Asthma
Asthma is a lung disorder. Thousands of people across the world are diagnosed for asthma. Many things cause asthma; each thing that can cause asthma affects the severity of an attack. The signs of asthma vary from person to person. However each person with asthma has similar symptoms. Asthma is not curable but it can be controlled. It can be controlled with prescription medicines and medical devices.
What is Asthma?
Asthma is a major lung disorder. Many people have asthma but there is no cure for the disease. Asthma is the Greek word for pant or breathe hard. The Greeks named it asthma because of the wheeze. The wheeze occurs during an asthma attack when the person breathes. The dictionary definition of asthma is: " a chronic respiratory disease, often arising from allergies, that is characterized by sudden recurring attacks of labored breathing, chest constriction, and coughing." Asthma is characterized by wheezing and labored breathing which is caused by constricted and blocked airways. Asthma attacks are not dangerous, most of the time, if proper medication is given. Although asthma is a serious disease, and is deadly without medical attention, it is common and many people have learned to live with their disease.
What is an Asthma Attack?
Now that I have told you what asthma is you are probably asking "What is an asthma attack?" Well an asthma attack is when asthma is most dangerous. During an asthma attack the muscles surrounding the air tubes contract. The air tubes are almost closed completely. This causes the wheeze. The muscles can relax on their own or they can be relaxed by medicine. During an asthma attack mediators from the mast cells are released. This causes three things to happen; airway muscles contract and mucus production increases causing a narrowing in the airways. Then special white blood cells go to the area. The white blood cells keep the attack going.
What Causes Asthma?
Many things can cause asthma attacks, but the most severe thing that causes most attacks are allergies. Some of the allergens that cause it are pollens, molds, house dust, animals, and some foods. Other things that can cause asthma are aspirin, Tartazine, irritants such as cigarette smoke, perfume, and deodorant, emotions, weather, pregnancy, exercise, colds, and respiratory infections. Many of these do not cause attacks in every asthmatic, but a few do. The few that cause attacks in most if not all asthmatics are allergies, cigarette smoke, and exercise. The cigarette smoke can be avoided easily, with laws on smoking banning smoking from many public places. Allergies are harder to be avoided but can be controlled with the right medicines. Exercise, however, is not all that easy to avoid. Exercise is a part of daily life. Exercise is also important medically; if you avoid exercise, because of asthma or anything else, you could become overweight, have a heart attack, or have many other problems exercise could prevent. Many people who have asthma are still able to participate in many athletic events. Many things cause asthma, however every asthmatic does not react to the same ones.
What is an Allergy?
Being the number one cause of asthma it is important to know what really is a allergy. The definition of an allergy is: "an abnormally high sensitivity to certain substances, such as pollens, foods, or microorganisms. Common indication of allergy may include itching, skin rash, and sneezing." Allergies do not effect all people. Allergies are a reaction of some people to non-toxic substances. The non-toxic substances referred to are allergens. There are four types of allergens, they are airborne allergens, contactants, food allergens, and drug allergens. The results of each of these are different but they are all bad. There are three major ways to treat allergies, they are injections, antihistamine drugs, and avoiding allergens.
What are Signs and Symptoms of Asthma?
There are many ways to find out if a person has asthma. However it is hard to diagnose. The symptoms of asthma are similar to those of other respiratory diseases. This causes great confusion among doctors about which medication to give the patient. Symptoms of asthma are wheezing, dyspnea, chest tightness, difficulty moving air in and out of the lungs, and coughing. A doctors exam, before diagnosis, consists of looking for these symptoms, and asking many questions. The questions asked by the doctor during examination are divided into four sections. The four sections are questions about social history, family history of allergies or if someone in the family has asthma, the patient's past medical history, and finally they ask about present complaints. With all of these specifics to designate asthma it is not hard to believe that many cases go undiagnosed.
What is the Wheeze?
The wheeze is "asthma's trademark." The wheeze is present in all asthmatics; for some it is more obvious then for others. There are two types of wheezes, one from the neck and one from the chest. The one from the chest is a sign of asthma, the one from the neck is another problem. The wheeze is present in asthmatics because during an asthma attack the muscles around the air tubes contract, pinching them nearly shut. When the asthmatic breathes out the air leaving the air tubes whistles when it comes out. This is what causes the wheeze.
How can Asthma be Controlled?
First of all, asthma is not curable. This is surprising because a lot of money is spent on research and a lot of people are diagnosed as asthmatic. Even though asthma can not be cured it can be controlled. Many medicines are used to control and attempt to cure asthma. There are five types of medicines used to control asthma. The first one is Beta-Adrenergic agent; they are bronchodilators and prevent bronchial muscles from dilating. Another is Theophylline; this prevents the release of mediators from mast cells. However, Theophylline causes insomnia, diarrhea, and cramps. The third type is Cromolyn Sodium; it prevents the release of mediators from mast cells in the presence of allergens. Also there is Corticosteroid; this is really powerful and is not used often. The final type is Anticholinergic; this reduces mucus production and coughing, but it takes up to two hours to start working. There are three ways to take the medicines to control asthma. They can be injected, inhaled, or taken orally. Doctors have set five goals to attack asthma. They are to increase bronchodialation; to stop acetylcholine, a receptor activator, from stimulating cholinergics,which tightens muscles; to prevent cells from releasing chemicals; to prevent the inflammatory consequences of an attack; and to reduce amount of calcium in the airway muscle cell proteins. There are many ways asthma can be controlled some of them work better than others, but there is no cure for asthma.
