What Is Asthma?  

Asthma is a lung disease that can be life threatening. Asthma is a chronic, or long-term disease, which can affect you for the rest of your life. Asthma causes breathing problems. The airways in the lungs get blocked, causing the lungs to get less air than normal. Symptoms of an "asthma attack" can be difficulty with breathing, a tight feeling in the chest, coughing and wheezing. Asthma can develop quickly and it can range from being a mild discomfort to a life-threatening attack if breathing stops completely. Asthma  problems are often separated by symptom-free periods.

What Happens In An Asthma Attack?

When asthma causes breathing problems, the breathing problems are called asthma attacks or episodes of asthma.

During an asthma attack, three major changes that can take place in the lungs include:

These changes cause the air tubes to narrow which makes it hard to breathe.

Who Gets Asthma?

Many cases of asthma likely go undiagnosed. Asthma is a key public health problem in the U.S. and asthma prevalence has been increasing since 1980. The CDC estimates that up to 20 million people in the U.S. have asthma, including 6.3 million children. Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic illness.  During the past 20 years, the number of school absence due to asthma has more than doubled.  The CDC estimates that 14 million school days were missed due to asthma in 2000. African-Americans continue to have higher rates of asthma emergency room (ER) visits, hospitalizations, and deaths than do Caucasians.  Their ER visits for asthma are more than double and their hospitalization rates are more than triple.

How Are Children Affected By Asthma?

Asthma is the most common long-term childhood disease, affecting 6.3 million children. Nearly 1 in 13 school-aged children has asthma, and the rate is rising more rapidly in preschool-aged children than in any other age group.  Approximately 4.2 million children had an asthma attack in the last year. In 2000, there were nearly 2 million emergency room visits and nearly half a million hospitalizations due to asthma. Asthma accounts for many nights of interrupted sleep, limitation of activity, and disruptions of family and care-giver routines. Asthma symptoms that are not severe enough to require a visit to an emergency room or to a physician can still be severe enough to prevent a child with asthma from living a fully active life. Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic illness.  During the past 20 years, the number of school absence days due to asthma has more than doubled.  The CDC estimates that 14 million school days were missed due to asthma in 2000.

What Triggers Asthma Attacks?

Asthma attacks can be caused by something that bothers the lungs. These are called asthma triggers. There are many kinds of asthma triggers. Two major categories of asthma triggers are allergens and irritants. If you, or a loved one has asthma, it's important to learn which triggers are a problem. Ask your doctor to help. Your doctor may suggest keeping an asthma diary or recommend skin testing for allergies. Once asthma triggers are known, actions can be taken to prevent asthma attacks. Cutting down exposure to your triggers may help in avoiding asthma attacks. When attacks occur, they will probably be less severe.

About Asthma Triggers

There are many asthma triggers. Two large categories of triggers are allergens and irritants. Allergens are substances that cause no problem for a majority of people but which trigger an allergic reaction in some people. During an allergy attack, the body releases chemicals called mediators. These mediators often trigger asthma episodes.

Irritants such as cold air, cigarette smoke, industrial chemicals, perfume, and paint and gasoline fumes can trigger asthma. These irritants probably trigger asthma symptoms by stimulating irritant receptors in the respiratory tract. These receptors, in turn, cause the muscles surrounding the airway to constrict, resulting in an asthma attack. Viral infections are the leading cause of acute asthma attacks. Surprisingly, bacterial infections, with the exception of sinusitis, generally do not bring about asthma attacks. Since Americans spend up to 90% of their time indoors, exposure to indoor allergens and irritants may play a significant role in triggering asthma episodes.

 The following is a list of some of the indoor environmental asthma triggers:

·         Secondhand (cigarette) smoke

·         Cockroaches

·         Dust mites

·         Molds

·         Pets and other animals with fur or feathers

·         House dust

·         Ozone

·         Combustion by-products

·         Pollen (tree, grass and weed)

 If I Have Asthma, What Can I Do?

If you have asthma, you probably want to know how to reduce your chances of having an asthma episode and what to do once you have an asthma episode. Your doctor will be able to assist you. Consult your physician to set up an asthma management plan. Your doctor can help you learn to monitor your asthma, take appropriate medication for your asthma, and identify and avoid your asthma triggers. Following your asthma management plan will help keep your asthma under control.