Asthma is a condition which everyone will have heard of. Most will know it involved the lungs and most will be able to identify an inhaler as a way of treating the condition. This isn’t surprising as asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions in the world today and as the developed world becomes more developed it’s getting worse. Asthma is the most common chronic condition in the developed west and in the UK alone 5.2 million people are currently under treatment for it, a fifth of that number are children. That’s around 1/12 adults and 1/8 kids suffering from asthma, a huge proportion by anyone’s standards.
The condition itself affects the smallest of our airways, found in the lungs. When an asthma attack occurs these airways become inflamed which causes them to narrow considerably, they can also become thick with mucus which is overproduced during an attack. All of these factors can make it very difficult for an asthmatic to breath and in some, admittedly rare, cases this issue breathing can kill. In most other cases it an asthma attack causes shortness of breath and wheezing which is treated by the inhaler most asthmatics will carry with them.
Corticosteroids are used in the inhaler as they reduce the inflammation in the lungs and return the respiratory system to its original way of being.
There are several theories on just why asthma has become so prominent in recent years but most centre around various advances in the last several decades. It’s often said that for each new innovation created, three new issues emerge. In this case this adds to the causes of asthma. We’ve got better insulation now which means drier air, dust mites thrive in these environments and their excrement is one of the worst exacerbations of asthma. Increased air pollution levels play a part as to more and more processing going into our food.
There’s not masses understood on how best to avoid asthma to this day, but a healthy and balanced lifestyle can only ever be a positive factor!
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