Asthma

1. Asthma By Jason Chow

2. Agenda • What is Asthma? • Risk Factors • Who’s at Risk? • Types of Asthma • Causes of Asthma Attacks • Prevention • Health Management • Help • Bibliography and Links

3. What is Asthma? • A common condition which involves a difficulty in breathing • Asthma effects a part of the human population and even some animals • Wheezing, coughing, and a tight feeling in the chest are signs of asthma • Cannot be cured only controlled by drugs • Many people, untreated, die from this disease.

4. Risk Factors • Attacks range from mild to life threatening. If untreated it may lead to death - Asthma attacks can be triggered anywhere and anytime - Difficulty of breathing and spasmodic coughing

5. Who's at Risk? • Bronchial Asthma is found in 3-5% of adults and 7-10% of children. • People at the age of 20 living in the urban areas tend to have asthma • Anyone could have this disease including those with family history of eczema and asthma - Children are usually born with this disease but later outgrow it

6. Types of Asthma • Nocturnal Asthma occurs usually in the middle of the night between 2AM-4AM - Allergic reactions can cause asthma attacks. • There are 5 types of asthma : Allergic, Non-Allergic, Seasonal, Exercise-induced, and Nocturnal Asthma - Non-Allergic asthma attacks are caused by pollution in the air. - Exercise-induced attacks are triggered when patients with asthma exercise too hard. • Seasonal Asthma is triggered by the trees, flowers or grasses in the different seasons

7. Causes of Asthma Attacks - Emotional stress can cause an attack - Overdoing regular exercises may lead to shortness of breath - Two chemicals are released when an attack is triggered : Histamine and Acetyl Choline. - Histamine is the most frequently released because it is triggered by an allergic reaction - These chemical causes the bronchial muscles to contract

8. Prevention - By avoiding known allergies patients can greatly increase the prevention of attacks - Exposure to smoke, pollution, etc. should also be avoided - Inhaling drugs like aminophylline or theophylline should prevent some painful attacks for awhile

9. Health Management - Do not drink beer or wine or eat food like shrimp, dried fruits, and other foods that cause asthma symptoms - Warm up before exercising and cool down after. Cooling down allows your lungs to adjust to the temperature differences - Never overdo daily exercises because it may prove too great of a challenge and an attack may occur - Exercise daily with an activity that you best like. This prevents you from boredom and quitting. - Drink adequate liquids and eat well-balanced meals. Junk food only worsens the condition

10. Help - Asking a doctor about this condition is a great way to learn how to manage this disease - Contact a healthcare professional to start an exercise plan best for you - Getting to people to understand a patient’s condition may help - Don’t be afraid to ask questions about this condition to a doctor - Make sure a loved one has an Asthma Action Plan. Familiarize with it so you know exactly what to do

11. Bibliography and Links Anne Hildyardl. The Marshall Cavendish Encyclopedia of Health. 99 White Plains Road: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2003 Pam Walker. The Respiratory System. Farmington Hills, ML : Thomson Learning, 2003 http://wicca.hit.bg/Live/asthmaY.htm http://google.ca http://asthma.com