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About Asthma
According to experts of National Health Institutions of the United States, bronchial asthma is defined as a chronic inflammatory upheaval of the respiratory system in which many cell particles types and cellular elements participate. In susceptible individuals this inflammation causes recurrent episodes including:
o Trouble breathing
o Wheezing
o Coughing
o Chest pain
o Chest tightness
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Asthma can begin at any age. The age of onset occurs most frequently during the first 10 years of life. It’s more common in boys than girls by a ratio of 3:2.
These ailment’s aren’t infections or contagious. You don’t catch asthma or an allergy. However, is sensitizing your immune system, later in this chapter, an individual may inherit a genetic predisposition to develop hypersensitivities that can trigger asthma and/or allergies. Asthma is not like a trend or shoe size, you don’t really outgrow them.
Extensive studies over the past 15 years show that although the ailment can certainly vary in character and severity over a lifetime, asthma and allergies are ongoing physical conditions that are most likely always present in some form. (1)
Patients with asthma are usually predisposed to having breathing problems when exposed to foreign substances. The most common symptom is wheezing, which is a high pitched, whistling type of breathing, although wheezing doesn’t always happen. It tends to be more pronounced on expiration (when breathing air out) rather than inspiration (breathing air in).
Chest tightness, shortness of breath and persistent cough accompanies the wheezing. The cough is worse at night and may produce a thick yellow discharge.(2)
Types of asthma
Astma can range from a mild cough to recurrent life episodes or shortness of breath, so far, none of this classification systems has caught on. However some of the common subtypes are as follows:
o Extrinsic or atopic asthma, versus intrinsic...