Asthma Healing

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.

For lots of people, sinusitis and asthma go together. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, as many as half of all people with moderate to severe asthma also have chronic sinusitis.

No one really knows the causes of asthma. What we do know is that asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. The causes of asthma symptoms can vary for different people. Still, one thing is consistent with asthma: when airways come into contact with an asthma trigger, the airways become inflamed, narrow, and fill with mucus.

Recognizing the signs and symptoms of asthma is an important part of managing asthma . Knowing when early warning signs or mild symptoms are occurring is helpful so that treatment and other interventions can begin early. Early treatment is most effective. If severe symptoms are present, it is vital to begin the appropriate treatment immediately. Accurate and timely assessment of your symptoms or your child's symptoms can help you and your clinician decide if treatment should begin in the home, at your clinician's office or in the emergency room.

Respiratory infections, such as head or chest colds, are common ailments, and viruses are often the cause. Symptoms include a runny nose, a sore throat, and maybe a cough.

Summer vacation. It conjures up visions of relaxation, sports, sunny days, perhaps sand and water or woodlands. For individuals and families with asthma and allergies though, it means extra thought and preparation before "the good times roll."

Most people know about the dangers of cigarette smoking, thanks in large part to increased efforts to educate the public. Smoking is estimated to be the single largest cause of preventable deaths in the United States. What many people are less aware of though, is that tobacco can pose risks to your health even if you are not the one doing the smoking.

The term "sick building syndrome" (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified. The complaints may be localized in a particular room or zone, or may be widespread throughout the building. In contrast, the term "building related illness" (BRI) is used when symptoms of diagnosable illness are identified and can be attributed directly to airborne building contaminants. A 1984 World Health Organization Committee report suggested that up to 30 percent of new and remodeled buildings worldwide may be the subject of excessive complaints related to indoor air quality (IAQ). Often this condition is temporary, but some buildings have long-term problems. Frequently, problems result when a building is operated or maintained in a manner that is inconsistent with its original design or prescribed operating procedures. Sometimes indoor air problems are a result of poor building design or occupant activities.

Almost everyone knows what it feels like to have a runny, stuffed-up nose at times. Often these symptoms are accompanied by a headache in the area around the eyes, nose and temples. People with allergies are especially prone to these symptoms. They are signs of rhinitis and sinusitis, two very common medical problems. It is estimated that up to 40 million American adults and children have one or both of these conditions.