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What is Asthma ?
Asthma is an illness of the
respiratory system in which the airway that leads to the lungs
becomes stiff and tight, inflamed and produces an excessive
amount of mucous. This result in constricting the air from
moving in and out of the lungs, triggering wheezing and
breathing difficulty. Asthma is a revenant disease that can
range from mild to critical, at times even life threatening.
Various factors are responsible for prompting this asthma attack
environment or allergen, cold and even stress. At this stage,
bronchodilators are given to the patient that generally provides
some relief. A lot of attention has been focused on asthma today
because of its widespread existence especially in young
children. Genetics and inheritance can be considered as some of
the causes, though there is no research to back up this theory.
The History
Asthma comes from the Greek word aazein that means sharp breath.
Homer first used the word in his book Iliad where it was used by
the character Hippocrates to describe a medical disorder. Almost
after six centuries,Galen noted that this condition was
stimulated by bronchial blockage that can be partial or
complete. Bernardino Ramazzini was the first to discover a
connection between asthma and organic dust in the 17th Century.
Bronchodilators were introduced in the market in 1901 and in
1960 a variety of anti-inflammatory mediations were included in
the prescriptions.
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Signs &
Symptoms of Asthma
The signs and symptoms of asthma differ from one person to
another. However, a few common symptoms include:
Wheezing
Short of breath or dyspnea
Tightening of the chest
Coughing
During a fatal asthma attack, the patient may suffer from lack
of oxygen, undergo severe chest pain, lose consciousness and at
times even die. Thus if one experiences any of the above
symptoms he should seek medical advice immediately.
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Factors
Responsible
Listed below are the few categories of stimuli that are believed
to cause asthma-
Allergens when inhaled can cause asthma attacks. These
allergens include the waste from the household insects like
cockroaches, dust mites, grass pollen and pet hair.
Air pollution that produces ozone, nitrogen dioxide and
sulphur dioxide. This is one the major causes of this condition
in urban areas.
Drugs like aspirin and beta blockers.
Swimming pools containing chlorine water produce three
chloramines monochloramine (NH2Cl), dichloramine (NHCl2), and
trichloramine (NCl3) in the surrounding air. These compounds are
believed to stimulate asthma.
Mental stress is also considered as one of the causes.
Some childhood infections like viral respiratory infections.
Certain exercises are also supposed to trigger asthma attacks.
Smoking is also responsible for asthma. It causes a rapid
deterioration of the lung function thus prompting this disease.
Treatment
The first step in treating asthma is spotting the cause i.e.
pollen or drugs or other conditions and constricting the
exposure to them. As discussed earlier, asthma can vary from
mild to severe and its treatment also depends on the oftenness
of its occurrence. Nonetheless, the asthma treatment can be
divided into three broad categories relievers, preventers and
emergency treatment. For immediate relief, bronchodilators are
often suggested. For patients who experience episodic attacks,
these bronchodilators provide the solution. Those who undergo
mild but chronic attacks i.e. more than two attacks in a week a
low dose of glucocorticoid is given for inhalation. Apart from
that a leukotriene modifier for oral use or theophylline are
also recommended. Patients who experience more frequent or
rather daily attacks are given a higher dose of glucocorticoid
along with an β-2 agonist for inhalation. For those who suffer
from very severe asthma attacks, a dose of oral glucocorticoid
is also added along with the above suggested drugs.
Medication
For immediate control of asthma attack or for those patients who
experience mild attacks, bronchodilators are recommended. These
bronchodilators are small (precisely pocket sized) metered dose
inhalers, more commonly known as MDIs. There are some patients
who have a difficulty in holding their breath for 10 seconds
after using the inhaler. For them, an asthma spacer is advised.
An asthma spacer is a small plastic cylinder that contains a
mixture of air and the medicine in a small tube. This tube helps
the patients to get a full dose of the medication without much
difficulty. Apart from the bronchodilators and asthma spacers,
the nebulizers are also used for patients experiencing severe
attacks.
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Asthma
and children
Studies have revealed that from 1980 the asthma attack in
children has increased. The factors that contribute to asthma in
young children are:
A history of asthma or atopy in the family.
Premature birth or extremely low birth weight.
Any viral respiratory infection in early childhood.
Mothers smoking habit during pregnancy.
It has also been noticed that breast fed babies are less prone
to asthma. The World Health Organization report has shown that
almost 8% of the Swiss population suffers from asthma today
against the 2% about 25 to 30 decades back. In the United States
almost 9% population below 18 years had asthma in 2001 against
the 3.6% in 1980. India has almost 20 million asthma patients.
In fact all across the globe asthma causes almost 18, 0000
deaths annually. The island of Tristan da Cunha has almost 50%
asthmatics due to the heredity transmission of the gene CC16.
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Emollients
Asthma & Exercise
Exercise is essential to keep the body and lungs healthy. Exercises
are prescribed by doctors as long as asthma is under control.
However, there are a few precautions that one must take while doing
any physical workouts:
One should always carry the bronchodilator.
Medication patterns must be strictly followed.
Before starting the exercise, warm up must be done by slowly
walking, stretching or performing any low level exercise.
It is also important to cool down after the completion of the
exercise. It is highly recommended to give the body a cool down
break for at least 10 minutes. Moreover, abruptly completing to
exercise can be very dangerous.
Avoid running outdoors; hot and humid temperature can trigger off
an asthma attack. An air conditioned gym is a safe bet.
Try to refrain from exercising in situations that can act as
triggers for e.g. pollen, cold air or smog.
If one gets an attack during workouts
Immediately stop exercising and use the bronchodilator.
Sit up and wait for the condition to improve.
If situation improves, take another dose of the inhaler and wait
for about
15 minutes.
If situation does not improve, please call the emergency service
or your doctor at the earliest.
Unlike the belief that asthmatic patients cannot indulge in any
physical activities, there are many famous sports persons who have
excelled in their fields in spite of being asthmatic. Well known
examples include Gary Roberts (hockey), Donovan Bailey (athlete) and
Sharon Donnelly (triathlete).
Why does exercise trigger off an asthma
attack?
When one breathes, the olfactory organ, nose, acts as an air filter
and controls the temperature and humidity of the air before it
reaches our lungs. When one exercises, the body gets tired and
demands for more air or oxygen. So breathing from the mouth starts
to take in more air. Unlike the nose, the mouth does not perform any
purifying act for the air that is inhaled. Thus this air is always
cooler and drier than the normal air. When this cold air enters the
respiratory system, the airways react by tightening the muscles
around it. This leaves the air with very little space to move into
the lungs-giving rise to wheezing, coughing and tightening of the
chest.
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Article Contributed By: Sukanaya Banerjee
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