Did you know that about 25 million Americans of all ages have asthma? Asthma is a common chronic disease that can be developed as we get older, and it is more common amongst children. An asthma attack can occur at any time, but there are ways to prevent an attack from happening.
Road map: Today we will talk about What is asthma and an asthma attack, how asthma develops and what causes it, and ways to reduce and prevent asthma attacks.
What is asthma? According to the Central for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2021), the definition of asthma is "is a disease that affects your lungs." The way this disease affects your lungs is by the airways getting narrowed and inflamed making it hard for a person to breathe properly. For example, a person with asthma will experience tightening of the chest, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing.
What is an asthma attack? An asthma attack is similar to the definition of asthma, but it is more severe, and it can be life-threatening depending on what triggers it and its symptoms.
When an asthma attack occurs, the muscles around the airways tighten and thicken, the lining of the airway becomes inflamed, and an excess of mucus is produced making it difficult for air to pass through.
[Transition: Now that we know what an asthma and an asthma attack is, we will now talk about the development of asthma and the causes of an asthma attack]
How can a person develop asthma what causes of an asthma attack? A person can develop asthma over time as they age by various possible causes. Since the causes of asthma are still unknown, it is a fact that this disease can be inherited if either the mom or dad has asthma, or it can be developed depending on their environmental surroundings. For example, when a baby is born, asthma symptoms will start showing up as an infant or during their childhood years if either parent has the asthma gene. Another example is if a child is surrounded by parents or relatives that smoke tobacco, it may be possible that the child can develop asthma. Some other causes that may lead to developing asthma are allergies, occupational factors, and the air in the environment that were breathing.
Burger (1996) states that "Allergies to certain foods, pollens, molds, dusts and animal danders (the list is almost endless) can lead to the "sensitization" of the airways and may promote the development of asthma" (p. 42). Occupational factors that may also lead to the development of asthma is by being exposed to chemicals or wood dusts at work.
When a person has asthma, being exposed to any triggers such as the causes that we have mentioned, can cause an asthma attack. Triggers such as tobacco smoke, allergies and infections can cause an asthma attack. Asthma attacks can happen randomly if a person is in an environment where these triggers are exposed on them. That is why it's important to watch out and know what triggers can flare up an asthma attack. An asthma attack can be controlled if the person knows how to prevent it from happening by being aware of its warning signs.
[Transition: Now that we know how asthma can develop and what can cause a heart attack, we will know talk about ways to reduce and prevent asthma attacks.]
What are some ways to reduce and prevent asthma attacks? There are many ways to reduce and prevent an asthma attack from happening. Asthma and the air you breathe (1997) states that in order to prevent an asthma attack these medications are needed "daily inhalations of a corticosteroid, an effective anti-inflammatory drug" (p. 40). To simplify, having a good management with daily use of inhalers when needed can control and prevent an asthma attack from happening. Other ways to prevent an asthma attack is by reducing to house dust mites. For example, washing bed linens weekly, limiting stuffed animals and pillows, and reducing the humidity levels inside the house can reduce exposure to house dust mites and prevent an asthma attack. Being exposed to environmental tobacco smoke can also be prevented to avoid an asthma attack. For example, To prevent a child from inhaling tobacco smoke, parents, or relatives around them should stop smoking around the child. Another way to prevent inhaling tobacco smoke is by not smoking indoors and inside the car.
In conclusion, asthma and asthma attacks were defined, the development of asthma and what causes of an asthma attack were discussed, and we got to know ways a person can reduce and prevent an asthma attack. Asthma attacks can occur at any time, but there are many ways it can be prevented from happening. By being informed about how to reduce and prevent asthma attacks, this information can be used to further spread more about the asthma disease.
