Not everyone with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease suffers from chronic asthma, but many individuals who experience emphysema or chronic bronchitis have asthma-like symptoms. Medical experts continue to debate whether chronic asthma should be classified as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, since asthma can be reversed.

Chronic asthma is an inflammatory disease of the airways; the term asthma is derived from an ancient Greek word which means panting. With chronic asthma, the inflammation leads to the narrowing of the airways, which can cause wheezing, breathlessness, and gasping for air.

Studies indicate that chronic asthma involves two stages: the hyper-reactive response and the inflammatory response. The hyper-reactive response in chronic asthma refers to the constriction of the airways in response to inhaled irritants, while the inflammatory stage involves the production of white blood cells in the airways.

During a chronic asthma attack, the muscle tissue in the walls of the bronchi experiences spasms, causing labored breathing. With chronic asthma, coughing, shortness of breath and wheezing occur almost everyday. In order to combat chronic asthma, several medications may be needed.

Some medical experts speculate that the persistent symptoms of chronic asthma indicate a food allergy. As a result, some doctors encourage those suffering from chronic asthma to revise their diets in order to reduce the incidence of flare-ups.

There are some other simple strategies one can follow in order to alleviate symptoms of chronic asthma. These include removing the cause of chronic asthma, treating the symptoms, or altering the host to be more tolerant of the causes.

If you’ve been diagnosed with chronic asthma, medical experts suggest stopping all smoking and banning cigarette smoke from the house. Chronic asthma patients should also stop the use of volatile chemicals, which may exacerbate one’s symptoms. Ending contact with pets can also alleviate chronic asthma.

The aims of any treatment program for chronic asthma should include: avoiding the trigger factors for chronic asthma, eliminating symptoms, restoring normal lung function, reducing the incidence of severe attacks, and minimizing the side-effects of drugs.

Drug therapy for chronic asthma can fall into three categories. Chronic asthma can be attacked with preventors or anti-inflammatories; relievers, which provide acute relief of symptoms; and controllers, which provide a sustained bronchodilator action with a mild anti-inflammatory action.

It should be noted that there are some misconceptions about the treatment of chronic asthma. For instance, antihistamines do not appear to be an effective chronic asthma treatment strategy. Immunosuppressives such as methotrexate are rarely beneficial for chronic asthma, and acupuncture has a negligible effect.

The basic goals of educating those with chronic asthma include an ability to understand the nature of asthma, an understanding of different types of asthma medication, an understanding of prevention strategies, knowing the correct use of inhalers, and recognizing signs of worsening asthma.

Interestingly enough, chronic asthma is often misdiagnosed in the elderly. Also, older people are more susceptible to the side-effects of drugs used to treat chronic asthma. As a result, senior citizens need special prevention strategies for chronic asthma.

About The Author

If you are interested in your health and well being then you will find some great reading at: http://www.findhealtharticles.com.

Written By: Allan Wilson

Posted: May 29th, 2007 under Asthma.
Comments: none

During the Democratic convention the Reverend Al Sharpton quoted a shocking statistic: One third of the children in Harlem suffer from asthma. This shouldnt be completely surprising since asthma cases have been consistently increasing over the years, especially in the cities, escalating recently during the rollback of some key environmental laws, but it is a trend we must turn back.

While parents have only limited control over the environment where they raise their children, there is a personal environmental decision they can make that may dramatically reduce the symptoms their children experience. It all comes down to detergent, and not just any detergent. It is the detergent that they use to wash their childrens clothes and sheets. The biggest selling detergents in the United States contain large amounts of irritating phosphates, which are not only a major irritant to the skin and respiratory system, but a source of serious pollution, and a component in global warming.

If you are wondering if your laundry detergent contains phosphates just read the label, it is listed there. In most industrialized countries phosphate detergents are outlawed for good reason, but in the United States the chemical industry has a strong lobby and cheap phosphates help manufacturers keep their costs low, so their use continues. The next time you walk though the laundry detergent section of your supermarket, take a deep breath and notice how much the smell irritates your nose and lungs.

