Asthma is a chronic disease affecting the respiratory system. The disease leads to inflammation of the airways, difficulty in breathing, and can lead to death. Asthma is a zoonotic disease but it is not transferable between individuals. This means that an affected person cannot spread the disease to others by kissing, smooching, or coughing. Inflammation of air passages constricts them and leads to tightening of the chest making the patient experience breathing difficulty, chronic coughing, and producing a wheezing sound (Young, Para 1 and 2). We can learn much about asthma.
The causes of asthma are not clearly known. However, medical experts believe that heredity, environmental factors, and allergens play a major role in determining the occurrence and susceptibility of an individual to asthma. What is clear is that individuals with inflamed airways are in danger of attack by asthma if they are exposed to certain triggers. This is because inflamed airways are hypersensitive. Triggers are things, which aggravate asthma.
When they encounter an inflamed airway, they make it swell, produce excessive mucus and tighten up causing strain in breathing. Examples of triggers include allergens, irritants, infection of the upper respiratory tract, strenuous exercise, some drugs, seasonal and weather changes, changes in temperature, and stress. Common allergens include pollen, dust, molds, insects, food additives, among others. Irritants also include smoke, strong odors, and air pollutants. Pets such as dogs and cats can be a source of asthma triggers by means of their fur.
There are two categories of asthma recognized. These are allergic (extrinsic) and idiosyncratic (intrinsic) asthma. “Allergic asthma is as a result of an antigen/antibody reaction on the mast cells in the respiratory tract”, (“Etiology of Asthma”, Para, 1). This reaction triggers the mast cells to produce inflammatory substances, which brings about a clinical reaction associated with an attack of asthma. Brain disorders cause idiosyncratic asthma. In this case, there is a lack of proper coordination of the alpha and beta-adrenergic and cholinergic sites of the autonomic nervous system.
The signs and symptoms of asthma include intermittent dyspnea, coughing especially in the morning and at night, shortness of breath, wheezing, chest pain and pressure, signs of allergy, getting tired easily during exercise, among others (“Asthma Symptoms, Para. 1). Even though these are the major symptoms of asthma, not all people will show them for a long time. Individuals can also show various signs of the disease at various times of attack.
Asthma occurs all over the world but its distribution is uneven. It is prevalent in children than in adults. The geographical area plays a major role in the distribution of the prevalence of asthma and its predisposing factors. People in areas with a high concentration of predisposing factors experience high attacks of asthma. Transmission of asthma is mainly genetic. Individuals mainly receive asthma through genetic heredity. The environment in which an individual resides also plays a major role as far as transmission of asthma is concerned. The environment harbors risk factors, which can cause an individual to be asthmatic.
Areas with a lot of dust and mold, as well as industrial areas, pose a greater danger of asthma attacks. There is scientific evidence that the presence of a history of asthma in parents is a major contribution to the occurrence of asthma in their offspring. Science also asserts that in the segregation and transfer of genes to offspring, the parents with genes causing asthma are also likely to transmit genes responsible for allergy. However, many gene models describe and determine the occurrence and expression of asthma. Therefore, the gene-gene and the gene-environment interaction determine the variation in the distribution of asthma in the world.
Diagnosis of asthma is done using the patient’s medical history and his or her family line history. The family history helps to know whether the patient is likely to have asthma because of heredity. The historical diagnosis is used in conjunction with tests of pulmonary function to give accurate results. Other tests used to diagnose asthma include chest x-ray, diffusion capacity for carbon dioxide, and allergy testing. In the diagnosis, observations should include symptoms of airflow obstruction, the patient’s hyperresponsiveness, and reversibility of airflow obstruction.
Patients receive treatment in order to minimize the effects of the disease on them and prevent chronic symptoms from developing. Treatment includes chemotherapy using orally administered drugs and inhalants, control of triggers, patient monitoring, and educating the patients. Well-administered treatment helps to reduce the devastating effects of the disease. There is no cure for asthma currently. The disease is only controlled in patients using good medication. The disease has a good prognosis.
In conclusion, asthma is a disease, which causes hypersensitivity to patients with inflamed respiratory airways. According to its severity, the disease is categorized into various levels based on the intensity of the attack. The disease is distributed worldwide, though unevenly distributed. Asthma can cause major spending of time and money in treatment. Geographical location, predisposing factors, genetic and environmental factors determine the occurrence and severity of asthma cases.
References
“Asthma Symptoms”. Asthma Symptoms. WebMD. 2010. Web.
“Etiology of Asthma”. Etiology of Asthma. n.d. Web.
Young, J. Lisa. “Use caution when exercising with asthma.” The Mountaineer Online. 2010. Web.