Asthma treatment

Asthma is on the rise in the United States and other developed countries.  Asthma affects all races and is slightly more common in African Americans than in other races.  Asthma affects all ages, although it is more common in younger people.  Asthma is the most common chronic disease of children.  However, about half of the children who develop asthma ‘grow out of it’ by the time they are adults.  Some people with asthma put up with symptoms.  For most people with asthma, most of the symptoms can be prevented with treatment.

Asthma Symptoms:Symptoms can range from mild to severe.  Symptoms are typically worse at night, or first thing in the morning.  Symptoms of worsening asthma include: A cough that won’t go away (day and night) Wheezing Tightness in the chest Shortness of breath Poor response to medicines (bronchodilators) Late, severe symptoms.  The severity of the symptoms of asthma differs from person to person, from mild to severe.  This resistance to exhaling leads to the typical symptoms of an asthma attack.

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Peak flow readings improve when the narrowed airways are opened up with treatment.

Asthma Treatment: Treatment is based on two important goals :relief of symptoms, andpreventing future symptoms from developing.  You have a better chance of controlling your asthma if it is diagnosed early and treatment begun right away.  With proper treatment, people with asthma can have fewer and less severe attacks.  Without treatment, they will have more frequent and more severe asthma attacks and can even die.  Current treatments for asthma, if followed closely, allow most people with asthma to limit the number of attacks they have.  Asthma cannot be ‘cured’, but treatment usually works well to ease and prevent symptoms.

Asthma can be controlled by taking medicine and avoiding the triggers that can cause an attack.  Asthma affects the airways of the lungs (the bronchi) which causes the airways to become inflamed and swollen.  Asthma attacks can be life-threatening and may require hospital treatment.  Asthma in adults is more common among women than men.  Asthma often runs in families and you can inherit the susceptibility to asthma, which is then triggered by certain factors in the environment.  Asthma is a disease that affects the breathing passages of the lungs (bronchioles).  Asthma is caused by chronic (ongoing, long-term) inflammation of these passages.  Asthma cannot be cured, but it can be controlled.