Introduction to Asthma

Asthma is a chronic, inflammatory lung disease. The air passages within the lungs are constantly swollen, restricting the amount of air allowed to pass through the trachea. Asthmatics have recurrent breathing problems and a tendency to cough and wheeze.

Asthma is perhaps one of the most common ailments in the world. According to the American Lung Association, about 20 million Americans have asthma, which causes about 5,000 deaths each year. It accounts for one-quarter of all the visits to the emergency rooms all over the country.

Despite its prevalence, many people still have misconceptions regarding this respiratory illness. For many of them, asthma is just a simple ailment. The truth is asthma should not be treated lightly. Asthma is the leading cause of school absences for children 5 to 17 years old. Among adults, asthma is the fourth leading reason for work absenteeism.

That is why it is very essential for asthma patients to take good care of themselves. If not, chances are they are going to spend 3 days of hospitalization annually. Worse, they may even suffer from the fatal effects of asthma. Yes, this is no joke. Asthma and asthma attacks can kill. In fact, it is estimated that 11 Americans die from asthma complications each day.

Asthma is incurable, but many medications and changes in behavior may help manage the condition.

Allergic asthma occurs when allergens cause the airway to become inflamed.

When the airway becomes constricted during vigorous physical activity, the condition is known as exercise-induced asthma.

Cough-variant asthma is a chronic, persistent cough without shortness of breath.

Occupational asthma occurs as a result of a particular environment. Once the patient is out of the environment, symptoms gradually disappear.

Asthma is considered a very common condition these days and while there are instances of individuals dying from asthma for the most part by using cortico-steroids and a rescue inhaler most people can live a relatively normal life. This does not mean that we should consider not having the ability to breathe freely as a normal facet of life. Everyone should be able to breathe freely and if there are things you can do to avoid those issues that cause asthma flare-ups then that is definitely a better way to manage your asthma.