Asthma during childhood occurs more commonly in boys than girls. In adulthood, asthma is more commonly seen in women than men and is caused by exposure to allergens. Some symptoms felt during an asthma attack include wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing, especially at night. Not everyone with asthma are affected by symptoms in the same manner. Some may experience mild or severe symptoms at different times. Some people may go long periods of time without experiencing any symptoms, interrupted by periodic worsening of symptoms called asthma attacks. For example, some people may experience asthma only during exercise, or with viral infections, such as colds or the flu. The more common attacks that occur are mild. Normally,
Growing up with asthma since a very young age, I cannot participate in sports and have to take asthma medications every day. I get used to ensure my inhalers are in my bag before going anywhere and seasonal allergies following up with runny nose or nasal congestion. However I still feel lucky because many people who have more severe asthma were struggling with their schooling. For me, as I grow older, I learn to manage my medical situation. I try my best to avoid dusty places, cigarette smokers, and car exhausts. Although I was not able to do sports in school, I manage to run every week with my sister to conquer asthma. I found that the more time that I spent to warm up before running, the better I can keep my asthma from acting up. Even though
A mother put her her toddlers to sleep in the same room together, later that night she tragically found both of them doing the same thing.
Asthma is the leading cause of hospital admissions during childhood. Kumar and Robbins give an accurate definition of asthma as “a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways that causes recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and cough, particularly at night and/or early in the morning” (489). Asthma is a terrifying disease, especially in children, because of the sudden attacks that could claim lives if not treated immediately and effectively. Despite recent advancements in available drugs and overall therapy, the incidence of childhood asthma is rising (Dolovich 373). In order to effectively treat and eventually prevent the onset of asthma, more effective and economical therapies are necessary; although
Asthma is a lung disease characterized by variable and reversible airway obstruction, airway inflammation, and bronchial hyper-responsiveness. Causes recurring periods of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing; coughing normally occurs at night or early morning. Asthma affects people of all ages and mostly starts in childhood. In the United States, more than twenty-five million people are diagnosed with asthma and about seven million of these people are children.
Asthma is a serious, chronic and widespread disease that affects more than 300 million people around the world. There is no cure for asthma, and it can affect anyone, male or female, children or adult. It can be life threatening, but if managed properly one can live a normal, healthy life. The exact cause of asthma is not known. It is thought that both genetic and environmental factors interact to cause this disease. If atopy or asthma is prevalent within your family, your airways may react more frequently to airborne irritants.
Asthma is the most common worldwide chronic condition that affects both young and old. It is a condition in which the air way passages are narrowed leading to symptoms of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cough (Bijanzadeh, Mahesh, Nallur 1). Asthma is caused by increased infiltration of inflammatory cells into the airway, constriction, airway smooth-muscle hypertrophy, and mucous hypersecretion in the bronchiolar walls of the lung (Bijanzadeh, Mahesh, Nallur 1). Most asthma attacks are short, a few minutes to a few hours, and the person recovers completely this is called episodic asthma disease. However, those who have acute severe asthma is much more serious because the asthma attacks lasts for days or weeks, and
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asthma is a disease that affects your lungs. It is a chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. The inflammation makes the airways swollen and very sensitive. The airways tend to react strongly to certain inhaled substances. When the airways react, the muscles around them tighten. This narrows the airways, causing less air to flow into the lungs. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing often occurs at night or early in the morning. Asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts during childhood. In the United States, more than 25 million people are known to have asthma. About 7 million of these people are children. It is the most common long-term diseases of children. If a person has asthma, they’ll have it all the time; however, they will usually have asthma attacks only when something bothers their lungs, According to Center Disease Control and Prevention.
As a county public health official you have a goal to Improve the county’s profile on RWJF’s County Health Rankings. To achieve this you are trying to outline a plan to address the high rates of childhood asthma in the community. Here is a case that illustrates the problems faced. Raeshawn is an 11-year-old African-American boy who experiences difficulty breathing during gym class at school. He’s had prior hospitalizations due to his asthma. He lives in a housing development with ongoing problems with roaches and rodents. He walks to school, which is near a major highway. His mother, a single mom, is a smoker and is working two jobs to support Raeshawn and his sisters. The family has no insurance, but is assisted by Medicaid. They have
Amy Parsons is a 16-year-old who states that she has periods when she experiences severe coughing described as dry, hacking, and non-productive. Amy reports shortness of breath and cough after swimming during summers and cough along with occasional wheezing during fall and winter months when she swims competitively. She has no known allergies, no history of surgeries or hospitalizations, and no chronic illnesses. Amy’s physical exam is unremarkable but she reports four to five colds per year. The test results for Amy’s the peak expiratory flow rates (PEF) are as follow: 290/310/320 with her predicted at 453. The following paragraphs will identify and explain the pathophysiology involved in Amy’s case.
The hospital setting is a confusing and stressful environment for everyone, but especially to children who are admitted because of a chronic illness. When the words “pediatric chronic illness” is said, most people just think of the different types of cancers that children endure. Such as leukemia, which is a widely known type of pediatric cancer. But it is important to keep in mind the many other types of chronic illnesses that children may be experiencing. Haymon, Mahon, Turner, a group of professional medical experts who all carry a PhD under their belt and other certifications, gathered together and wrote a book focusing on five chronic illnesses examined in children, which are: pediatric asthma, Type 1 diabetes, juvenile idiopathic arthritis,
sthma is inflammation of the bronchial tubes with increased production of sticky secretions inside the tubes. People who have asthma experience some of the common symptoms which are coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, pain or pressure in the chest. Some people with asthma may experience asthma attacks frequently and others can go for extended periods without symptoms. When a MA is taking vitals your asthma could reflect on your vitals. They could hear the wheezing.
Caleb is a 10-year-old male here today with his mother with complaints of a cold and a sore throat.
Although many Organization such as national and international guidelines from the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) highlighted the importance of evaluating asthma severity in children before the beginning of therapy. Severe asthma is known when lungs are not function normally and develop tenacious symptoms despite appropriate therapy. Asthma in children is a chronic, continuous disorder and categorized by airway inflammation. It also has different phases. While some children with asthma have symptoms that are improved with short-acting bronchodilators, many other children have continuous symptoms requiring daily treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). Children with
Access to care is essential in managing asthma. The patient and their caregiver should receive education regarding the basic facts about asthma. A patient whose asthma is well managed will be able to define what asthma is, and what it means to have well-controlled asthma. He or she should be knowledgeable about their medications and to be able to take them correctly. The patient should be able to monitor their symptoms and know how to treat them. Patient should also be aware of what environmental exposures trigger their asthma. These patient will also follow their established asthma plan and see their provider regularly.
The pathophysiology of Asthma includes inflammation of the airway. The way in which this works is from an irritant which can include dust, pollen, cedar, or cat hair. When a reaction occurs, the airways become inflamed and narrow. The narrowing occurs because once the inflammatory response is triggered by an irritant, histamines, immunoglobulin E antibodies, and leukotrienes are released. Because of this, mucous production occurs. Since the bronchioles are inflamed and narrow, breathing becomes difficult. Wheezing sounds can be heard due to the lack of air being able to easily move in and out of the narrowed bronchioles.