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Asthma - Spotlight on Asthma

Asthma is a disease that affects the lungs.  People with asthma often have trouble breathing.  They may wheeze, cough, or feel tightness in their chest.  Asthma can even cause what is known an “attack.” An asthma attack is caused by severe swelling in the lungs and can leave someone gasping for air. 

Unfortunately, asthma is the most common long-term disease in children, affecting more than 6 million kids in the United States alone.  In fact, asthma accounted for more than 14 million missed school days in 2000. 

Overall, more than 20 million Americans have asthma, 12 million of whom experience serious asthma attacks.  These attacks lead to 2 million emergency room visits and 5,000 deaths each year in the United States.

The causes of asthma are unknown and currently there is no cure.  What’s even more frightening is that the number of asthma cases has risen during the past decade, especially among children living in the inner city.

One thing is clear:  if someone has a parent with asthma, he or she is far more likely to develop asthma than a person who has no family history.

Asthma attacks can be triggered by things in the environment.  Living in a large urban area like Philadelphia may increase exposure to these environmental triggers, which include:



Once someone knows what triggers their asthma, they can take steps to reduce the triggers in their environment.  Sometimes this is easier said than done.  Some causes like pollen, air pollution, and weather can’t be helped, but other things like cigarette smoke, mold, and cockroaches can and should be fixed. 

Because these attacks don’t happen all the time and because asthma can persist without environmental triggers, asthma can be difficult to diagnose, especially in young children. Regular doctor visits to check for allergies and to determine proper lung functioning can help.
The testing of lung function is called spirometry.  Spirometry is one way to confirm the diagnosis of asthma. A spirometer is a piece of equipment that measures the largest amount of air you can exhale after taking a very deep breath.

A doctor should also ask a patient about their family history of asthma, allergy and other breathing problems, and their home environment.  Patients should make sure to be honest about any lost school or work days and limits on daily or physical activities.

It’s important to remember that even though there isn’t a cure, asthma is treatable.  The first thing someone can do is to remove the triggers in their environment that make their asthma worse.  The other thing they can do is to make sure to take any medicine their doctor prescribes.

There are two main types of asthma medication:  quick-relief medicines and long-term control medicines.  Quick-relief medicines are often inhaled into the lungs and are taken only as needed to ease the symptoms of an attack.  They work within minutes to open the airways and help breathing.  Anyone who has asthma should always have one of these inhalers in case of an attack. 

Long-term control medicines are taken everyday to control chronic symptoms in people with persistent asthma.  Many people will need both types of medicines to effectively control their asthma. 

Remember, there are three simple things someone can do to control their asthma:

When someone controls their asthma, they will not only reduce the symptoms and the likelihood of attacks, but they’ll sleep better, miss less work or school, take part in more physical activities, and, best of all, they won’t end up in the ER with an asthma attack.

Edited by James Plumb, MD. Dr. Plumb is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University and a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.