What kinds of detergent contain low, or no phosphates? Baby detergent! No mother would dream of washing their newborns clothes and sheets in the familys powdered detergent! That would give their babys delicate skin rashes, not to mention an increase in crying and crankiness. There are many readily available natural detergents that are phosphate-free and its worth the time to find them.

We have noticed tremendous improvements for both children and adults when their clothes and sheets are consistently washed in a phosphate-free detergent. By itself this change may not alleviate all of the symptoms of asthma and those related skin rashes, but it clearly removes an insidious irritant from the equation.

It might be helpful to explain why this simple change is so effective. Testing in Europe shows that, while sleeping, people are between two thousand and ten thousand times more sensitive to chemical and electromagnetic pollution than while they are awake. When a childs pajamas are washed with a chemical irritant and they sleep on bedclothes containing those same toxins, their immune system is challenged nightly, during a time when they are most vulnerable. Their bodys nutritional reserves are consumed in that battle and they are less able to defend themselves from the pollutants they encounter during their day. Asthma and allergies are not produced by a single irritant, but by an accumulation of minor irritants that eventually overwhelm the bodys ability to adapt. It is not a huge leap to imagine that removing a respiratory irritant from the sleeping environment, where a person spends one third of their time, is going to produce an improvement in a child’s ability to breathe.

Drs. Ralph & Lahni DeAmicis are Naturopathic Physicians. Their educational program, The 10 Minute Herbalist, seeks to put the knowledge of everyday good health into everyones hands. Information about their program and publications is available at www.SpaceAndTime.com.

ralph@spaceandtime.com

Written By: Drs. Ralph & Lahni DeAmicis

Posted: May 26th, 2007 under Asthma.
Comments: none

What happens during an asthma attack?

People with asthma have acute episodes when the air passages in their lungs become more narrow, and breathing becomes more difficult. These problems are caused by an oversensitivity of the lungs and airways.
Lungs and airways overreact to certain triggers and become inflamed and clogged. Breathing becomes harder and may hurt. There may be coughing. There may be a wheezing or whistling sound, which is typical of asthma.

Controlling Your Asthma

You can help get your asthma under control and keep it under control if you do these 5 simple steps:

1) Talk openly with your doctor.

Tell your doctor what you want to be able to do that you can’t do now because of your asthma. Additionally, tell your doctor your concerns about your asthma, your medicines, and your health.

It’s also important to talk to your doctor about ALL the medicines you take–for asthma and for other problems–to be sure they will not interact violently. Be sure to mention eye drops, aspirin, and other medicines you take without a prescription.

Tell your doctor about any symptoms you have, even if you don’t think they are related to asthma. Being open with your doctor about your medicines and symptoms can help prevent additional problems.

2) Ask your doctor for a written treatment plan. Then be sure to follow it!

A written treatment plan will tell you when to take each of your asthma medicines and how much to take. If you have trouble reading small print, ask for your treatment plan (and other handouts) in larger type.

3) Watch for early symptoms and respond quickly!

Most asthma attacks start slowly. You can learn to recognize when an attack is coming if you keep track of the symptoms you have, how bad they are, and when you have them.

Your doctor also may want you to use a “peak flow meter,” which is a small plastic device that you blow in, to measures how well you are breathing.

If you respond quickly to the first signs that your asthma is getting worse, you can prevent serious asthma attacks.

4) Stay away from things that make your asthma worse.

Tobacco smoke, dust and viruses can make asthma worse. So can other things you may breathe in, such as pollen. Talk to your doctor about what makes your asthma worse and what to do about them. Ask about getting a flu shot and a vaccine to prevent pneumonia and other respratory illnesses.

5) See your doctor at least every 6 months.

You may need to go more often, especially if your asthma is not under control. Regular visits will let your doctor check your progress and, if needed, change your treatment plan.

The bottom line is action. You can sit back just waiting for your asthma to get better, and continue to suffer needlessly…or…you can take action as listed above

Once you do, you will be on the way to getting your asthma under control, and taking back your life!

