Asthma

Chronic medical condition that causes the pathway leading to lungs inflamed. As a result, the condition causes wheezing, breathing difficulties and coughing. Usually, the patients experience severe illness during the night and early in the morning. The condition affects people of all age group. In the United States, over 25 million people suffer from asthma and roughly 25% are children.

The airways carrying air to lungs becomes swollen and very sensitive due to the medical condition. Also, the airways react strongly to substances carried in the path. This leads to muscles in the airway not only tightening but also narrowing the path. As a result, less air reaches the lungs and more mucus is produced than usual in affected patients,

Causes

Allergens, animal furs, pollen from plants, flowers, cigarette smoke, air pollution, chemical products, medicines such as aspirin, beta blockers used in heart treatments, respiratory infections and sometimes also physical activity.

Symptoms

Running nose, infections in the sinus, stress, and sleep disorders are some of the common signs of Asthma.

Treatment

The medical condition does not have a permanent cure, but with right medications, treatments, and healthy lifestyle, the patient could lead a healthy and longer lives. Patients need to work with their doctors on a continuous basis on charting out a plan to reduce dependency on medications and this could be accomplished by avoiding places and things that act as triggers for an asthma attack. Doctors tend to decrease medicines as asthma is brought under control and treatment varies based on age and gender of patients.

The long-term strategy for controlling asthma would be to take medicines that help in preventing symptoms and airway inflammation. Often, Inhaled corticosteroids are used as a long-term option for controlling the symptoms and infections in the airways. Cromolyn and Omalizumab are two other medications often prescribed by doctors to regulate the lives of asthma patients.

Inhaled short-acting beta2-agonists are primarily used as quick relief medication when symptoms of asthma are identified in a patient. Quick-relief medicines are not a viable substitute for long-term asthma care medicines.
The condition is usually identified as stable when patients have an incidence rate of one per year and patient use quick-relief medicines  no more than two times a week.

Prevention Planning

It is important for patients to have clear lungs as possible, few or no side effects from the medications, take part in physical activities and attend school and work regularly. This can only be accomplished by having right preventive measures in place including living in an environment where triggers are very minimal. The triggers could include dust, animal fur, and too much physical activity.