One of the best ways to cope with asthma and it’s many symptoms is to educate yourself about the disorder. People who have asthma often have difficulty breathing due to airway restriction and inflammation. When an asthmatic’s lungs are exposed to an external agent known as an irritant, the bronchioles, or tiny air passageways in the lungs, contract. This contraction narrows the air passageway and makes it difficult for the person to breathe, causing the wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath typically associated with asthma. For additional asthma-related symptoms, look into the Wikipedia article entitled “Asthma” on Wikipedia.com. Common irritants include smoke, cold, exertion, pollution, allergens, scents, chemical fumes, viruses, bacteria, and specific medicines. The Wikipedia article contains more information on how asthma attacks occur and the different types of asthma. Those who contract asthma are predisposed to have the disease.
For a look at the many ideas that experts have about what causes asthma, check out the Wikipedia article for more information. Some factors that are typically associated with contracting asthma include having a family member with asthma, smoking mothers, low birth weight, high exposure to traffic fumes, specific respiratory infections during childhood, and little exposure to infections during early childhood. About half of children diagnosed with asthma “grow out of it” and display no symptoms later on in life. Although there is no cure for asthma, many treatment options are available to help control and minimize symptoms; see the Wikipedia article for more information on medications and other items that can help decrease the impact of asthma symptoms in day-to-day life.
