Asthma Essay

Essay on General Asthma
Asthma is a long–term, otherwise known as a chronic disease, which occurs in the respiratory
system. The disease causes inflammation, spasms, or tightening in the bronchial tubes, which are the
passage way to the lungs, that also carry air directly to the lungs. The inflammation caused by
asthma educes difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing. Asthma cannot be
cured, and the true cause of asthma is unknown. Most of the population that is diagnosed with
asthma finds some way to be able to control the asthmatic symptoms with treatment. Asthma can be
caused by allergies to certain things, the weather (cold or hot); sport educed, or is simply acquired
by genetics. Often, pulmonary specialist helps their patients find a...show more content...
Warm weather can also be a trigger to come people's asthma. Sport educed asthma is often found in
the youth of our nation. Some cases are much more severe than others. Many athletes carry a rescue
inhaler with them, when they are physically active to guard themselves against a possible asthma
attack.
People with allergies are also at a high risk for getting asthma, or enduring a asthma attack. Not all
people with allergies develop asthma though. Allergies are caused by their immune systems actually
attacking their own body. Basically, one's body is confused and thinks that a body cell is actually a
foreign cell, virus, bacteria, in the body that it must attack. So the immune systems response is to
engulf the "invading" cells. The reaction causes an allergic reaction. Some of these allergic reactions
become systemic, which simply means that ones entire body becomes affected by this mix up in the
body. Swelling, itching, and many other symptoms are responses to such a reaction. In some allergic
responses, inflammation of the bronchial can occur, which causes a difficulty in breathing, which is
an asthma attack. Some factors the trigger an allergic reaction which can result in a asthmatic
response are; tobacco smoke, dust mites, cockroaches, and animal dander.
One of the factors that lead to asthma is genetics. If a person inherits asthma they are much more
likely to develop long–term inflammation
Get more content on HelpWriting.net

Asthma Essay
Introduction
Asthma is considered as one of the most common chronic and complex respiratory conditions
which involve both environmental and genetic factors (1,2). It is such a condition of the airways
presents as constriction of the bronchi and bronchioles in response to irritants. The vascular
resistance of the pulmonary system will increase as constriction leads to a smaller vascular
diameter (3,4). The prevalence of the disease is predicted to rise making it one of the major
life–threatening disorders. In the UK, the prevalence of asthma showed an increase two to three fold
from 1955 to 2004 (5). Pharmacological interventions can be used such as bronchodilators.
Salbutamol is an example of such a drug that alleviates airway...show more content...
The plasminogen system works in opposition to clotting factors, which work to create clots of fibrin
such as thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor. Since pleural tissue is covered in elastic tissue
and relies on said tissue for mechanical function, the build up of fibrotic clots can damped the
physiological ability of these tissues (Figure–1). It is the interaction of various immune responses
and tissue remodelling that cause further complications to asthmatic individuals (10).
Figure–1: Fibrin turnover control in pleural disease. Pleural injury is a result of the activation of
two similar pathways which are coagulation and fibrinolysis. The production of tissue factor (TF) is
by mesothelial cells. The upregulation of uPA and PAI
–1 by mesothelial cells which can either lead
to the production of plasmin and fibrinolysis when uPA is in inhibition or excess of the production
of plasmin and prevention of fibrinolysis when PAI–1 is in excess. The uPA–uPAR binding will
resists irreversible interaction by plasminogen activators inhibitors (10)
The urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) is a cell surface protein that promotes
extracellular proteolysis by mediating plasminogen activation (12). It also plays a crucial role in the
serine protease plasmin formation by interacting with urokinase plasminogen activator (13). The
uPAR gene is located on chromosome

