Asthma Healing

Asthma is a chronic, inflammatory respiratory disease characterised by recurrent breathing problems. People with asthma suffer an asthma attack when the airways in the lungs constrict and become inflamed and clogged, which causes breathing difficulty. There may be tightness in the chest; as breathing becomes harder it may hurt and there may be coughing. The air moving in and out of the lungs may make a wheezing or whistling sound.

The Breathology Programme aims to offer asthma sufferers worldwide a real choice in managing their asthma without resorting to a lifetime’s dependency on asthma inhalers. The combination of our personal experience and commitment to the science and study of all the contributory factors that influence asthma and breathing health has enabled us to develop a unique programme of simple breathing techniques and practical lifestyles choices that can easily be integrated into daily life, giving quick and consistent results.

Asthma is the leading cause of chronic illness in children. It affects as many as 10%-12% of children in the U.S. and, for unknown reasons, is steadily increasing. It can begin at any age, but most children have their first symptoms by age 5.

Being proactive and maintaining close communication with your doctor are important keys to controlling your asthma. Instead of just answering your doctor's questions, consider asking some of your own to better understand your condition.

Is this you? You're doing all the right things, taking your medication and following your treatment plan, but you still experience symptoms and even asthma attacks.

You're already familiar with asthma and its symptoms: coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. The type of asthma you have depends on what triggers your symptoms. If they are triggered by your body's reaction to year-round allergens in the air, you may have allergic asthma. This is the most common type, affecting more than 60% of Americans with asthma — 10 million adults and children.

Author:

Herschel Lessin, MD

Children's Medical Group, NY

Medically Reviewed On: October 16, 2004

The faces of childhood asthma are many:

Your child who complains about shortness of breath after running. Your infant with her fourth episode of "bronchitis" this season. The child who always seems to be coughing and whose colds seem to last forever. Your 7-year-old brought to the doctor's office just as it opens, having been up all night gasping for breath. The 2am trip to the emergency room with your child who is having severe breathing troubles and will need to be admitted to the hospital...AGAIN!

Taking an asthma inhaler is often the last thing on the mind of a teenager, even one who is coughing or wheezing regularly. Adolescents are often more concerned with their schoolwork and social life than their medication. But it's important that adolescents maintain their asthma therapy, because untreated asthma can severely affect one's ability to lead an active life. Complicating matters, teens are less apt to notice symptoms, which can include daytime sleepiness and poor athletic performance.

Author:

Qanta Ahmed, MD

King Fahad National Guard Hospital, Saudi Arabia

Emily DiMango, MD

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

She has asthma and she simply wants to work and breathe until she can retire in a few years. Yet, each morning as she departs for her office, she is never sure whether her co-worker's perfume will be strong that day, intense enough to trigger an asthma attack. He wants to travel cross-country to visit his grandparents, yet his anxiety has nothing to do with fear of flying; he has food allergies. He can never be sure whether food served on the plane will trigger a severe allergic reaction.

When you have asthma, any upper respiratory infection -- like a cold or the flu -- can affect your lungs causing inflammation and airway narrowing. It is important to take measures to stay healthy and be aware of any asthma symptoms, even mild, so that you avoid a more serious asthma attack.

Smoke from cigars, cigarettes, and pipes harms your body in many ways, but it is especially harmful to the lungs of a person with asthma. Tobacco smoke is a powerful trigger of asthma symptoms.

It is estimated that more than 75% of patients with asthma also experience frequent heartburn, a condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). People with asthma are twice as likely to have GERD as those people who do not have asthma. Of the people with asthma, those who have a severe, chronic form of asthma that is resistant to treatment are most likely to also have GERD.

Status asthmaticus is a potentially fatal episode of asthma. 

While it’s not common for food allergies to cause asthma symptoms, food allergies can cause a severe life-threatening reaction. The most common foods associated with allergic symptoms are:

Asthma attacks (worsening of asthma symptoms) can be triggered by allergies, which can temporarily increase the inflammation of the airways in a susceptible person.