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WHAT
IS ASTHMA?
Introduction
Adults and children
with asthma are not alone. Asthma is a very common condition; about two million
people in the UK are thought to suffer from asthma.
With modern treatments, most children and adults with asthma can expect to
be free from asthma symptoms and able to live a full and active life.
Asthma symptoms
The symptoms
of asthma are:
These symptoms are often worse at night, on exercise, or early in the morning. Some people with milder asthma may only have symptoms during the day. One important feature of asthma is that symptoms may vary from time to time, especially in young people.
What triggers asthma
Although asthma is not a nervous condition, sometimes emotion, laughter, stress or emotional upsets can bring on symptoms. Exposure to certain chemicals at work can sometimes bring on asthma. In many cases, there are no definite triggers.
What is Asthma?
In asthma the
airways of the lungs become inflamed and swollen. More mucous is produced
and the airways become more sensitive and twitchy. This makes the airways
narrower than usual. The diagram to the right shows how the airways are narrowed.
The cause of asthma is not completely understood.
Does asthma run in
families?
Asthma is often
linked with eczema, hayfever and other nasal conditions such as polyps. Although
a child or adult with asthma may not have any of these conditions, someone
else in the family sometimes does. Asthma often runs in families. However,
asthma can occur for the first time in someone with no personal or family
history of asthma or associated conditions.
What medicines are
used to treat Asthma?
There are three
types of medicines available to treat asthma. These are listed below. A patient's
treatment will depend on how troublesome their asthma is and may change from
time to time. The aim is to keep the child feeling well on the smallest possible
dose of medicine.
RELIEVERS: These relieve the wheeze or chest tightness that occurs during an asthma attack. Nearly all children with asthma will require a reliever. These are usually taken as and when the child feels it necessary.
PREVENTERS: These will not relieve the wheeze or chest tightness immediately, but when taken regularly, they will prevent the attacks from occurring and reduce their severity. Treating asthma early helps to prevent it from getting worse. Preventer medicine is very important in preventing the airways from becoming inflamed and swollen. It is important that this medicine is taken regularly.
PROTECTORS: These are long-acting, they help to reduce asthma symptoms by keeping the air passages of the lungs open and relaxed. A protector would usually be given together with a preventer, on a regular basis.
Sometimes a short course of steroid tablets are needed following and asthma attack. These are often called "rescue" courses of treatment.
How are asthma medicines
taken?
Most asthma
medicines are given by inhalers. This means that the medicine is breathed
in. This helps to send the dose of medicine straight to where it is needed,
inside the airways of the lungs. There are two main types of inhaler devices:
aerosol (called puffers, sometimes used with a spacer) and powder inhalers.
It is very important that inhaler devices are appropriate for the child, and
that they are used correctly each time.
Other medicines may be taken in tablet or liquid form. Sometimes a doctor may recommend that the child have a nebuliser. This is mainly used in hospital to treat asthma attacks, but a few patients may keep one at home. A nebuliser makes a mist out of liquid by forcing air or oxygen through it.
Monitoring treatment
Asthma control can
be monitored by measuring peak flow. Peak flow is a measure of how fast some
one can blow air out of their lungs and gives an idea about how open their
airways are at the time the test is taken. Peak flow readings depend on someone's
sex, age and height and they vary a great deal between people, even in those
who do not have asthma. In asthma the airways are narrowed and so it is more
difficult to blow air out of the lung quickly. Therefore, the peak flow readings
of someone with asthma are usually lower that those of the same age, sex and
height who do not have asthma.
Helping to prevent
an asthma attack
It is important
to know about the warning signs associated with an asthma attack. Asthma attacks
usually occur because the child's asthma has been worsening over a day or
so.
Signs that asthma may be getting worse:
A CHILD SHOULD FOLLOW THEIR DOCTOR'S INSTRUCTIONS IF THEIR ASTHMA GETS WORSE
