What is asthma in children?
The word asthma originates from an ancient Greek word meaning panting. Essentially, asthma is an inability to breathe properly. When a person inhales, the air passes through the lungs via the airway progressively smaller bronchioles calls. The lungs contain bronquiosolos million, all lead to the alveoli - microscopic sacs where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged.
Asthma is a chronic condition in which these airways undergo changes when stimulated by allergens or other environmental triggers in patients causing coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath (dyspnea).
Asthma seems to have two main steps.
1. First, the airways of people with asthma have an exaggerated or hyperreactive response to inhaled allergens or other irritants that cause them stirring. Smooth muscles in the airways constrict, reducing excessively. It should be noted that the airways in the lungs of everyone respond by narrowing when exposed to allergens or irritants, however, people without asthma can breathe deeply relaxing the airways and lungs releasing irritating. When asthmatics try to take those same deep breaths, the airways do not relax and the patients pant for breath. Smooth muscles in the airways of people with asthma may have a defect, perhaps the lack of a critical chemical that prevents the muscles to relax.
2. This first stage is followed by a second inflammatory response in which the immune systems respond to allergens or other environmental triggers downloading factors WBCs and other immune factors to the airways, which cause airway swell, fill with fluid and produce a thick sticky mucus. This combination of events leads to coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, inability to breathe properly and a cough that produces phlegm. Pulmonary Inflammation appears to be present in all patients with asthma, even in mild cases, and plays a key role in all forms of the disease.
