Asthma: causes, symptoms, and treatment approaches

Children Developing Asthma

What do each of these individuals have in common: First, an eighteen-year-old suddenly develops wheezing and shortness of breath when visiting his grandmother who happens to have a cat. Second, a thirty-year-old woman has colds that "always go into her chest," causing coughing and difficulty breathing. Lastly, a sixty-year-old man develops shortness of breath with only slight exertion even though he has never smoked. The answer is that they all may have asthma." (Asthma)

There are also studies that show that males may develop asthma at a faster rate before reaching puberty, but that females overtake the males once puberty has been attained and from then onward develop asthma at a much faster rate than do males.

In the 0- to 5-year-old and 6- to 10-year-old age groups, males were admitted nearly twice as often as age-identical females. In the 11- to 20-year-old age group, admissions for males and females were nearly identical. Between 20 and 50 years of age, the female-to-male ratio was nearly 3:1. Thereafter, females were admitted for asthma at a rate of about 2.5:1 when compared with their age-equivalent male counterparts." (Skobeloff 1992 ab)

It has been estimated that over 300 million people worldwide either are currently diagnosed with asthma, or have the disease but have not been diagnosed with it yet. It has also been estimated that over 20 million Americans have the disease.

Geoffrey McLennan, PhD, professor of internal medicine and biomedical engineering and co-principal investigator of the study at UI Hospitals and Clinics says asthma is the disease we recognize when someone develops sudden narrowing of their air tubes that take air in and out of the lungs." (Iowa 2006)

Symptoms of asthma can be diverse, but there are four symptoms that are easily recognized. These four symptoms can include a shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and tightness in the chest of the individual. The symptoms are usually different for each individual and can vary from person to person, including the length of the attacks which signify the person has asthma to begin with. These attacks can last from just a few moments to as long as a few days in length.

With such a wide variety of individuals susceptible to asthma it has become necessary to develop treatments that can be used in various situations, and a wide variety of circumstances, including both long-term and short-term methods for controlling asthmatic reactions.

Many of the treatments are taught to the patients with asthma in order for them to control their asthma attacks. Some of the treatments include learning how to avoid the things that can prompt attacks as well as how to control asthma reactions if those items cannot be avoided.

There are also two types of medicine that can be taken to help avert the attacks.

The first medicine is short-term and is taken at the onset of an attack, while the second medicine is taken on a more long-term plan, and is usually daily in its usage. Both the long-term and short-term medicines seek to open the airways so that more air can reach the lungs of the individual.

Doctors and scientists have come to some conclusions regarding this disease and many of these medical experts believe that there should be a lot more studying done on why and how the disease affects certain people and does not affect others. The disease is one that affects many people and costs millions of dollars a year in lost time and medical treatments. The prognosis for most individuals with the illness is that it can be controlled and with a careful maintenance and attitude each individual can live a fairly normal life. There are things that can be done with the help of a medical professional to control the affects and most asthma sufferers can be assisted in maintaining a lifestyle that can be fairly simple in its approach.