When you first get a diagnosis of asthma for yourself or your child, you may be wondering just what is asthma exactly? Or maybe you haven't been diagnosed yet and you're wondering if the symptoms you're having might be asthma.
You won't get a diagnosis here... the information on this site is just that, general information. We can't speak to your condition personally. But if you think the descriptions you find here might fit you, then it's a good idea to talk with your doctor or your child's doctor as soon as you can.
Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your breathing. What happens is that your airways become inflamed and irritated in reaction to some kind of substance or situation. Your airways are the tubes that carry air and oxygen into and out of your body.
Your Respiratory System
Your lungs are made up of small tubes called bronchial tubes. As these tubes travel away from your nose and throat, they branch out like a tree. They become smaller and smaller until they form tiny sacs at the end that are called alveoli. Bands of muscle cover the bronchial tubes all the way down through the alveoli.
What Happens With Asthma
When you have asthma, your airways tend to be red and swollen and are easily irritated in response to triggers, such as pollen and cigarette smoke. Then, the airways' inside walls become even more swollen and the muscles tight. That means that the passages get narrower, and less air flows through to your lung tissue. A sticky substance called mucus is also produced in larger than normal amounts, which clogs your airways even more, making it hard to breathe.
Common asthma symptoms are the wheezing sound made as the air squeezes through the narrowed airways, along with coughing, shortness of breath and a feeling of tightness in the chest. Symptoms can come and go with asthma, and their intensity can vary.
Types of Asthma
Asthma is often connected with allergies, but it can also be related to non-allergic causes, such as chemicals and other irritating substances. Exercise can also bring on asthma symptoms in some people.
Asthma Risk Factors
Asthma is a very common disease and is becoming more common all the time. In the US alone, about 20 million people—9 million of them children—have asthma. Asthma is found in 3-5% of adults and 7-10% of children.
One of the biggest risk factors for asthma is having a family history of asthma, especially the allergic kind. Asthma can affect people at any age, but half of the people with asthma develop it during childhood, usually before age 10.
Asthma affects people of all races and ethnic backgrounds. However, African-Americans are more likely to have severe asthma attacks and to die from asthma.