About the author:

Lee Berlemann’s FREE ebook titled, “Allergies & Asthma: How to Reclaim Your Respiratory Health” offers hope for you and your family’s health challenges. Obtain your FREE copy at: http://www.asthma-and-allergy-help.net

Written By: Lee Berlemann

Posted: May 20th, 2007 under Asthma.
Comments: none

Asthma is chronic disease that is hallmarked by the inflammation of the bronchial or breathing tubes, in the lungs. While there is no known specific cause for the condition, many of its triggers are well known and avoidable; and those that can’t be avoided can be well managed.

15 million adults and 5 million children in the United Stated have asthma, a chronic respiratory disease that can cause early morning or late night coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, fatigue, anxiety and shortness of breath. Asthma symptoms can be mild or serious, and they can also be life threatening during an asthma attack.

Our lungs are filled with hollow tube like passages that resemble the branches on a tree. These passages gradually become smaller and smaller ending in tiny pockets where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged. For those with asthma, swelling in the hollow tubes makes breathing difficult and uncomfortable by preventing the air from moving freely. This inflammation causes an increased sensitivity to allergens and a host of other asthma triggers.

So what causes asthma? It is generally believed that exposure to allergens early in life can trigger asthma, but heredity plays a role too and can predispose certain populations to this chronic condition. Allergen induced asthma usually becomes apparent before the age of 35. Non allergic asthma usually has its onset in middle age and can be triggered or worsened by reflux disease, exercise, weather changes and illness.

Environmental lung irritants are by far the biggest culprits in triggering asthma problems and include cleaning products, perfume, smoke, mold, dust, pollution, mildew, seasonal pollen and animal dander.

Lifestyle and illness also play a role in causing respiratory flare-ups in those susceptible. Stress, exercise, laughter, foods and food additives like sulfites, getting a cold, the flu or a bronchial infection, and even changes in the weather can bring the asthmatic closer to an asthma attack.

Luckily for asthmatics many of the factors that can lead to an asthma attack can be eliminated or reduced in their lives. Keeping the environment clean and dust free to avoid exposure to mold, mildew and dust mites, avoiding pets and smoke, staying inside on windy days and always riding in the car with the windows up to avoid excessive amounts of pollen, avoiding exposure to household chemicals and perfumed body products, and running a dehumidifier on humid days can all help to reduce the causes of environmental allergen triggers. Reducing stress, increasing exercise and working to stay healthy are necessary additional steps to managing asthma. Asthma is on the rise in the United States and in other developed countries around the globe; and though no one knows exactly why, it is theorized that the culprits may be a byproduct of our more industrialized lives. People spend more time indoors where household pollutants are greater, and though environments are generally healthier, with less exposure to viruses and bacteria our immune systems may be becoming more sensitive to these issues.

There is no cure for asthma, but medication, and environmental and lifestyle changes can help to alleviate the symptoms and keep asthma from limiting the lives of those afflicted.

About the author:

Gray Rollins is a featured writer for AsthmaDocs.com. To learn more about natural asthma treatment and to learn more about what causes asthma, please visit our site.

Written By: Gray Rollins

Posted: May 17th, 2007 under Asthma.
Comments: none

Asthma is a serious condition affecting millions of people. Its rapid rise among all developed countries is cause for deep concern. In response to this alarming trend, researchers are working diligently to find more effective treatments for those already diagnosed with the disease, and possibly a cure to stop its progression.

According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, “Asthma is a chronic lung disorder of enormous public health importance that affects 10 to 12 percent of the population; it disproportionately affects children, minorities, and persons of lower socioeconomic status.” Asthma is the leading cause of school absences and the most common cause for childhood emergency room visits. The economic cost of asthma surpasses 12 billion dollars annually.

Despite an increase in our understanding of the progression of the disease, the effects of allergy triggers on the body and the way our bodies react to them, and the great strides in diagnosing and treating asthma, the number of people diagnosed, sick or that have died from the disease continues to rise.

Our lungs are filled with hollow tube like passages that resemble the branches on a tree. These passages gradually become smaller and smaller ending in tiny pockets where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged. For those with asthma, swelling in the hollow tubes that fill the lungs makes breathing difficult and uncomfortable. This inflammation causes an increased sensitivity to allergens and a host of other asthma triggers like exercise, medications, stress, pollution, humidity and even laughter.

