I had a former neighbor whose little boy was suffering from asthma, and it breaks my heart every time to see his mother rush him to the hospital whenever there was a major attack as the doctors said he was too young to use an inhaler.
He would come to my place to sleep as well from time to time, and the way he breathed very high and loud sometimes made me scared too, and I could not just stop thinking about what caused this asthma of a thing.
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I recently also met a friend who is an asthmatic person and there is usually a particular time of the year when she needs to go in and out of the hospital regularly. This got me scared and I was wondering what causes all these things.
But let's check it out together.
Asthma is a severe inflammatory disorder that affects the airways, it is complex and has characteristics of variable and recurring symptoms, obstruction of the airflow, underlying inflammation, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness.
It is a chronic (ongoing) condition, which means it wouldn't just go away on its own, and it has to be managed with a consistent medical treatment. Asthma affects a large number of people, about 25 million people currently live in the United States including 5 million children.
Usually during breathing, there is a relaxation with the muscles around the airways, giving room for air to move quietly and easily too. So, when there is an asthmatic attack, three things could happen.
The first is inflammation, the lining of the airways becomes swollen and with a swollen airway, much air will not be allowed in and out of the lungs.
There is a possibility of Bronchospasm, where the muscle around the airways constricts, and when that happens, the airways become narrow thus air cannot freely flow through constricted airways.
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- During the phase of an attack, the body creates more mucus which clogs airways.
When the airway gets tight, the affected person makes a sound known as the wheezing sound whilst breathing.
Asthma is not just one type, it can be classified into different categories based on the cause and how severe the symptoms could get. So, healthcare providers identify asthma as being;
Intermittent, this type of asthma comes and goes, so the affected persond gets to feel normal from time to time.
Persistent asthma means affected persons experience symptoms most of the time. These experienced symptoms could be mild, moderate, or severe. Experts often classify asthma based on how often it occurs.
If you are like me who is wondering what exactly causes asthma, then let's get even deeper into the topic.
Asthma can be caused by so many things, it could be allergies, yeah, some people are allergic to certain things that could provoke an asthmatic attack, we have the likes of pet dander, pollens, and molds.
Factors like stress, intense exercising, particular illnesses, and weather conditions could also cause asthma in a person.
Cases of childhood asthma usually start before the age of 5 and could affect infants and toddlers. Children can outgrow asthma.
There are times when asthma doesn't even happen to a person as a child but suddenly springs up when the person gets to the age of 18.
People who work around irritating substances could pick up occupational asthma. An existing case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) makes it difficult to breathe, so it can lead to an asthma type referred to as Asthma- COPD overlap syndrome.
Having a family history of asthma or other allergic diseases can create a higher chance of developing it yourself.
The symptoms attached to asthma vary from one person to another, sometimes it even gets worse and this is known as asthma attacks, which are worse during an exercise or at night.
Common symptoms come in the form of, persistent cough, especially one that happens at night, shortness of breath or breathing difficulty, tightness of the chest which makes breathing difficult, and there is wheezing when exhaling and sometimes when inhaling.
Asthma cannot be cured as I have mentioned at the beginning of this post, but can be managed efficiently. The most common means of treatment is to use an inhaler whose purpose is to deliver medications to the lungs directly.
With an inhaler, the disease can be controlled and help people enjoy a normal life. There are two types of inhalers, we have;
Bronchodilators open up the air passage and relieve symptoms and we also have steroids that reduce inflammation in the air passage, which improves the symptoms of asthma and reduces the risk of severe asthma and deaths.
If you or anyone around you has asthma, you need more education about the topic. The education includes the triggers to avoid, treatment options, and how the symptoms can be managed significantly.
For Further Studies
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7223/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551579/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/6424-asthma
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/asthma
https://www.britannica.com/science/asthma___
Hi, I am Tobi, a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. If you want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my YouTube channel where you can watch any episode for free, please do not forget to subscribe, friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from here, Kindly do well to keep them coming.
