asthma and staying away from them as well as things that they are allergic to can make asthma seem to disappear. It is important to make sure to take whatever medications that are needed but do not over use them because they can be harmful. Another great tip for living with asthma is to always keep an inhaler close by. A tool that can come in handy with asthma is a peak flow meter which lets the asthmatic measure how well they are breathing. One way to keep one’s asthma in check is to exercise.
Exercising and playing sports are a very good way to help control asthma. When someone with asthma exercises they can boost their immune system and strengthen their lungs. When exercising outside warm, damp air is the best weather to be in while cold, dry air can cause an asthma attack. Some exercises that are good for asthma are swimming and yoga. Along with exercise a healthy diet can make life with asthma a lot easier. Overall, just being healthy and active can help in managing asthma.