Asthma is a noncommunicable disease, meaning it doesn’t spread from person to person. We don’t know exactly what causes asthma, but we do know it’s a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Some of these factors you’d probably guess. For example, if a child is around tobacco smoke, he’s more likely to develop asthma. Other factors are more surprising.
Mankind didn’t always have nebulizers and inhalers. Once upon a time, the treatments for “asthma” were much cruder, crueler, and less effective. I put “asthma” in quotation marks because back in the 1800s “asthma” referred to “any disease or illness that caused shortness of breath, such as heart failure, bronchitis,” and many others.
Cystic fibrosis is a chronic, potentially deadly disease that affects one’s respiratory and digestive systems. “It’s like having bronchitis every day of your life,” said Angela Spera, whose 10 year old son lives with the condition.
Across the country, hospitals are experiencing a surge in emergency room visits from children dealing with respiratory illness. The culprit is enterovirus 68. It mostly affects children, not adults, and can be especially harmful to those with asthma. The virus worsens asthma symptoms and even causes asthma-like symptoms in children who don’t have the condition.
A sad scary story has emerged this week about Jorge Azucena, a man who died of an asthma attack in police custody, despite the fact that he repeatedly pleaded for help from the arresting officers, informing them that he had asthma and couldn’t breathe.
You’re probably well aware that things like pollen, dust mites, and pet dander can trigger asthma attacks. But there are several more asthma triggers out there you may never have thought of.
Ragweed, one of the most common summer/fall allergy triggers, usually arrives in mid to late August, bringing with it much sneezing and congestion. For those with asthma, it may make symptoms worse or even trigger asthma attacks. Fortunately, there are some things you can do and some things you should avoid doing to help keep your allergic reaction under control.
Thunderstorm asthma is a thankfully rare, but still dangerous phenomenon in which people’s asthma and allergy symptoms get worse immediately following a thunderstorm. Why? Scientists don’t know. But they have a guess.
Steroid-containing asthma medications are one of the most effective treatments for both children and adults living with asthma. They’ve been shown to improve quality of life, minimize hospital visits, and most importantly reduce the number of asthma deaths. But according to two systemic reviews, they may come with a negative side effect-- suppressing growth in children.
For a while we’ve known that asthma correlates with obesity. However, it hasn’t been clear whether or not one condition causes the other. Now, a new joint study by the University of Queensland, Australia and the University of Bristol, UK claims that obesity can cause asthma.
