I had a minor knowledge about asthma before I started researching this topic for the presentation. Although I have seen several classmates, friends and children that have this condition but I had no idea that it was a serious chronic disease. Through this assignment, I learned that asthma is a chronic illness and people who have asthma have to cope throughout their lives, since there is no absolute cure. There have been many studies conducted to understand and treat asthma. Based on the research, asthma is one of the most common chronic and incurable conditions in childhood and its prevalence is increasing worldwide including Canada. It was interesting that young children were less likely to be diagnosed with asthma compared to older children. …show more content…
As symptoms of wheezing, coughing and chest tightness can significantly interfere with the ability to undertake normal daily activities (Gelfand, 2008). For instance, children may fear to participate in physical activities, which might trigger their asthma. However, daily physical activity is essential to children’s growth and development and asthma should not be used as an excused to avoid participating in physical activity (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013). Unless students are experiencing asthma symptoms and/or have a cold that is making their asthma worse, they should be able to participate in physical activity (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013). Through the research I learned that it is crucial for the educators to encourage and support students with asthma to fully participate in school learning experiences in order to maximize their benefit of growth and …show more content…
Asthma may be caused by both genetic and environments factors. Interestingly, one of the risk factors for asthma could be country of residence. A study shows that Mexican American children who lived in the United States in the first year of life were more likely to have diagnosed asthma than children who lived in Mexico (Eldeirawi & Persky, 2007). According to Eldeirawi & Persky, “These findings confirm the importance of early childhood exposures and environmental factors that are modified with migration and acculturation in asthma development” (2007, p.236). Although the prevalence rates of asthma are increasing worldwide, the identified gap is huge. It would be interesting to investigate the diversity of the children around the world to find out what causes asthma in specific while considering environmental changes, viruses and lifestyles, which are another huge important factor of determinants of health. For future research, it is important to find preventions and a cure to help vulnerable populations, including young
Asthma In Children And Adult Inhabitants In Rural Poland." Allergy 68.5 (2013): 644-650. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Basile, Maria. "Asthma." The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders. 2nd ed. 2005. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Feb. 2011.
Allergies are the one of the main leading causes of asthma. About 90% of children under the age of ten that are infected with asthma have allergies. Around 70% of people under the age of thirty have asthma and 50% of those over thirty. Allergies is likely to be a helping factor to asthma if:
Imagine a young child competing with his or her fellow classmates during recess and immediately losing the ability to breathe normally. He or she stops in the middle of the competition and falls to the ground while holding his or her chest trying to find air. When you are young, being able to keep up with your peers during recess and sporting events is very important, however, having asthma restricts this. Asthma has a significant impact on childhood development and the diagnosis of asthma for children 18 years and younger has dramatically increased over the years. Asthma is known as a “chronic inflammation of the small and large airways” with “evident bronchial hyper-responsiveness, airflow obstruction, and in some patients, sub-basement fibrosis and over-secretion of mucus” (Toole, 2013). The constant recreation of the lung walls can even occur in young children and “lead to permanent lung damages and reduced lung function” (Toole, 2013). While one of the factors is genetics, many of the following can be prevented or managed. Obesity, exposure to secondhand smoke, and hospitalization with pneumonia in the early years of life have all been suggested to increase children’s risk of developing asthma.
Randolph, C. (1997). Exercise-induced asthma: Update on pathophysiology, clinical diagnosis, and treatment. Current Problems in Pediatrics, 27 (2), 53-77.
In addition to various genes affecting the phenotype of asthma, multiple environmental factors like indoor and outdoor air pollution, tobacco smoke, and allergies to pets, molds, common pests (e.g. cockroaches) change gene expr...
Exercise-induced asthma is an acute transient airway narrowing that occurs during and most often after exercise. It is objectively defined as a 10% fall in forced expiratory volume in the first second from baseline that may be measured up to thirty minutes following exercise (M&M). Exercise-induced asthma occurs not only in elite athletes and asthmatics, but it can also be found in non-asthmatics. The stimulation of exercise-induced asthma can range anywhere from inhaling allergens to hyperventilation or intense exercise. The management and prevention of exercise-induced asthma is a series of trials to reduce the effects of prolonged bronchoconstriction.
... “The Best Step-Up Regimen for Uncontrolled Asthma in Children.” Medscape Today. 25 May 2010. Web. 01 June 2010. .
Asthma is also a serious public health issue because it imposes huge impact not only population but also health care systems. According to recent statistics, each year, 5000 deaths, half million hospitalizations, and two million emergency visits are solely explained by asthma [1]. It is also leading cause of absence from school and work. Economic impact is enormous, too. 11 billion dollars of cost was due to only medications of asthma in 1994 [2], which was later increased up to 14 billion dollars in 2002 [3], and still increasing. Unfortunately, this financial burden of asthma falls disproportionately to some vulnerable subgroups: minorities, and children.
More than 17 million Americans suffer from asthma, with nearly 5 million cases occurring in children under age 18. In the United States, asthma causes nearly 5,500 deaths each year. Asthma occurs in males and females of all ages, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic levels. For reasons not completely understood, asthma is generally more common in poor urban neighborhoods, in cold climates, and in industrialized countries.
Some people only experience asthma symptoms during physical activity. A person who suffers from exercise-induced asthma does not have to limit his/her athletic goals.
Goals of treatment include interventions to help maintain good lung function (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). Asthma is treated with long-term control and quick relief medications (U. S. Department of Health and human Services, 2014). The severity of symptoms will dictate a medical treatment plan. As advanced practice nurses, we need to help asthma patients identify their triggers. This aspect is individualized based on the recognition of symptoms that lead to exacerbations. A few of common triggers include smoke, weather, pollen, and food. Additionally, we need to provide them with education related to their disease process.
Asthma is best described by its technical name: Reversible Obstructive Airway Disease (ROAD). In other words, asthma is a condition in which the airways of the lungs become either narrowed or blocked. The results are usually temporary but they cause shortness of breath, breathing trouble, wheezing, coughing, and tightness in the chest. To know what it really feels like to have asthma, I would like everyone to pick up the straw that’s on their desk and put it in their mouth as if they were using it to drink something. Then, pinch your nose. Try breathing for twenty seconds. A real attack can last up to more than 10 minutes and you are only doing it for 20 seconds. If we had more time, I would have the class go to a stairwell and have you run up and down and see what it is like to have asthma while doing other activities.
Asthma hospitalizations among children ages 5-14 are much higher than the rates in other Queens communities.
Asthma is a disease that currently has no cure and can only be controlled and managed through different treatment methods. If asthma is treated well it can prevent the flare up of symptoms such as coughing, diminish the dependence on quick relief medication, and help to minimize asthma attacks. One of the key factors to successful treatment of asthma is the creation of an asthma action plan with the help of a doctor that outlines medications and other tasks to help control the patient’s asthma ("How Is Asthma Treated and Controlled?"). The amount of treatment changes based on the severity of the asthma when it is first diagnosed and may be the dosage may be increased or decreased depending on how under control the patient’s asthma is. One of the main ways that asthma can be controlled is by becoming aware of the things that trigger attacks. For instance staying away from allergens such as pollen, animal fur, and air pollution can help minimize and manage the symptoms associated with asthma. Also if it is not possible to avoid the allergens that cause a patient’s asthma to flare up, they may need to see an allergist. These health professionals can help diagnosis what may need to be done in other forms of treatment such as allergy shots that can help decrease the severity of the asthma ("How Is Asthma Treated and Controlled?").