Basic Facts about Asthma
What Asthma Is
Asthma is a disease that affects your lungs. It is the
most common long-term disease of children. It causes repeated episodes
of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and nighttime or early
morning coughing. It is with you all the time, but you may have asthma
attacks only when something bothers your lungs.
We know that family history contributes to
susceptibility, but in most cases we don’t know what causes asthma to
develop, and we don’t know how to cure asthma. You can control your
asthma by knowing the warning signs of an attack, avoiding things that
trigger an attack, and following the advice of your doctor. When you
control your asthma, you won’t have symptoms like wheezing or coughing,
you’ll sleep better, you won’t miss work or school, you’ll be able to
take part in all physical activities, and you won’t have to visit the
hospital.
Effects of Asthma
In 2001, 20.3 million Americans had asthma, and 12
million had had an asthma attack in the previous year. If a person has a
parent with asthma, he or she is three to six times more likely to
develop asthma than is a person who does not have a parent with asthma.
How Asthma Is Diagnosed
Asthma can be difficult to diagnose, especially in
children under 5 years old. Regular physical exams that include checks
of lung function and for allergies can help make the right diagnosis.
A health-care provider trying to diagnose asthma will
ask you questions about coughing, especially coughing at night, and
whether breathing problems are worse after physical activity or during a
particular time of year. Providers also ask about other symptoms, such
as chest tightness, wheezing, and colds that last more than 10 days.
Also, a provider will ask about your family history of
asthma, allergy and other breathing problems, and your home environment.
He or she also will ask about lost school or work days and limits on
your activity.
Testing of lung function, called spirometry, is
another way to diagnose asthma. A spirometer is a piece of equipment
that measures the largest amount of air you can exhale after taking a
very deep breath. Airflow can be measured before and after you use an
asthma medication.
What An Asthma Attack Is
Airways are the paths that carry air to the lungs. As
the air moves through the lungs, the airways become smaller, like
branches of a tree. During an attack, the sides of the airways in your
lungs become inflamed and swollen. Muscles around the airways tighten,
and less air passes in and out of the lungs. Excess mucus forms in the
airways, clogging them even more. The attack, also called an episode,
can include coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, and trouble breathing.
Causes Of An Asthma Attack
Environmental exposures, such as house dust mites and
environmental tobacco smoke, are important triggers of an attack. Some
of these triggers are listed in the box below.
How Asthma Is Treated
You can control your asthma and avoid an attack by
taking your medicine as prescribed and avoiding the triggers that can
cause an attack. It’s just as important that you remove the triggers in
your environment that you know make your asthma worse.
Medicine for asthma is different for each person. It
can be inhaled or taken as a pill and comes in two types—quick-relief
and long-term control. Quick-relief medicines control the symptoms of an
asthma attack. If you are using your quick-relief medicines more and
more you should visit your health-care provider to change your asthma
management plan. Long-term control medicines make you have fewer and
milder attacks, but they don’t help you if you’re having an attack.
Asthma medicine can have side effects. Most are mild
and go away on their own. Ask your health-care provider about the side
effects of your medicines.
The important thing to remember is that you can
control your asthma. With your health-care provider’s help, make your
own asthma management plan so you know what to do based on your own
symptoms. Decide who should have a copy of your plan and where he or she
should keep it. You can learn more about asthma management plans from
the American Academy of Family Physicians (http://familydoctor.org/x2272.xml).
And remember to take your long-term control medicine even when you don’t
have symptoms.
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Important Asthma Triggers
Parents, friends, and relatives of children with asthma should try
to stop smoking. Until they can successfully quit, they should
smoke only outdoors, not in the home or in the family car. They
should not allow others to smoke in the home, and should make sure
the child's school is smoke-free.
Mattress covers and pillow case covers provide a barrier between
house dust mites and the person with asthma. Down-filled pillows,
quilts, or comforters should not be used and stuffed animals and
clutter should be removed from bedrooms.
Pollution caused by industrial emissions and automobile exhaust
can cause an asthma episode. In large cities that have air
pollution problems the number of emergency department visits for
asthma episodes goes up when the air quality is very poor.
You may find cockroaches any place where food is eaten and crumbs
are left behind. Decreasing exposure to cockroaches in the home
can help reduce asthma attacks. Remove as many water and food
sources as you can because cockroaches need food and water to
survive. Vacuum or sweep these areas at least every 2-3 days. You
can also use roach traps or gels to decrease the number of
cockroaches in your home.
Furry pets may trigger an attack. The simplest solution to this
situation is to find another home for the pet. However, some pet
owners may be too attached to their pets or unable to locate a
safe new home for the animal. Any animal causing an allergic
reaction should not be allowed in the bedroom. Pets should be kept
outside as much as possible and bathed weekly. People with asthma
are not allergic to their pet’s fur, so trimming the pet’s fur
will not help your asthma. Frequent vacuuming will reduce the
presence of the allergen. If the room has a hard surface floor, it
should be damp mopped weekly.
When mold is inhaled, it can cause asthma attacks. Eliminating
mold throughout the home can help control asthma attacks. Keep
humidity levels between 35% and 50%. In hot, humid climates, this
may require the use of air conditioning and/or dehumidifiers.
Fixing water leaks and cleaning up any mold in the home can also
help.
Strenuous physical exercise; adverse weather conditions like
freezing temperatures, high humidity, and thunderstorms; and some
foods and food additives and drugs can trigger asthma episodes.
Strong emotional states also can lead to hyperventilation and an
asthma episode. People with asthma should learn if these things
trigger their episodes and avoid them when possible.
For more information, please contact:
CDC/National Center for Environmental Health
Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects
1-888-232-6789
EHHEinq@cdc.gov
http://www.cdc.gov/asthma
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