Summary
Asthma is a common respiratory disease that thousands of people have. A lot of money is spent trying to find a cure for asthma. Asthma is caused by many things but mostly allergies. The signs of asthma are wheezing, chest pains and many other things. Although asthma is not curable it can be controlled. It takes a lot of medicine to control asthma, however, many people live normal lives with asthma. Asthma is a biological problem to man because it affects the lives of thousands of people. Also it is a biological problem because it has not been cured and people die from severe attacks yearly. Until there is a cure asthma will continue to be a biological problem facing man.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Respiratory System
The respiratory system is a group of organs that humans and other organisms use to breathe. The respiratory system is the part of the body that humans use to get oxygen into their blood.The respiratory system works by the human breathing in, the air going through numerous organs, then the unused air is exhaled out of the human's body. Almost all organisms on the planet have respiratory systems. Two diseases if the respiratory system, besides asthma, are Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema. The respiratory system is one of the most important organ systems in the body.
What is the Respiratory System?
The respiratory system is one of the most important organ systems in the body of any living organism. The most important part of the respiratory system for humans and all other mammals is the lungs. Humans have two lungs, one on each side of the torso. The right lung is bigger then the left lung because the left lung has to share space with the heart.
What does the Respiratory System do for Humans?
The respiratory system is very important for humans. Without the respiratory system, as without the circulatory system, it would be impossible to live. The respiratory system allows humans to breath. As you know, breathing is an important part of human life. The respiratory system's job may sound simple but it is not. The respiratory system lets out the used air and brings new air into the body. The oxygen is taken out of the air and put into the blood. The air without oxygen is considered old air and is pushed out to let new air in and the cycle continues. This is the main function of the respiratory system.
How does the Respiratory System work?
For humans, the respiratory system starts at our nose or mouth, then the air goes through the trachea, then to the bronchi. There is one bronchi in each lung. The air then flows through the bronchioles to the alveolus. The alveolus is located at the end of each bronchiole. In each lung there are about three-hundred to four-hundred thin walled air sacs. Then the oxygen is filtered into the blood and sent throughout the body. Finally, the rest of the air is pushed out of the lungs and away from the person.
What other Organisms have Respiratory Systems?
Since the respiratory system plays such an important role in the human's life it is important to know what other organisms have respiratory systems. First of all, every living organism has a respiratory system. All mammals have respiratory systems similar to humans; they have lungs. Insects, however, have a respiratory system similar to swiss cheese. The insect's interior has hundreds of tiny holes in it. Animals that live in water have gills for breathing because they need to pull oxygen out of the water. All living organisms across the planet have respiratory systems.
What are Disorders of the Respiratory System?
A disorder of the respiratory system is also known as COPD, a COPD is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The COPDs are emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Another respiratory disease is asthma. These three disorders damage the respiratory system but asthma damages it the least. COPDs are very important to find and treat because they can kill people.
Asthma
Asthma is a lung disorder. Thousands of people across the world are diagnosed for asthma. Many things cause asthma; each thing that can cause asthma affects the severity of an attack. The signs of asthma vary from person to person. However each person with asthma has similar symptoms. Asthma is not curable but it can be controlled. It can be controlled with prescription medicines, such as bronchodialators, and medical devices, such as nebulizers and inhalers.
Emphysema
Emphysema is a very dangerous disorder. Emphysema comes from smoking to much. In emphysema the air sacs are overstretched or torn. This means that the air sacs cannot hold much fresh air and can not push out old air. This causes a lack of oxygen in the blood. It is easy to see how emphysema can be deadly.
Chronic Bronchitis
Chronic bronchitis is also a very dangerous respiratory disorder, it comes from smoking like emphysema. Chronic bronchitis involves chronic airway inflamation and the airways are permanently swollen. This limits the amount of new air coming in and old air going out. This limits oxygen to the blood. Without much oxygen to the blood the person will eventually die.
Summary
The respiratory system is the most important organ system in the body; it replaces old air in the lungs with new, oxygen rich air. The respiratory system consists of the nose, mouth, the trachea, and the lungs. The lungs are the most important part of the system because they filter the oxygen out of the air into the blood. Respiratory disorders are also known as COPDs. Three respiratory disorders are asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. They can all be caused by cigarette smoke. They are highly dangerous because they prevent full breathing.
SUMMARY
Asthma is a common respiratory disease that thousands of people have. A lot of money is spent trying to find a cure for asthma. Asthma is caused by many things but mostly allergies. The signs of asthma are wheezing, chest pains, and many other things. Although asthma is not curable, it can be controlled. It takes a lot of medicine to control asthma. However, many people live normal lives with asthma. The respiratory system is the most important organ system in the body, it replaces old air in the lungs with new, oxygen rich air. The respiratory system consists of the nose, mouth, the trachea, and the lungs. The lungs are the most important part of the system because they filter the oxygen out of the air into the blood. Respiratory disorders are also known as COPDs. Three respiratory disorders are asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. They can all be caused by cigarette smoke. They are highly dangerous because they prevent full breathing. This is important because none of these disorders can be prevented or cured, however they can be controlled. Asthma is a biological problem to man because it affects the lives of thousands of people. Also it is a biological problem because it has not been cured and people die from severe attacks yearly. Until there is a cure, asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis will continue to be a biological problems facing man.
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