The symptoms of asthma vary from person to person; early morning or late night coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, fatigue, anxiety and shortness of breath are all common. Allergen induced asthma usually becomes apparent before the age of 35. Non-allergic asthma usually has its onset in middle age and can be triggered or worsened by reflux disease, exercise, weather changes and illness.

Research is underway in several key directions, and on a global scale, to find more effective treatments and possibly even a cure for asthma. Secondary intervention studies, risk assessment, environmental intervention and assessing allergen exposures all allow researchers to explore different treatment options to deal with the symptoms of those who already have asthma. Studying the genetics and hereditary components of the disease, and the pathogenesis and mechanics, may someday lead to a cure.

Research progress is dependant on funding, and the participation of those who have or are at risk of developing asthma either through lifestyle or genetics. Funding for research comes from many sources: private companies and foundations, private citizens, corporate donations and government grants - but money is often scarce; and with so many important and deserving projects, the competition for gaining the needed funding can be fierce.

Great strides have been made in the area of asthma, but the steady rise in new cases suggests that greater strides are necessary. Researchers all over the world are working hard to develop new treatment modalities and possibly even a cure for this chronic and often debilitating disease.

About the author:

Gray Rollins is a featured writer for AsthmaDocs.com. To learn more about asthma research and to learn more about asthma treatment, please visit our site.

Written By: Gray Rollins

Posted: May 14th, 2007 under Asthma.
Comments: none

So you have asthma? Think you can’t exercise safely? Read on, my friend, and discover how you *can* do so safely and how your body will benefit from the exertion!

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that is marked by the following characteristics that are present during episodes of airflow obstruction:

Coughing Wheezing Shortness of breath Chest tightness

It tends to occur in people who are genetically or environmentally presdisposed to the condition. Some of the triggers that might start or make an attack worse include:

Exposure to allergens (animal dander, pollen, mold) Viral respiratory infections Airway irritants (tobacco smoke, environmental pollutants) Exercise Exposure to things such as dust mites or cockroaches, especially in childhood

Medical treatments for asthma include:

Anti-inflammatory agents (inhaled and pill-formed steroids) Broncodilators

If the patient can manage his/her symptoms, it’s possible to avoid any critical or emergency breathing treatments, however, for people in a higher-pollutant area, this might prove to be a difficult task.

How can you prevent an asthma attack?

Bathe pets weekly Do not smoke or permit smoking in your home Stay inside with air conditioning when mold or pollen counts are high Wash your bedding & stuffed toys once per week in hot water Wash your hands often Get a flu shot Wear a scarf over your mouth and nose in the winter Be proactive about knowing your “triggers” and avoiding them

Now, with this information in place where does exercise fit in to your asthmatic life? According to Dr. Jack Becker, chief of allergy and asthma at St. Christopher’s in Philadelphia, you shouldn’t give up on sports or exercise at all. You just have to be smart about how you play, and take special precautions to avoid a flare-up.

Nearly all doctors agree that the best way to prevent an attack during exertion (exercise) is to keep the medication (inhaler) close at hand. You shouldn’t use the inhaler more than 3 times during a game or exercise session–at that point, it’s best just to back off and rest a while. Additionally, if you are up the previous night with coughing and wheezing, it’s probably best to go lightly on the exercise the next day.

For something such as Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA), symptoms are slightly different, in that they will appear after about 6-8 minutes of exertion, and are often worse in cold, dry air.

For those with EIA, certain activities are preferred over others:

Swimming: this sport has a warm, humid atmosphere, year-round availability, and upper-body toning. Walking Leisure biking Free downhill skiing (wearing a scarf or surgical mask to help warm the air while inhaling) Team sports that require a short burst of energy are better than those that require more continual activity. Thus, baseball, football, golfing, gymnastics, surfing, or wrestling are preferred over soccer, basketball, field hockey, or long-distance running.

Remember, this condition is not “all in your head,” it is a real, physiological medical condition that requires appropriate treatment. While your doctor can be your biggest ally in treating your asthma, YOU are the one who can most effectively prevent your symptoms. Be smart, take your medication, and be proactive. And don’t let asthma sideline your physical activity–it does a body good!

