| Not everyone with chronic obstructive pulmonary | | | | problem, medical experts suggest stopping all |
| disease suffers from this form asthma, but many | | | | smoking and banning cigarette smoke from the |
| individuals who experience emphysema or chronic | | | | house. Patients should also stop the use of volatile |
| bronchitis have asthma-like symptoms. Medical | | | | chemicals, which may exacerbate one's symptoms. |
| experts continue to debate whether chronic asthma | | | | Ending contact with pets can also alleviate the |
| should be classified as chronic obstructive pulmonary | | | | problem. |
| disease, since asthma can be reversed. | | | | The aims of any treatment program should include: |
| Chronic asthma is an inflammatory disease of the | | | | avoiding the trigger factors for asthmatic attacks, |
| airways; the term asthma is derived from an ancient | | | | eliminating symptoms, restoring normal lung function, |
| Greek word which means panting. With this type of | | | | reducing the incidence of severe attacks, and |
| panting, the inflammation leads to the narrowing of | | | | minimizing the side-effects of drugs. |
| the airways, which can cause wheezing, | | | | Drug therapy can fall into three categories. Acute |
| breathlessness, and gasping for air. | | | | asthma can be attacked with preventors or |
| Studies indicate that this severe form of difficulty | | | | anti-inflammatories; relievers, which provide acute |
| with breatjing involves two stages: the | | | | relief of symptoms; and controllers, which provide a |
| hyper-reactive response and the inflammatory | | | | sustained bronchodilator action with a mild |
| response. The hyper-reactive response refers to the | | | | anti-inflammatory action. |
| constriction of the airways in response to inhaled | | | | It should be noted that there are some |
| irritants, while the inflammatory stage involves the | | | | misconceptions about the treatment . For instance, |
| production of white blood cells in the airways. | | | | antihistamines do not appear to be an effective |
| During a chronic asthma attack, the muscle tissue in | | | | treatment strategy as some have thought. |
| the walls of the bronchi experiences spasms, causing | | | | Immunosuppressives such as methotrexate are |
| labored breathing. This can lead to coughing, | | | | rarely beneficial and acupuncture has a negligible |
| shortness of breath and wheezing occur almost | | | | effect. |
| everyday. In order to combat this ailment, several | | | | The basic goals of educating those with this form of |
| medications may be needed. | | | | asthmatic attacks include an ability to understand the |
| Some medical experts speculate that the persistent | | | | nature of the breathing difficulties, an understanding |
| symptoms of this severe type of breathing attack | | | | of different types of asthma medication, an |
| indicates a food allergy. As a result, some doctors | | | | understanding of prevention strategies, knowing the |
| encourage those suffering from breathing difficulties | | | | correct use of inhalers, and recognizing signs of |
| to revise their diets in order to reduce the incidence | | | | worsening symptoms. |
| of flare-ups. | | | | Interestingly enough, chronic asthma is often |
| There are some other simple strategies one can | | | | misdiagnosed in the elderly. Also, older people are |
| follow in order to alleviate symptoms of asthmatic | | | | more susceptible to the side-effects of drugs used |
| attacks. These include removing the cause of chronic | | | | to treat this scary affliction. As a result, senior |
| asthma, treating the symptoms, or altering the host | | | | citizens need special prevention strategies for acute |
| to be more tolerant of the causes. | | | | asthma. |
| If you've been diagnosed with this form of asthmatic | | | | |