Essay On Asthma
Asthma
Pathology a paroxysmal, often allergic disorder of respiration, characterized by bronchospasm,
wheezing, and difficulty in expiration, often accompanied by coughing and feeling of constriction in
the chest. Also called bronchial asthma. Asthma is a chronic condition, and there is no cure for it.
You can consult with your doctor about how to manage it. Knowing as much as you can about the
condition, can help you understand how to live with it. Asthma affects people of all ages, more than
22 million people are known to have asthma, and about 6 million are childrenSigns and symptoms of
asthma is shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing chest tightness. People that have allergies,
eczema, or parents that have asthma are more at risk. In children more boys have asthma than girls,
but in adults more women have it than men. You want to make sure to get a lung function test done
to determine if you have asthma for sure. The symptoms are the same as to other things also, such as
the flu or pneumonia.
The cause of asthma is known. Some researchers think genetic and environmental factors interact to
cause asthma. For example, if asthma or atopy runs in the family, exposer to irritants may make your
airways more...show more content...
Your doctor may diagnose the condition based on your medical and family histories, a physical
exam, and some test results. The doctor will also find out the severity of your asthma, such as
intermittent, mild, moderate or severe. The levels will determine what treatment is best to use. You
might need to see an asthma specialist if you need special test to help with diagnosing you have
asthma, had a life threatening asthma attack, if you want to get allergy treatments, or if you need
more than one medication or higher doses to control your asthma, or if you can't seem to get your
asthma under control. Your doctor may ask you a few questions. Be sure to let them know how
often, when and where your asthma symptoms

Asthma
As far as asthma goes, triggers for asthma are: allergies, family history (because there is a genetic
influence) dust mites, pet dander, dust, cockroaches, pollen, mold, anything like that, pollutions and
factory immetions can trigger some allergies. And often your patient will give you a history of
GERD and exema (especially when they were a kid).
In asthma we have reversible narrowing of the bronchioles. When they narrow they swell, so it
gets hyper responsive, the airway tends to remodel, and they tend to look differently when you
look at them. This is due to all the chemical mediators at are released. And because these mediators
are released it is how we look at the meds. Chromin is for you mask cell. Singular is your...show
more content...
Yellow, they should take a short acting rescue inhaler. If they are in the red zone they need to go
to the ER and call their physician immediately. They need to get help. It is also good to keep a
diary to keep track of what triggers these episodes of asthma attacks.
There is a component of stress involved as well with asthma. So is you get upset you tend to
breathe, faster, you get excited and their vessels constrict.
Some complications that can occur with asthma. The meds are the same: albuterol, atrovent, advair,
they tend to get the same type of meds. Steroids with a severe attack, same thing. And if they are a
bad asthmatic, or bad enough COPD person they get chronic steroids meaning PO. They are
basically always on steroid inhalers either combo or individual.
The most severe thing they can get is status asthmatics. This is a severe, persistent asthma attack
that you can't break. They give them back to back meds, they give them steroids and they are
wheezing, and they are wheezing, and they are wheezing. The pulse ox is dropping, they are getting
more and more SOB, and they are getting more and more fatigued, you can't break the treatments.
You might give epinephrine SQ, but one of the things you need to watch for (as the nurse) is those
breath sounds. If you listen to an asthmatic, and you don't hear good air exchange, you want to hear
wheezes, do don't want to hear a quite chest. If their breath sounds change to quite you want to call

Asthma Essay example
Asthma
/
Grant 1
Asthma in a Fitness/School Setting
For some, the agony of asthma may be an affliction only during childhood; for others, the illness
persists throughout adulthood. The least fortunate are those who fall mortal victims. Asthma can
kill. Medical science can offer only temporary relief at best. The deviousness of the disease defies
almost all attempts at discovering a cure. Asthma can be mild; it can be devastating. Sometimes the
symptoms disappear for many years but surface again with even greater severity.
In an asthmatic attack the diameter of the small bronchi is diminished as a result of spasm of the
muscular coat, active congestion of the mucous membrane and excessive secretion of tough mucus.
In inspiration the...show more content...
Although children with asthma often avoid physical activity for fear that it will trigger an asthma
attack. Studies have shown that regular, moderate exercise can actually be helpful to children with
asthma in addition to controlling weight problems. Lack of exercise can lead to physical
de–conditioning as well as obesity, in turn, can cause asthma to worsen ("Amsterdam
News", 1998).
For some asthma sufferers, a proper diet is more than a wishful goal, it's a necessary step in leading
a normal life. In addition to common triggers, food–triggers asthma affect in 6%–8% of asthmatic
children but less than 2% of asthmatic adults. Often the triggers is sulfites, sulfite additives or a
food allergen such as milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish or shellfish. Dr. Ron Simon of
Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, CA, stated, "sulfites in or added to food
can cause potentially life–threatening reactions for asthmatics ("Medical Information",
1998)." Further research by
Grant 3
Harvard Medical School have found that instead of being a by–product of asthma, extra pounds
could make people more vulnerable to developing the disease ("Tufts Diet," 1998).
Even though physical activity has been found to be beneficial to asthmatics. Exercise–induced
asthma have been prevalent in our society. As

