Asthma Illness Essay

Asthma (illness)

Chronic disease especially one that a child suffers from has to have an impact on his/her physical, spiritual, psychological and social life. A study was conducted which observed that children influence the facilities and services provided to them in a great way. It was said in a Convention carried out on the Rights of the Child that children should not only have a right but they should also be encouraged to participate and freely give their opinions and reviews about all the matters concerning them (Elward, Graham Douglas, Kurtis, 2010).

Lived Experiences

One study observed that when it comes to providing information to others it should be ensured that the information is compatible with the age and mental maturity levels of the person that it is targeted for. Therefore, when it comes to arranging the learning programs for the children we have to keep in mind their age, how they experience things in life as well as their background in linguistics to make sure that they are able to understand what is being said to them in an effective manner (Elward, Graham Douglas, Kurtis, 2010).

According to a research of all the diseases that children suffer from, asthma is not only the most common one but also a long-term medical condition which the children from. Another research suggests that the ratio of asthma occurrence is increasing and the atopic diseases are not only considered to be a health problem all over the world but it has also proven to be a factor resulting in morbidity in the children (Halapi and Bjornsdottir, 2009).

There was a study conducted where 10 years old Scandinavian children were tested for asthma and it was noted that the current asthma prevalence in children was 11.1%, lifetime asthma prevalence was 20.2% whereas 16.1% was the doctors' diagnosis rate for asthma which is the highest number that has ever been reported in Scandinavia. It was also noted in this study that boys as compared to girls are affected more from asthma (Halapi and Bjornsdottir, 2009).

Another Nordic study that was conducted on children who aged from 2-17 years found out that eczema, asthma and allergies are some of the most long-term reported illnesses. There are many children are their families who suffer from asthma in a direct or indirect manner (Arshad, 2010).

Focusing on the behaviour of children who suffer from asthma it was observed in a study that the children who suffer from asthma demonstrate signs of being guilty, fearful and uncertain and they feel like outsiders in their daily routine activities. There are many other studies which show that children who suffer from asthma have many behavioural and emotional problems as compared to the healthy children (Arshad, 2010).

A research was carried out regarding the daily life activities of children suffering from asthma and it was noted that girls who suffer from asthma restrict their physical activities a lot more than boys. It was also noted that as compared to the health care professionals (HCPs) the asthma control is children is poor and that while the HCPs focus on the symptoms of the disease the children pay more attention to the activity limitations that they have to go through because of asthma (Bornehag and Nanberg, 2010).

According to a study asthma is a disease that has made it difficult for 34 million Americans to breathe properly. Asthma is a respiratory disease which can't really be cured. In this disease the passage way through which the air flows in and out of the lungs narrows which results in coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. In some severe cases asthma can cause death as well. It is basically the airway getting inflamed. There are some other terms that are associated with asthma such as, Cardiac asthma and Bronchial asthma (Bornehag and Nanberg, 2010).

From among the 34 million people who have asthma five million of these are children and those too the ones who are under the age of 18. According to a research if asthma is diagnosed when you are a child, the symptoms can go away in teenage years. The numbers of deaths that take place in U.S. due to asthma each year are 5,500. Both males and females can suffer from asthma and it can occur at any stage in life. No particular link has been found between social level, age and ethnicity and the occurrence of asthma. However, it has been noticed that the rates of asthma occurrence is higher in poor neighbourhoods where there is cold climate (Bornehag and Nanberg, 2010).Studies show that asthma has increased approximately 60% from 1982-1994 and that children have been affected more by it as compared to adults. There has also been approximately 50% increase in deaths from 19879-1992. According to some scientists this increase in asthma is due to the increased pollution, houses with poor ventilation systems as well as second hand smoking (Bornehag and Nanberg, 2010).

Oxygen is of great importance for the human body to work in an effective manner. Lungs is the organ that helps in providing oxygen to the rest of our body as when we breath the air goes into the lungs and from there the oxygen travels into the blood which then helps it in getting to the rest of the body. Air travels to trachea through larynx when we take a breath, there are two branches that the trachea is divided into, these branches are known as the left and right bronchus. These bronchus are connected to the lungs directly. When we breathe the air first goes into the bronchus from where it reaches the lungs and passes through small clusters of air sacs that are known as alveoli. There are small blood vessels that surround the alveoli and this is where the exchange of gas takes place. From the walls of the alveoli the oxygen diffuses into the blood vessels and from there is goes into the rest of the body whereas, the carbon dioxide diffuses from the blood vessels into the alveoli and from here it is breathed out of the body (Bornehag and Nanberg, 2010).

In case something prevents the alveoli from getting enough oxygen the body cells don't get the required amount of oxygen and the carbon dioxide starts building up. An asthma attack occurs when the bronchioles and bronchi get inflamed or irritated. As a result of the inflammation the space through which the air travels reduces and therefore sufficient amount of air isn't able to get through the lungs. Most of the times the people who suffer from asthma attack develop a dry cough or start feeling pressure on the chest. In case that the attack becomes worse the person starts having difficulty breathing, development of stringy mucus takes place. Because of the inflammation of the air way sufficient amount of oxygen isn't able to get through the air way and reach alveoli and usually this results in the body starting to burn the oxygen at an increased rate (Bornehag and Nanberg, 2010).

The frequency of asthma attacks varies from person to person. Some people might have them monthly while there may be others who have them on daily basis (Elward, Graham Douglas, Kurtis, 2010).

The usual reasons for the airway getting inflamed are various kinds of irritants such as the pet hair, cigarette smoke or some other kind of foreign body that might come into contact with the walls of the airway. Swelling and redness of the airway is the body's way of protecting itself against the infection or the foreign body as when some harmful thing gets into contact with the airway the immune system gets signals that an irritant has entered the body, the cells at the site of the foreign body release histamine and as a result the air way gets inflamed and red. Bronchi spasms are also caused by these histamines and as a result the muscles of the airway contract in a rapid manner which makes the airway even narrower (Elward, Graham Douglas, Kurtis, 2010).

There are a number of physiological and environmental stimuli that can cause asthma attacks. Small lightweight particles are among the most common causes of asthma attacks as, these particles are present in the air and when we breathe the air containing these particles, they get transported to our lungs. Once they have entered the airway they result in cause inflammation of the airway which eventually results in an asthma attack. For most of the people who get asthma attacks due to the stimuli present in the environment around them, they are usually allergic to the natural substances such as the animal fecal material that is present in the dust or the pollen. For people who are not allergic to the natural substances the most common cause of asthma is the chemical irritants. Substances like perfumes, cosmetics and household cleaners can be these kinds of chemical irritants (Elward, Graham Douglas, Kurtis, 2010).

However, it has to be kept in mind….....