Asthma

What Is Asthma?

Asthma (AZ-ma) is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing often occurs at night or early in the morning.
Asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts in childhood. In the United States, more than 22 million people are known to have asthma. Nearly 6 million of these people are children.

Overview

The airways are tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs. People who have asthma have inflamed airways. This makes the airways swollen and very sensitive. They tend to react strongly to certain substances that are breathed in.
When the airways react, the muscles around them tighten. This causes the airways to narrow, and less air flows to your lungs. The swelling also can worsen, making the airways even narrower. Cells in the airways may make more mucus than normal. Mucus is a sticky, thick liquid that can further narrow your airways.
This chain reaction can result in asthma symptoms. Symptoms can happen each time the airways are irritated.

Asthma

Figure A shows the location of the lungs and airways in the body. Figure B shows a cross-section of a normal airway. Figure C shows a cross-section of an airway during asthma symptoms.

Sometimes symptoms are mild and go away on their own or after minimal treatment with an asthma medicine. At other times, symptoms continue to get worse. When symptoms get more intense and/or additional symptoms appear, this is an asthma attack. Asthma attacks also are called flareups or exacerbations.
It's important to treat symptoms when you first notice them. This will help prevent the symptoms from worsening and causing a severe asthma attack. Severe asthma attacks may require emergency care, and they can cause death.

Outlook

Asthma can't be cured. Even when you feel fine, you still have the disease and it can flare up at any time.
But with today's knowledge and treatments, most people who have asthma are able to manage the disease. They have few, if any, symptoms. They can live normal, active lives and sleep through the night without interruption from asthma.
For successful, comprehensive, and ongoing treatment, take an active role in managing your disease. Build strong partnerships with your doctor and other clinicians on your health care team.

Alternative Medicine: Risky for Kids with Asthma?

 


If you've got a child with asthma, take caution when using alternative medicine. In a recent study from the Canadian Respiratory Journal, researchers found that asthmatic children treated with alternative therapies were twice as likely to have poor asthma control (compared to kids not treated with alternative therapies).
For the study, more than 2,000 families with asthmatic children completed questionnaires about their strategies for asthma management. About 13 percent of parents reported using alternative therapies to treat their children's asthma. The most commonly used alternative therapies included dietary supplements, homeopathy, and acupuncture.
In past research, a number of alternative therapies (such as omega-3 fatty acid supplements) have been found to aid in asthma management. However, the recent study's authors warn that use of alternative therapies may interfere with conventional asthma treatment (by causing harmful interactions with medication, for instance). If you're considering the use of alternative medicine to control of your child's asthma, make sure to consult his or her physician before beginning treatment.