Essay On Asthma
Introduction – Not double–spaced as required
Asthma is one of the most common health problems in the United States that can not only affect
patients' lives, at school or work, but also creates a significant burden on society. Diagnosis and
management of asthma has traditionally been accomplished by clinical, exam, pulmonary function
testing and patients perceived level of symptoms. The key factor in asthma is airway inflammation.
Until recently, airway inflammation was very difficult to evaluate. It usually required invasive
procedures that in some instances would not give us a complete answer. Without a knowledge of
airway inflammation, clinicians can over or underestimate the severity of asthma and in turn may
not provide the most effective...show more content...
Symptoms can vary from one person to the next, Asthma can be classified as be mild with
intermittent symptoms to severe, with persistent symptoms that can affect a patients everyday life1
Exacerbations can occur at any time and severity of the exacerbation can vary from one exacerbation
to the next.The exact cause of asthma is difficult to know and understand and currently there is no
cure. Management of symptoms is the ultimate goal.
Asthma affects approximately 300 million worldwide.2 Asthma can affects people of all ages,
ethnicity and income levels.2 In the United States the number of people diagnosed with asthma
continues to grow. In 2009, Approximately 24.6 million people had been diagnosed up from 20
million in 2001.2,3 It is estimated that the number of people diagnosed with asthma will continue
increase to over 100 million by 2025. 4 There are significant differences in the prevalence of asthma
among different population subgroups. Asthma tends to be more prevalent in female, children,
non–hispanic black, and Puerto Ricans.There is also higher rates of asthma among those whose
income is below poverty level and those living in Northeast and

Asthma
1. Discuss the pathophysiology of asthma.
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.
2. Discuss the educational points that should be included when...show more content...
Breathing techniques such as inhaling through the nose and breathing out from the mouth slowly
can be helpful for a patient to be aware of. Last, the patient should always have the physician's
information if asthma attacks become more frequent or they believe their inhaler to not be helping. 3.
What components of the patient's asthma management plan should be monitored during a home visit?
When visiting an asthmatic patient at home, it is important to monitor their environment. The home
is a place where people spend the majority of their time and therefore can easily contribute to the
exacerbation of asthma. While in the home environment, monitoring for mold, dust, pets, cigarette
smoke or plants is important. The cleanliness of the home along with the sleeping environment can
be good indicators as to the reasoning behind the patient's condition. This is a good moment to teach
the patient and family members ways to manage asthma based on the home environment.
Explanation as to what irritants are is important. Visiting the home would also be a good time to
observe the way in which the patient uses their inhaler along with other medications they may be
using. 4. Explain the stepwise approach and how it is utilized in care of the asthma patient.
The stepwise approach is used to adjust the treatment of asthma. Based on the patient's condition, the
medication can either be increased or decreased. This is known as either

