About Asthma

Symptoms | Risk Factors | Diagnosis | Treatment

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by episodes or attacks of inflammation and narrowing of small airways. Asthma attacks can vary from mild to life threatening.

Asthma is a trigger-sensitive respiratory disease. With asthma, the linings of airway passages are very sensitive to a variety of things that “trigger” your airways to swell up. When this happens:

• Muscles around the bronchial tubes tighten
• Airways become smaller
• Extra mucus is produced that can clog up airways
• Air has a hard time getting in and out of the lungs
• Wheezing or whistling may occur during breathing

Asthma cannot be cured, but most people with asthma can control it so that they have few and infrequent symptoms and can live normal, active lives.

Symptoms

Symptoms can include shortness of breath, cough, wheezing and chest pain or tightness. Many things can trigger asthma attacks, such as allergens (e.g., pollen), infections, exercise, changes in the weather and exposure to airway irritants (e.g., tobacco smoke).

Risk Factors

In the U.S., about 20 million people have been diagnosed with asthma; nearly 9 million of them are children. Asthma is also closely linked to allergies. Children with a family history of allergies and asthma are more likely to have asthma. Although asthma affects people of all ages, it most often starts in childhood, and more women have asthma than men. Although asthma affects people of all races, African Americans are more likely than Caucasians to be hospitalized for asthma attacks and to die from asthma.

Diagnosis

The following are some ways to identify that a participant has asthma or is experiencing an asthma attack:

• Hard to breathe when the individual has a cold or respiratory infection or when they breathe something that bothers their lungs, such as cigarette smoke, dust or feathers
• Feel breathless and potentially have trouble talking
• Neck muscles may become tight when breathing
• Lips and fingernails might have a grayish or bluish color

Treatment

Participants with asthma should:

• Work closely with their doctor to decide on treatment goals and learn how to meet those goals.
• Avoid triggers that bring on asthma symptoms or make symptoms worse. Doing so can reduce the amount of medicine needed to control asthma.
• Use asthma medicines. Allergy medicines and shots may help control asthma symptoms in some people.
• Quick relief medicines to stop asthma symptoms.
• Long-term control medicines to prevent symptoms.
• Many people with asthma need to monitor their condition with a peak flow meter. This is a hand-held device that measures how well the lungs are working. A peak flow meter can help detect early changes in a patient’s condition and warn of a possible attack even before symptoms begin. The peak flow meter facilitates the development of an asthma management plan.