Asthma *cough*

Asthma, a disease of the human respiratory system, which narrows
the airways, commonly in response to a “trigger” such as an
exposure to an allergen, exercise, cold air, or emotional
stress This narrowing can cause symptoms like shortness of
breath, wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing Between
asthmatic episodes, most people with the condition feel fine
This disease is a chronic inflammatory condition wherin the
airways develop an increased responsiveness to certain stimuli,
shown by bronchial hyper-responsiveness, increased mucus
production, inflammation, and intermittent airway obstruction
asthma
can be anywhere from mild to life threatening, but can generally
be controlled with a combination of drugs, inhalers and changes
in lifestyle People have focused on asthma recently because of
its rapidly increasing number of patients, affecting up to one
in four urban children Genetic factors can contribute to cases
of asthma, but there is no clear pattern of inheritance found
It is a very complex disease which is influenced by many various
developmental, genetic, and environmental factors, which work
togetherto create the widespread condition
Breast-fed babies have proved to be less susceptible to asthma
Current research indicates that the prevalence of asthma in
children has been increasing According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview
Surveys, around 92% of US children under 18 years old had
asthma in 2001, in comparison with just 4% in 1980 The World
Health Organization (WHO) reports that 8% of the population of
Switzerland suffer from asthma today, compared to 19% in 1983
Asthma is more common in countries outside North America, but is
by no means a problem restricted to location “WHO” estimates
that there are between 153 and 201 million asthmatics in
India In the US, urban residents, African Americans and
Hispanics are affected moreso than the population as a whole
Around the globe, asthma is the cause of approximately 175,000
deaths per year Asthma and AthleticsAsthma appear to be more
common in athletes than in the general population One
particular survey of participants in the 1996 Summer Olympic
Games revealed that 16% had asthma, and 10% were on medication
for asthma There seems to be a high number of asthmatics in
sports like mountain biking, cycling, and long-distance running,
and a somewhat low percentage in weightlifting It is not clear
how much of these cases are results of the effects of training
in the sport

Tags | centers, control, emotional, environmental, factors, inflammatory, obstruction, organization, prevalence, production, residents, shortness, tightness, urban