Introduction to Asthma
Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airways, which causes attacks of wheezing, shortness of
breath, chest tightness, and coughing. There is no cure for asthma, but most people can control the
condition and lead normal, active lives. Different things set off asthma attacks in different people.
Smoke from cigarettes or a fire, air pollution, cold air, pollen, animals, house dust, molds, strong
smells such as perfume or bus exhaust, wood dust, exercise, industrial chemicals all can trigger an
attack.
The symptoms of an asthmatic person are cough with or without sputum phlegm production,
Shortness of breath that gets worse with exercise or activity, Pulling in of the skin between the ribs
when breathing intercostals retractions,...show more content...
The prevention of asthma symptoms can be substantially reduced by avoiding known triggers and
substances that irritate the airways. Bedding can be covered with "allergy proof" casings to reduce
exposure to dust mites. Removing carpets from bedrooms and vaccuuming regularly is also helpful.
Detergents and cleaning materials in the home should be unscented.
Keeping humidity levels low and fixing leaks can reduce growth of organisms such as mold. Keep
the house clean and keep food in containers and out of bedrooms this helps reduce the possibility of
cockroaches, which can trigger asthma attacks in some people. If a person is allergic to an animal
that cannot be removed from the home, the animal should be kept out of the patient's bedroom.
Filtering material can be placed over the heating outlets to trap animal dander. Eliminating tobacco
smoke from the home is the single most important thing a family can do to help a child with asthma.
Smoking outside the house is not enough. Family members and visitors who smoke carry smoke
residue in and on their clothes and hair this can trigger asthma symptoms. Persons with asthma
should also avoid air pollution, industrial dusts, and other irritating fumes, as much as possible.
The complications of asthma can be severe. Some include as Death, Decreased ability to exercise
and take part in other activities. Lack of sleep due to nighttime symptoms of dealing with asthma.
They are permanent changes in the function of the lungs

Asthma Essay
Asthma is a condition of the bronchial tubes characterized by episodes of constriction and increased
mucous production. A person with asthma has bronchial tubes that are super sensitive to various
stimuli, or triggers, that can produce asthma symptom.In other words, asthmatics have special
sensitivity that causes their lung tissue to react far more than is should to various stimulating factors
or triggers. For this reason, people with asthma are said to have "twitchy airways."Some
symptoms that people with asthma commonly experience are chest tightenings, difficulty inhaling
and exhaling, wheezing, production of large amounts of mucous in their windpipes and
coughing.Coughing can be frequent or intermittent, and can be...show more content...
To make matters worse, mucous enters the narrowed bronchial tubes and plugs them up, causing a
further decrease in air flow. The bronchial tubes seem to close down, and air moving through these
narrowed breathing passages can cause wheezing which is a high–pithched–whistlelike sound.
Wheezing can be loud enough to be heard across a room, or it can be so slight that is takes a
stethoscope to hear it.
Airflow obstructions leads to air trapping in lungs. Once trapped, stale air builds up in the
lungs.Asthma attacks can be so mild they're hardly noticed or so severe that asthmatics can feel like
they're suffocating. Although more attacks seem to occur at night, they can virtually happen
anytime. Attacks may come on very suddenly, or they may develop slowly over a period of hours or
days.Among other contributing factors, asthmatics have an imbalance in their autonomic nervous
system that controls the reactivity of their windpipes. The imbalance causes their windpipes to
become over reactive to many different stimulating factors, or triggers.
An asthmatic trigger can be any stimulus that brings about or sets off asthma symptoms.Asthma
triggers vary widely among asthmatics. The most common triggers are allergies, irritating substances
such as dust, fumes, odors and vapors. Environmental factors, including weather changes and air

Essay about Asthma
Asthma
Breathing is a vital process for every human. Normal breathing is practically effortless for most
people, but those with asthma face a great challenge. During an asthma attack, breathing is
hampered, making it difficult or even impossible for air to flow through the lungs. Asthma is an
increasingly common problem, and has become the most common chronic childhood disease. At
least 17 million Americans suffer from it(1), and although it can be fatal, it is usually not that
severe(4). There is no cure for asthma, but with proper care, it can usually be controlled.
As someone with Exercise Induced Asthma, I have personal experience with the topic. I have
experienced most of the symptoms described in my research, tried...show more content...
It is also often referred to as the "windpipe." The trachea then branches off like a tree. The first splits
of this "tree" are the bronchi, and the smallest branches are called the bronchioles. Thus after air
travels through the trachea, it then reaches the bronchi, and spreads throughout the bronchioles.
Small air sacks called alveoli are at the tips of the bronchioles. When air reaches them, the oxygen
concentration is high, which causes diffusion into red blood cells travelling through pulmonary
capillaries (7). The red blood cells then distribute the new oxygen to the rest of the body. When they
reach the alveoli again, they exchange carbon dioxide (a form of cell waste) for new oxygen, and
repeat the process. The carbon dioxide is moved through the bronchioles, bronchi, and trachea in the
form of exhalation.
The bronchi and bronchiole tubes are loosely wrapped with muscle. During regular breathing, the
muscles around these airways are relaxed (5). This allows air to flow freely through these
passageways to the alveoli. However, during an asthma attack, air has trouble reaching the alveoli,
which prevents the body from receiving oxygen. This is because the airways become smaller. Firstly,
the muscles around the airways spasm and contract. This then causes inflammation of the
bronchioles and bronchi themselves, which causes a mucus to be produced.