About the Author

This article provided courtsy of http://www.stop-smoking-solutions.com

Written By: Jeff Slokum

Posted: May 11th, 2007 under Asthma.
Comments: none

Asthma is a chronic lung condition that is characterized by difficulty in breathing, wheezing, and mucus accumulation. People with asthma have extra sensitive or hyper-responsive airways. During an asthma attack, the airways become irritated and react by narrowing and constructing, causing increased resistance to airflow, and obstructing the flow of the air passages to and from the lungs.

Some research indicates that the symptoms of asthma may get worse when you have heartburn or acid reflux. Acid reflux occurs when your undigested stomach content moves back up into your esophagus.

Acid reflux can cause painful heartburn which you can relieve with antacid medicines or natural remedies. Antacids simply neutralize your stomach’s acid, which reduces the burning sensation in your esophagus tube. It is best to use natural remedies first because neutralising stomach acid is a temporary method and only serves to suppress the cause of acid reflux.

For acid reflux, it is best to use digestive enzymes. Take a good digestive enzyme with every meal you eat. The next step would be to learn how to eat so you don’t get acid reflux or heartburn.

Acid reflux happens mostly in people who are older and overweight. But sometimes it can happen in children and in all types of people.

In some studies, researchers have injected acid into the esophageus of people with asthma, and it had a significant impact on their asthma and increased their asthma symptoms.

These is also evidence to suggest that people who have asthma get acid reflux more often than people without asthma. This is probably because of the big pressure changes in the chest during breathing in people with asthma. These high pressures could force liquid to travel the wrong way up the esophagus.

In these cases, asthma sufferers seem to lose out twice: they suffer from asthma and they may suffer from acid reflux more often than non asthma sufferers.

However, this is not the whole story. If acid reflux really was an important cause of asthma worsening, then treatments against acid reflux should make the asthma better, however, this is generally not the case.

In the meantime, if you have asthma and you also have acid reflux, it could just be that careful treatment of your reflux will make your breathing better.

If your asthma is bad and no-one knows why, some doctors would check whether you have or had acid reflux by conducting tests to measure the acidity in your stomach. If the result showed a tendency for acid reflux, then your doctor should help you eliminate this condition.

Using a doctor who uses natural methods to treat acid reflux is the best way to go. Using drugs to eliminate acid reflux when you are already taking drugs for asthma is asking for additional health problems in the future. Drugs do not cure acid reflux and cause the condition to worsen. It is best to use natural remedies and diet to eliminate acid reflux and heartburn.

About the author:

Rudy Silva is a Natural Nutritionist. To learn more about using natural remedies for asthma go to: http://www.natural-remedies-thatwork.com/asthma1 and to find natural ways to help your acid reflux or heartburn go to: http://www.acidreflux-relief.info

Written By: Rudy Silva

Posted: May 8th, 2007 under Asthma.
Comments: none

The words ‘triggers’ or ‘trigger factors’ of asthma are used for the things which can cause an attack in someone who already has asthma.

There is a huge variety of these triggers that have been reported by patients including dogs, cats, tobacco smoke, cold air, exercise, being upset, anxiety, and stress, taking aspirin, dust, fumes and even laughter.

However, particularly severe attacks which can lead to hospital stays usually occur following a virus infection in the nose or chest.

It is important that an asthmatic and their doctor identify the one or more triggers that can make their asthma worse and limit exposure to them through daily management of the disease.

The most common triggers for asthma include:

Allergens

*The skin, hair, or feathers of animals, such as cats, dogs, etc.

*Dust mites found in house dust.

*Cockroaches.

*Tree and grass pollen.

*Mold.

Irritants

*Cigarette smoke.

*Air pollution .

*Drastic weather changes

*Changes in air temperature, for example, if you move from warm indoor air to cold air outdoors.

*Cooking or paint oders

*Scented products, candles, air fresheners, etc.

*Allergens that you are exposed to at your place of work such as chemicals, dusts, smells, etc.

Others

*Breathing tests. Just as the faster breathing in exercise can bring on attacks, the faster and deeper breathing you have to do for most breathing tests can bring on quite a noticeable narrowing of air passages, and can bring on an asthma attack.

