A Killer Called Asthma

Over 17 millio
Americans including 5 million children have it. It kills about 5,000 Americans yearly. It is responsible for 5,000 hospitalizations a year. The culprit: asthma.

Asthma is a chronic (long-term) inflammatory disease of the airways that makes breathing difficult. The airways are part of the respiratory system that resembles an upside-down tree. They carry oxygen to the lungs and remove carbon dioxide. As you breathe, air moves freely in and out of the lungs through the airways.

In asthma, however, the airways are obstructed and inflamed. You can inhale normally but when you try to exhale your airways collapse and trap air in the lungs. A person with mild asthma can trap as much as 2 liters of air – enough to inflate a basketball.

As the airways become inflamed and swollen, they produce extra mucus that further clogs the narrow air passages. This results in wheezing, coughing, tightness in the chest and shortness of breath. It’s like breathing through a small straw.

Despite advances in the field of medicine, asthma continues to be a major chronic airway disorder and a serious public health problem that affects over 100 million people worldwide. In the United States alone, the rate of people with asthma has increased 75 percent across all races, sexes and age groups, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From 1982 to 1991, the death rate from asthma has increased 40 percent. Of the 17 millio
Americans with asthma, including about 4 million under age 18, 5,000 die each year. The death rate for asthma is highest among people 55 years of age and older.

The symptoms of asthma vary from person to person and range from mild to severe. For some, an asthma attack or flare-up can be life-threatening. Patients may experience shortness of breath, chest tightness, coughing and wheezing. But not all people experience these symptoms. In some, the only symptom may be a chronic cough, especially at night or after exercising.

These normally begin within minutes of exposure to a trigger and may last for a few minutes. More serious episodes may last for hours or even days. These flare-ups can occur at any time but often strike during the early morning hours. Nocturnal asthma may begin two to three hours after you sleep and may cause you to wake up gasping for breath.

Anyone can get asthma and it can start at any age. The disease may be inherited and tends to run in families. This means if someone in your family has asthma; your chances of getting the disease are greater. This is true for asthma that develops in infancy and childhood. People with allergies are also more likely to develop asthma. At least 80 percent of children and 50 percent of adults with asthma have allergies.

Because inflamed airways are more sensitive, they can easily over-react and cause an asthma attack when they are exposed to certain physical or chemical substances to which a person is sensitive to. These substances or irritants are called “triggers” and more than 2,000 of them are found right in your own home.

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