Essay on Asthma
Asthma is a disorder of the respiratory system in which the passages that enable air to pass into and
out of the lungs periodically narrow, causing coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. This
narrowing is typically temporary and reversible, but in severe attacks, asthma may result in death.
Asthma most commonly refers to bronchial asthma, an inflammation of the airways, but the term is
also used to refer to cardiac asthma, which develops when fluid builds up in the lungs as a
complication of heart failure. This article focuses on bronchial asthma.
More than 17 million Americans suffer from asthma, with nearly 5 million cases occurring in
children under age 18. In the United States, asthma causes nearly 5,500 deaths each year. Asthma
...show more content...
Asthma Attacks
Asthma attacks occur when the bronchi and bronchioles become inflamed, reducing the space
through which air can travel through the lungs. This causes the asthmatic to work harder to move air
in and out of the lungs. Asthma attacks usually begin with mild chest pressure and a dry cough. As
an attack intensifies, wheezing develops and increases in pitch; breathing becomes difficult; and
coughing produces thick, stringy mucus. As the airway inflammation prevents some of the
oxygen–rich air from reaching the alveoli, the cells of the body start to burn oxygen at a higher rate,
actually increasing the body's demand for oxygen. The frequency of asthma attacks varies
considerably among asthma suffers. Some people have daily attacks, while others can go months or
even years without having an attack.
Inflammation of the airway occurs when an irritant–such as pet hair or cigarette smoke–comes into
contact with the airway walls. Upon detecting the irritant as a harmful invader, the body's immune
system sends special cells known as mast cells to the site of irritation, in this case the airway walls.
The mast cells release histamine, a chemical that causes swelling and redness in a process called the
inflammatory response. Histamine also causes bronchospasms, in which the muscles lining the
airway walls contract repeatedly, causing the airways to narrow even more. In addition, cells that
lubricate the airways with mucus–called

Sample Asthma Case Study
Tammy is a 17–year–old girl who was just diagnosed with asthma. She is a cheerleader for her high
school and is very busy with social events throughout the year. Next year Tammy will attend View
University on a cheerleading scholarship. She is very excited, but is a little nervous about living
away from home. Lately she has been having trouble controlling her asthma.
When Tammy goes into her Physician they would do a physical and check her throat and her
nose to make sure they are clear. He will want to make sure she doesn't have any respiratory
infections first. For further testing he can check with a stethoscope for any wheezing. He will also
check for any skin breakouts like eczema or hives. He will ask what the symptoms are and when
...show more content...
It costs a considerable amount for the copays every month for the inhalers and you need to
always have the Anticholinergics like Flovent for daily use. Also patients have said that they
don't think that their symptoms are bad enough to keep up with the treatment and maintenance of
the disease. It is definitely hard for me as a Mom of a toddler to have to give her, her treatments
every morning and evening. I have noticed a difference though if I miss a dose or two though. I
would never want my daughter to suffer. If you have state insurance it will cover it with no copay.
So that will help. Also another barrier is that patients are afraid at the length of time being on the
medication and if your body will get used to the medication and cause resistance. They are worried
that they will eventually need more medication to take care of the symptoms. Sometimes with teens
they may forget to treat their asthma or maybe embarrassed of having to take the inhaler with them.
They may want to forget they have asthma so they don't have to worry about the daily dose of it or
job of maintaining their health. Sometimes a distrust of a doctor or parent may also stop them from
keeping up with their treatment (Barriers to Asthma Self–Management in Adolescents: Relationships
to Psychosocial Factors," n.d.).
I am sure that Tammy has had some of these thoughts. Although as she starts her new school year the
best thing

Asthma Essay

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Asthma Essay

Similar to Asthma Essay (19)

More from Best Paper Writing Service Reviews

More from Best Paper Writing Service Reviews (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Asthma Essay