Do you know of someone who has trouble breathing, even on clear days? Or maybe you had a child who is currently taking treatments for the disease of asthma. Asthma affects over 24.6 million Americans; it's a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. While outdoor air quality has greatly improved over the last decade by reducing pollution and tobacco smoke including second hand smoke in restaurants, asthma is still on the increase. No one is really sure what causes asthma; there are so many different things that trigger asthma, so it is very hard to pin point one exclusive cause. Just being aware of what those are and reducing your exposure to them is your first step to managing your asthma.
Some of the most common asthma symptoms are wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness. Many common allergies play a big role in asthma; eighty percent of people with asthma also have allergies. Many people who exercise a lot have symptoms similar to asthma, called exercised-induced asthma. Vigorous exercise can cause narrowing of the airways. These symptoms will usually subside shortly after stopping exercising. Smoking will worsen asthma's conditions, and if you haven't been diagnosed of having asthma before you started smoking you have a much greater risk in getting it later in life.
Women who are pregnant that are smokers may deliver children with weakened lung functions many times more than those mothers that don't. Premature babies have a high risk of getting asthma, early childhood colds, influenza, sinusitis and upper repertory infections can all trigger asthma symptoms.
By seeking early professional treatment you will be able to keep your asthma conditions from getting worse and lasting longer. Airway sensitivity which causes airways to narrow may last up to two months. The health condition of having asthma or not, has been proven to be hereditary, if you have one or both parents that have asthma you are three to five times more likely to get it. Asthma can appear at any age. A parent will start seeing early symptoms in their child starting at around 5 years of age, it has also been identified that more boys than girls have asthma. It is the leading cause of illness in children.
To keep your asthma under control know your triggers and take action to lessen you exposure to these irritants at home, outside, work and while in school or closed buildings. Treating asthma is not easy, every person's conditions and tolerance to the disease is different and each person will need an individualized treatment plan. Your treatment will need to be adjusted depending on whatever change in your irritants may be or become.
There are several ways to keep you on track of your asthma treatment plan, so you know that you are getting the best treatment for your asthma. First - keep a daily diary of your symptoms and how much you use your inhaler; second -avoid the things that trigger your asthma; third - take the right medicines (prescription - or OTC) some medications must be taken daily to reduce inflammation while others may be only needed when your conditions worsens; finally - many doctor prescribed medicines such as Albuterol which has been found to be extremely helpful with sudden and an unexpected asthma attacks, these medications come in the form of pills or inhalers.
http://WebMD.com/
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