Asthma is an inflammation of a person’s airway in the lungs. It is one of the most common problems with the lungs.
Pollution, allergens, workplace environment and medication are a few things that might cause asthma. The most common symptoms are chest tightness, shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and an obstructed airway. There is no known cure for this as of right now, but science works diligently and slowly to arrive at a safe, reliable solution. But modern science is capable of minimizing a person’s suffering and allowing a person to manage his problems and live a very normal life.
Montek LC is one such medication. It is a combination treatment of Levocetrizine and Montelukast. This medicine inhibits the histamine production in the body and reduces inflammation and nasal congestion, allowing the person to breathe freely. Combination treatments such as these are known to have high success rates in improving the quality of life of asthma patients and are regarded highly.
Img source: health.clevelandclinic.org
People with hypersensitivity for allergens and irritants in the environment are also known to experience this disease. Then, there are man-made reasons as well, such as the consumption of certain medications that can cause asthmatic symptoms as a side effect.
One of the most famous persons with asthma was Theodor Roosevelt. The President of the United States suffered from debilitating nighttime breathing problems that made it impossible to sleep, during childhood and at a later stage in life.
Like that, there are plenty of other interesting little tidbits about this condition:
- Kids suffering from this disease have a more than average chance to miss school days. They develop difficulties socializing due to the embarrassment and nature of their attacks.
- As worldwide development increases, with industrialization and technology permeating our lives, the rates of asthma are increasing by 15% per year.
- People suffering from this disease can be both rich and poor and suffer from the same consequences, but a large portion of patients happen to be lower class families that happen to be present in areas of poorer air quality. Quality of air has strong correlations with the incidence of asthma in several countries.
- Attacks are not just triggered by the allergens and pollutants, but activities such as exercise, smoking, and infections can trigger severe attacks for some people. The inflammation of the lungs and/or the hypersensitivity involved flares up in the presence of particular allergens and pollutants such as ozone and nitrogen dioxide.
- The demographic most likely to develop breathing related problems are college adults between the ages of 18-24. The hygiene hypothesis is cited as the cause for poorer immune systems in adulthood leading to an increased likelihood of developing asthmatic symptoms.
- There is a lot of science behind it. One of the popular theories happens to be the hygiene hypothesis which states that people are suffering from such conditions because of increased cleanliness and lower exposure to bacteria in childhood, resulting in weak immune systems. But individuals with normal immune systems, but other problems, such as being obese, can also trigger this condition as well.
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- About 1.3 million emergency hospital visits and 439,000 hospitalizations are due to Asthma annually, with several being due to improper inhaler use.
- It costs the American economy $56 billion per year in the US and 1 billion pounds in the UK.
- Dry, windy and wet weather is reported to exacerbate existing conditions.
- Corticosteroids are the most effective medications given to people suffering from this disease, to control and manage their conditions. They can normalize lung function.
- The UK has 8 million diagnosed patients.
- The NSH spends 1 billion euros annually on treatment of patients with such breathing problems.
- Several international athletes have asthma, such as David Beckham, Sir Bradley Wiggins, and Tim Dolan, giving courage to patients everywhere and act as living proof that the condition can be managed.
Img source: health.clevelandclinic.org
- Millions are exposed to dangerous conditions at work that triggers what is known as occupational asthma in working adults. Car fumes, flour dust, animal fur, and feathers are the frequent work-related pollutants. Woodworking, baking, spray painting, health care industries are known to have the highest rates of occupationally induced asthma.
- It is speculated that 45.6 percent of patients with breathing problems fail to use proper techniques when using their inhalers.
- It is the predominant lung-based inflammation in the world
- Particular demographics are known to have higher sufferers from this disease, such as Hispanics and African Americans in the US.
- The root cause of asthma hasn’t been understood yet. It is speculated to be a combination of environmental and hereditary interactions.
- People were treated with kyphi, an incense mixture aimed at solving breathing problems in 450 BC under Hippocrates care. In the 1930s, asthma was grouped under a special category known as the “holy seven psychosomatic illnesses.”
