What is asthma?
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease, characterized by increased airway reactivity smaller gauge called bronchi. This means that to different stimuli such as cold, exercise, or certain allergy-producing substances, bronchial tubes become inflamed and decrease its diameter reversibly closing. This is the main difference between asthma and chronic bronchitis, in which diminish bronchial gauge irreversibly. Asthma is a very common disease in children.
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| Via: Asthma.co.uk - What is Asthma |
Its most common symptoms are shortness of breath or dyspnea, coughing, tightness in the chest and "self-listening" of wheezing called wheezing.
When symptoms occur worsen an asthma attack, which can last several days depending on the severity of the disease. Between exacerbations or crises there is often asymptomatic periods in which patients are well or with mild symptoms.
Who is affected by asthma
It is estimated that asthma affects about 5% of the world's population, some 300 million people. In the case of children is even more common, with a prevalence greater than 10%.
Although it can occur at any age, it most often begins in childhood stage that is usually related to an allergic component. Other factors that influence the development of childhood asthma include history of asthma and parental smoking, especially in the mother.
In adults it is more frequently associated with sinusitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the cavities in the bones around the nose called sinuses), nasal polyps, and sensitivity to anti-inflammatory aspirin or aspirin-related. It is also common connection with certain occupational exposures (in the workplace) as wood dust, plastic resins or organic dusts.
