The Growing Problem Of Asthma

As a medical condition, asthma has been known since very early human history. In ancient Egypt, this respiratory condition was treated by heating some medicinal herbs and inhaling their fumes. In China, herbs with ephedrine were inhaled to treat asthma attacks. 

Asthma affects the lungs and its airways. Some patients living with asthma experience recurrent episodes of a wheezing cough during the nighttime or in the early morning as well as chest tightness. Unlike other lung diseases, asthma is reversible. It is characterized by a narrowing of the airways. This obstruction is caused by inflammation that may be triggered by irritants either from within the body or from the environment. 

Asthma can be caused by a variety of factors

External stimuli, found in the environment, are various and may include animal hair, pollen, changes in humidity and weather, and smoking.

Medication such as Aspirin, beta-blockers, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are also contributing factors. One large-scale study that involved over 500,000 children even found that the incidence may be due to the household exposure to asthma irritants such as cooking oil used in the open fire kitchens.

Susceptibility to asthma attacks may be caused not only by environmental factors, but by genetic predisposition as well. Individuals who have an innate defect on the mucosal lining of the airways have been found to be prone to developing asthma.

Individuals with asthma usually complain of a mild wheezing cough. When the airways swell up, its surroundings tighten, making it hard for air to pass. This means that air can’t freely move in and out of the lungs since mucus obstructs the airways making breathing difficult. When left untreated, asthma may lead to more serious respiratory failures.

A range of treatments is currently available to manage asthma attacks

While we still have no definite cure for asthma, medications can help in managing the symptoms of this condition.

Some long-term medicines, such as steroids and long-acting beta-agonists, are breathed in. A number of other drugs are taken orally. The latter drugs aim to lessen the number of attacks and reduce their severity. Inhalable corticosteroids are still considered the mainstay treatment and used to treat mild to moderate asthma.

Incidence Of Asthma Significantly Increased In The Last Decades

It is not clear why, but the number of people suffering from asthma is currently growing.

As a result, the protective mechanisms of the body remain inadequately prepared to the possible environmental hazards. Currently, over 200 million persons are diagnosed with asthma worldwide. Asthma is the most-commonly occurring illness among children. According to the latest statistics, more developed countries have the highest incidence of asthma, although asthma-related mortality is much higher in the developing world.

Although asthma can affect individuals of all ages, 50 percent of affected patients are children. Asthma is also more frequent among elderly people. The disease is often under-diagnosed and under-treated in elderly individuals who often have other medical conditions. This leads to more frequent hospitalization and increased mortality.

In recent years in some countries like Australia the frequency of asthma decreased. However, there has been a rise in asthma-related mortality among children below 15 years of age. This observation points to the need for better management standards.

Productivity loss and health care costs associated with asthma

Due to its growing incidence, asthma is now a global health concern. The disease exerts a significant strain on the national healthcare systems. One 2013 study conducted in Britain estimated the financial impact caused by asthma. The study recruited 12,203 individuals of different ages who were followed for the 12-month period. Seventy four percent of the participants were on medications during the study, and 22 percent suffered at least one asthma attack during this period.

The incidence contributed 2.04 million British pounds for treatment cost. The findings also revealed that asthma symptoms among the subjects aged 5 to 15 were mostly exercise-induced, while symptoms in the group aged 16 to 44 were often associated with poor inhaler technique. Researchers concluded that avoidance of risk factors and adhering to the asthma treatment guidelines may significantly improve the management of asthma and reduce the associated healthcare costs.

Asthma, especially in its severe and persistent form, is also known to contribute to a significantly reduced productivity both in work and education. A 12-month study that involved over 2000 subjects sought to evaluate the effect of asthma attacks on the performance of workers.  It was found that, in comparison to mild and moderate forms of asthma, severe asthma causes twice as much productivity loss at work and during daily activities and almost doubles the activity impairment at school, due to attacks and the necessity to use medication.

Preventive measures that can reduce the risk of an asthma attack include but by no means are limited to taking certain drugs. It also helps to avoid the activities or environmental factors that may cause an asthmatic attack. The best key to adequately manage asthma attacks remains to be the knowledge of the individual triggering factors.

Patients who have noticed increased severity of symptoms should, therefore, consult with their doctor about medication alterations, as well as keeping a "trigger" journal that can allow them to discover which substances tend to set off symptoms, with the goal of avoiding them.