Understanding Asthma

[Admin]

There are three major features of asthma:

1. Airway obstruction. During normal breathing, the bands of muscle that surround the airways are relaxed, and air moves freely. But in people with asthma, allergy-causing substances and environmental triggers make the bands of muscle surrounding the airways tighten, and air cannot move freely. Less air causes a person to feel short of breath, and the air moving through the tightened airways causes a whistling sound known as wheezing.

(Fortunately, this airway narrowing is reversible, a feature that distinguishes asthma from other lung diseases such as bronchitis or emphysema.)

2. Inflammation. People with asthma have red and swollen bronchial tubes. This inflammation is thought to contribute greatly to the long-term damage that asthma can cause to the lungs. And, therefore, treating this inflammation is key to managing asthma in the long run.

3. Airway irritability. The airways of people with asthma are extremely sensitive. The airways tend to overreact and narrow due to even the slightest triggers such as pollen, animal dander, dust or fumes.

Who gets asthma?
Asthma affects 12-15 million Americans, including approximately 10%-12% of children under age 18. Asthma may occur at any age, although it's more common in younger individuals (under age 40).

People who have a family history of asthma have an increased risk of developing the disease. Asthma is also more common in people who have allergies or who are exposed to tobacco smoke.

However, anyone can develop asthma at any time.

What causes asthma?
People with asthma have very sensitive airways that react to many different things in the environment called "triggers." Contact with these triggers cause asthma symptoms to start or worsen. The following are common triggers for asthma:

    * Infections (colds, viruses, flu, sinus infection)
    * Allergens such as pollens, mold spores, pet dander and dust mites
    * Irritants such as strong odors from perfumes or cleaning solutions, air pollution,
    * Tobacco smoke
    * Exercise or exertion
    * Weather -- changes in temperature and/or humidity, cold air
    * Strong emotions such as anxiety, laughter or crying, stress

What are the symptoms of asthma?
People with asthma experience symptoms when their airways tighten, swell up, or fill with mucus. Common symptoms include:

    * Coughing, especially at night
    * Wheezing (a high-pitched whistling sound when breathing out)
    * Shortness of breath
    * Chest tightness, pain, or pressure

Not every person with asthma has the same symptoms in the same way. You may not have all of these symptoms, or you may have different symptoms at different times. Your symptoms may also vary from one asthma attack to the next, being mild during one attack and severe during another.

An asthma attack is a sudden worsening of symptoms.

How is asthma diagnosed and treated?
If you suspect that you may have asthma, see your doctor. He or she can run tests to determine if you have it.

If a diagnosis is made, there are many treatments available to make you feel better and improve the underlying problems that caused the asthma.

References:
1. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/465006

[2xh]

may i know how doctor run the test and how to know the result?
can you share?

[drbalo]

There are many investigations for asthma depending on the resources available. Basic investigations/tests include chest-X-ray, measuring peak flow rate using peak flow meter in the morning and evening for days to demonstrate the morning dipping phenomena (which means the peak flow rate is worse in the morning than evening) etc. In acute attack of asthama, it is said that if the patient's peak flow rate improves by 15% or more after giving bronchodilating agents he can be diagnosed to have asthma. Some centres have more complicated tests by using challenging agents etc.
Actually, to make a diagnosis, the investigations/tests are not enough. Patient's history and findings on physical examination ae also important. History favours the diagnosis of asthma include family history of asthama, history of other "atopic diseases" e.g. eczema (skin allergy). Physical findngs suggesting asthma include wheezing sound heard in the lungs.
In short, there is no a single test which can tell a patient has asthma.

[2xh]

tq very much drbalo.
tq ur sharing

[amanda]

asthma is a chronic lung disease. 22 million people in united states are known to have asthma. 6 million of these are children. they suffer from great lost of air in their system. as what admin said that there are things in our environment called "trigger" and one of them is known to us as "polluted air".  When the airways react, the muscles around them tighten. this will narrow the airways, and less air flows to your lungs. the swelling also can worsen, making the airways even narrower. cells in the airways may make more mucus than normal. mucus is a sticky, thick liquid that can narrow your airways further and this chain reaction may result in asthma symptoms. this disease can't be cure but the help of our new technology they may able and manage to survive.

[naturalimmunity]

Can asthma be treated absolutely fully?

[kelvinwaugh]

Asthma is a heavy type for disease that causes inflammation and narrowing of the breathing passages of the lungs.Sure one must therefore understand the basic anatomy and physiology of the lung in order to tackle asthma better. There are two types of asthma Season asthma and second one is Allergen.