Get the Asthma Information You Need to Manage Your Condition

By Kim Archer

If you suffer from asthma, you'll need to know how to recognize and treat this condition. It's not an uncommon condition by any means. Asthma affects one out of every twenty people; one in ten children are asthmatic. If left untreated, it can be fatal. Your doctor will be able to give you more asthma information and tell you how to prevent an attack, but it's important you learn as much as you can about this potentially deadly condition.

The tightening of airways, or bronchoconstriction, is a key feature of asthma. This happens when the muscles that surround the throat and airways tighten, resulting in air not being able to easily pass through. The chest feels as if it's beginning to tighten and the individual has the sensation of not being able to breathe in and out. Other symptoms include wheezing and coughing. This condition can create a number of troubling problems if the airway becomes completely blocked. Therefore, if left untreated, it becomes a life threatening issue.

In asthmatics, the airways react to environmental issues like smoke or pollen. These environmental stimuli create problems for asthmatics, as they are extremely sensitive to them. It's possible that the spasms and airway narrowing will resolve itself in around 1 or 2 hours. In about half of the asthma sufferers, it may come as a later response, about 3 up to 12 hours later, accompanied by more inflammation and constriction of the airways. Bronchoconstriction will respond to deep breathing in mild cases after about a minute to a minute and a half.

One of the safest and most effective drugs for asthmatic individuals is Propofol. It can also be a good choice for anesthesia induction in individuals who have a history of symptoms but are not currently having active attacks. This drug decreases the resistance in the respiratory system and could even prevent the spasms in the bronchus that be caused by blockage in the airways.

If you are trying to manage your allergy asthma daily, you may need to take leukotriene modifiers, which help to consistently make breathing easier by regulating the size of the airways and reducing mucus. Since allergy and asthma sometimes go together, leukotriene modifiers will help to ease the discomfort of coming in contact with certain allergens, such as dust and mold as well. - 31822

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