Volume 1, Issue 1

2-19-13

BOE

Just what is asthma?

Asthma

Special points of in-

terest:

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Treatment

Statistics

Asthma is a disease that affects the lungs. It is

prevalent in children, but can also occur in

adults (CDC.gov). The exact cause of asthma

is unknown, but it has several triggers. Some

of these triggers include animal hair, dust,

mold, certain chemicals, pollen, cold weather,

strong emotions, and smoke (http://

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov_).

family. They can also perform a breath-

ing test, called spirometry, to test if your

lungs are working properly

(www.CDC.gov/asthma).

Diagnosing asthma can be difficult, but

doctors ask several questions to do so.

They may ask if you have constant cough-

ing, long lasting colds, difficulty breath-

ing after exercise, or other questions

relating to the various symptoms of

asthma. They may also check your family

history checking for allergies in your

P a g e 2

More severe episodes of asthma may have

symptoms of:

Sweating

Bluish colored face

Extreme difficulty breathing

Rapid heart pulse

Chest pain or tightness (http://

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov_)

Asthma has numerous symp-

toms, including:

Coughing

Wheezing

Shortness of breath

A s t h m a

Asthma diagnosis

The symptoms of asthma

What is Asthma?

are suffering from an asthma attack

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

The main treatment of asthma is done in

two ways– fast acting and long term

medication. Fast acting medicines will

help with immediate symptoms of an

asthma attack. Long term medications

are use to prevent asthma symptoms, but

will not help stop an immediate attack.

Both of these come in different forms,

like inhalants and pills (www.CDC.gov/

asthma). At home, you should also know

what triggers your asthma so you can

prevent asthma attacks. You should also

have a plan of what causes your asthma

and what to do and who to contact if you

If a person would like more information

about asthma, they contact their physisi-

cian, or to CDC.gov to learn more about

asthma in the asthma section.

P a g e 3

How is asthma treated?

Where can you go for information about asthma

Statistics from research:

One study on the chemicals found in various

household products contain chemicals that

may be harmful to people with asthma

(http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost).

Another study conducted on children with

asthma that lived in Louisiana after hurri-

cane Katrina, who were exposed to mold due

to the storm damage. They were given

asthma treatment for a year, and there symp-

toms improved over that year (http://

web.ebscohost.com/ehost).

Studies over the past 12 years show that

asthma is more prevalent in children

than adults, males than females, muli-

racial individuals, and people below the

poverty level. These studies also show

that the prevalence of asthma has in-

creased over the past few years (http://

www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs).

V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

Asthma statistics

Thanks

for Reading!

Written by:

Noah Cross

Rudel, R. A. (2012). Endocrine Dis-

ruptors and Asthma-Associated

Chemicals in Consumer Prod-

ucts. Environmental Health Perspec-

tives, 120(7), 935-943. doi:10.1289/

ehp.1104052

Mitchell, H., Cohn, R. D., Wildfire, J.,

Thornton, E., Kennedy, S., El-Dahr, J.

M., & ... Martin II, W. J. (2012). Im-

plementation of Evidence-based

Asthma Interventions in Post-Katrina

New Orleans: The Head-off Environ-

mental Asthma in Louisiana (HEAL)

Study. Environmental Health Perspec-

tives, 120(11), 1607-1612. doi:10.1289/

ehp.1104242

(n.d.). Retrieved from

King, P. (2009, April 24). Centers for

disease control and prevention. Retrieved

from http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/

David Zieve, M. (2012). Pubmed

health. In U.S National Library of

Medicine. Retrieved from http://

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/

PMH0001196/

Akinbami, L., & Moorman, J. (2012,

May). Trends in asthma prevalence, health

care use, and mortality in the united states,

2001–2010. Retrieved from http://

www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/

db94.htm

Dodson, R. E., Nishioka, M., Standley,

L. J., Perovich, L. J., Brody, J., &

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/

_70HgxsVpUTo/SBEeBIwSPeI/

AAAAAAAAAH4/Ss-1ZuEB6To/

s400/asthma2.jpg

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/

databriefs/db94_fig2.png

http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/images/

boy_and_inhaler.jpg

http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-

content/uploads/2010/04/asthma.jpg

Works cited