Asthma

Introduction

Asthma is a disease where the airways in our respiratory system constrict, inflames and becomes lined with mucus. The triggers to this can be many, from exercises to an allergen, from emotional stress to simply cold air. Children are much more vulnerable as to adults because it can trigger even with a cold.

Symptoms

The airway narrowing can cause symptoms such as wheezing due to the throat closing up, shortness of breath due to the patient not getting enough air quick enough, coughing and/or chest tightness.

Signs

Signs of an Asthmatic episode is wheezing, hyperventilation, rapid heart rate, lung sounds through a stethoscope and over inflation of the chest. If the asthma attack gets very severe, the sufferer can turn blue from lack of oxygen and can even lose consciousness. It can also lead to death.

Diagnosis

In most cases, a physician can diagnose asthma on the source of typical findings in a patient’s medical history and examination. With technology today, adults can measure the airway function but for children however there is a different approach.

Treatment

Asthmatics can treat their asthma by doing different things:

• The most affective treatment is identifying the triggers, such as pets or medicine and then limiting them or removing exposure to them.
• If the asthmatic is a smoker, it can affect the asthmatic in several different ways; if they do smoke they are given extra medicine to help control the disease.

Relief medicine

Inhalers are used by young sufferers in which they hold their breath for ten seconds while inhaling the medicine. For those that cannot hold their breath for 10 seconds they usually use what is called a spacer which the user simply puffs the medicine into the spacer and breaths it in with deep breaths.