Lungs

Asthma- As with other chronic diseases, asthma cannot be cured but for the majority of people who are afflicted with asthma it can be controlled so that symptoms are relatively mild and infrequent. Asthma occurs as a result of inflammation of the bronchiole tubes causing restriction of the airway. As inflammation of the bronchioles begins, the bronchioles tend to become very sensitive to any allergens or irritants. Further irritation from these allergens or irritants leads to the airways narrowing even more, which diminishes the amount of air reaching the lung tissue to the point where symptoms become uncomfortable. At this point, many asthma sufferers begin to start wheezing, coughing, and have trouble breathing. When asthma conditions deteriorate, it is known as an asthma episode or attack. During an asthma attack, the muscles around the airways tighten causing further airway constriction. Furthermore, the mucus within the lungs are overproduced leading to even more narrowing of the bronchioles. Symptoms can be so severe that deaths can occur if an asthma attack goes untreated. Given the possible severity of asthma, people diagnosed with it should check with their doctors regularly in order to learn how to better controls their symptoms and to determine what allergens and irritants make their symptoms worse.

As mentioned before, people diagnosed with asthma can live fully active lives with the available treatments out today. Before relying on proper treatment though, several simple steps can be taken by the individual to reduce the severity and frequency of attacks. Reducing exposure of known allergens and irritants would help reduce the amount of medicine needed to control your asthma. Many patients that exercise regularly also note improvements in their symptoms. Allergy shots may also affectively help prevent asthma by preventing allergens from irritating the lung tissue. When asthma can not be prevented by just lifestyle changes, medicinal treatments are available in two general categories.

Quick relief medicines provide alleviation of asthma symptoms usually within just a few minutes. The typical "rescue" medicines act as inhaled bronchiodilators. These inhalers should be used at the onset of asthma symptoms to prevent symptoms from becoming more severe. For this reason, all asthma sufferers should have a fast acting inhaler at all times so that severe asthma attacks can be avoided. The downside of quick relief medications is that the effects of the medicine may only last for only a few hours, which for severe asthma sufferers would require constant treatment. For people with frequent asthma symptoms, long term medicine is often used along with quick relief medicines.

Long term control medications come in a wide variety of forms, but the most effect are the inhaled corticosteroids. Corticosteroids are used because they reduce the inflammation that would normally increase the likelihood of asthma attacks. People with mild, moderate, and severe persistent asthma are often given corticosteroids to better help them control their asthma. Another type of long term control medication that may be used is the long acting beta-agonists. Long acting beta-agonists work like bronchiodilators. Long acting beta-agonists are generally prescribed with corticosteroids because this medication helps to prevent night time symptoms. Leukotriene modifiers are another type of long term control medication that can be used to treat mild persistent asthma alone, or it can be used in conjunction with corticosteroids to treat moderate or severe persistent asthma. Leukotriene modifiers work by blocking the action of substances that cause inflammation, fluid retention, mucous secretion, and constriction in your lungs