Living With Asthma: Treatment And Symptoms

Asthma is a disease that affects an estimated twenty five million people in America and the exact cause of the disease isn't even known. Seven percent of the population of the United States has asthma and over three hundred million worldwide.

Although asthma is primarily known to develop among children, asthma can strike at any age. One quarter of the asthma sufferers in the United States are children and, even though children can grow out of it, asthma tends to remain a problem into adulthood.

Asthma is a chronic disease or, in other words, a disease that continues to recur over a period of years. Characterized by coughing and shortness of breath, asthma inflames the airways of the lungs and because of the inflammation the airways become narrower making breathing more difficult. Early morning seems to be the worst time of day for these symptoms.

The inflammation produced by asthma causes the lungs to produce extra mucus. This further obstructs the air passageways and contributes to the feelings of shortness of breath. Asthma symptoms can show quite a bit of variation from one person to the next, ranging from a minor nuisance to a condition that affects every aspect of daily life. In severe cases, asthma can be life-threatening.

Even though the cause of asthma isn't known, medical researchers think that there are several factors that can all play a part in causing the onset of asthma symptoms. Family history is an important factor as many adult sufferers of asthma have children that share the disease. If a child comes into contact viral infections or airborne allergens, or contract many respiratory infections this can weaken the immune system and cause the onset of asthma.

At present, asthma can't be cured, but the symptoms of asthma can be brought under control. Treatments include using long-term control medications that control symptoms and prevent flare-ups as well as using an inhaler to control symptoms once they start.