*Histamine or methacholine aerosols are used in medical tests to produce a minor and controlled asthma attack to determine the extent of the disease. In the test, the amount of asthma produced is small and very bearable, and it wears off quickly. The result gives a measurement of the irritation in the patient’s airways that can be very useful to the doctor.

*The inhalers used to treat asthma can causes symptoms. Some powder inhalers can cause tightness in the chest and the lubricants in pressurised aerosol inhalers can cause irritation of air passages, and can bring on an asthma attack.

*Some medicines such as aspirin or other painkillers and beta blockers that are used for high blood pressure or heart disease.

*Sulphur dioxide was previously used as a preservative in soft drinks and wine. This can cause chest tightening within seconds of drinking, or even breathing the air above such a drink.

*Sulphites in food and drink such as sodium metabisulphite (E220-227) may trigger asthma, but not via an allergic reaction. It can be found in wine, home-brewed beer, fizzy drinks, prepared meats and prepared salads.

*Gastro-oesophageal reflux, where stomach acid rising up the gullet or more commonly, acid reflux . This causes heartburn and can worsen asthma symptoms, especially at night.

*Infections of the lining of the breathing passages, such as colds and flu.

*Laughing or crying.

*Exercise.

*Strong emotional stress. People with asthma often say that their asthma gets worse if they are upset, crying, or under stress.

About the author:

Learn More About How You Can Treat and Live with Asthma at A sthma-Explained.com/asthma-treatments.html

Written By: Mike Herman

Posted: May 5th, 2007 under Asthma.
Comments: none

If you are looking to buy a new home air purifier, check our tips that will help you make an informed decision. Air purifiers have become an essential component in many households today. Home air purifiers filter out allergy-provoking substances, such as dust mites, chemical and organic odors, pet dander and plant pollen. These devices are especially good when a person has a suppressed immune system and is more susceptible to infections. It’s a proven fact that home air purifiers help in such medical conditions as allergy, asthma, and hay fever.

A home air purifier draws in air, filters out the dust, pollen, bacteria and scent molecules, and then emits the clean scentless air into the room. The air would not be completely pure and sanitized, but it would contain significantly less dust particles and allergens.

There are several types of filters used in home air purifiers. Filters with added activated carbon - similar to the one used to treat food poisoning - serve as pre-filter, which captures large particles. Then, HEPA filter absorbs small particles. Some purifiers add a natural organic filter that neutralizes volatile compounds from household chemicals or smoke.

Less common filter types used in home air purifiers are electrostatic or ion filters that attract particles by static electricity and therefore can create unnecessary electric tension in the household. Hybrid purifiers employ more than one particle-collecting method. The fairly new method used in home air purifiers is ozone filter that filters the air and purifies it with ozone. However, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that ozone generators can be harmful to people affected by asthma. Many experts think that ozone is generally ineffective against air pollution.

HEPA-certified filters are most common in home air purifiers. The next generation of filters is ULPA (ultra-HEPA) filters that remove close to 100% of particles. Uncertified HEPA-like filters have proved to be less effective.

All homes and offices have different air conditions which depend on the age of the building, materials used in the construction, and a number of plants nearby. That’s why is impossible to predict the effect of home air purifier on the overall air quality. In general, dust and pollen particles are usually filtered, at least as much as tobacco-smoke particles.

When choosing an air purifier, look at the Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR). This rate indicates how many cubic feet of air is cleared of airborne particle. Smoke is considered a smallest particle, dust is medium and pollen is the largest one. The higher the CADR rating, the less time your new air purifier needs to remove particles from the room.

Even though air purifiers can become a holy grail for many allergy sufferers, experts suggest that no one should rely only on air purifiers while trying to keep the air at home healthy and clean. The best strategy to achieving breathable air in your home would be to use an air purifier along with natural window ventilation.

About the Author

Kathryn writes articles on a number of different topics. For more information on Home Air Purifiers please visit http://www.air-purifier-guide.org/airpurifier/ and for additional Air Purifier articles please visit http://www.air-purifier-guide.org/airpurifier-articles/

Written By: Kathryn Whittaker

Posted: May 2nd, 2007 under Asthma.
Comments: none