More than 40,000 people in the U.S. will suffer an asthma attack today, and thousands of them will go to an emergency room. While most people are able to manage the condition, it can pose a serious, even life-threatening
More than 40,000 people in the U.S. will suffer an asthma attack today, and thousands of them will go to an emergency room. While most people are able to manage the condition, it can pose a serious, even life-threatening risk. For families like Laura Ledford’s, asthma can take a devastating toll.
Ledford’s son Christopher, who had severe asthma and allergies, died at the age of 9, after suffering an acute bronchospasm, a sudden constriction of the airways in the lungs. “There was nothing out of the ordinary the day before,” she recalled. “He had a low grade fever, but it was gone by the morning.” Ledford was diagnosed with asthma when she was 12, and her 11-year-old son Nicholas has it too.
Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions, affecting 26 million Americans and claiming over 3,300 lives each year. Misconceptions about the disease persist, even as the number of cases continues to climb.
A lung disease in which inflammation of the air passages makes it difficult to breathe, asthma usually causes wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. People who have a family history, had respiratory infections as a child or have a tendency to develop allergies, a condition known as atopy, are especially at risk.
“With asthma, the body overreacts to minor things,” such as allergens or air pollution, said Edwin Kim, MD, a professor of allergy and immunology at University of North Carolina School of Medicine. “Genetics may set up the lung inflammation, and environment usually triggers the symptoms.”
Though more common among children than adults, asthma can occur in any person at any age. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it accounts for more than 10 million missed days of school and 14 million missed days of work every year. It’s a serious economic concern, with annual asthma-related costs in the U.S. totaling $56 billion.
Asthma is not curable, but most cases can be managed with proper prevention and treatment. There are several drug options, the most common being inhaled corticosteroids that reduce airway inflammation. Unlike orally administered steroids, these medications have a relatively low risk of side effects such as weight gain, rapid heartbeat, or mood swings. People on inhaled steroids, however, often experience hoarseness and oral thrush, a fungal infection of the mouth. Bronchodilators that relax the bronchial muscles and make it easier for air to pass through the lungs may also be prescribed.
“Everybody is different – some patients need more medications, some patients have more inflammation,” said Stanley Fineman, MD, at the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic. “It’s important to tailor the treatment to your specific condition so you can have better daily management.”
Long-term asthma medications are typically taken daily to keep the condition under control and avoid flare-ups. Studies show, however, that many patients don’t follow prescribed medication regimens, either because they don’t understand the risks or view self-treatment as an annoyance. “Compliance becomes an issue because these medications are prescribed for daily use, but people are only using them when they have an attack,” said Dr. Kim.
The American Lung Association recommends keeping a medicine schedule of what you take and when, or timing when you take medication according to other routines such as meals or brushing your teeth. Your doctor may also want you to monitor your condition using a peak flow meter, a handheld device that measures airflow when you blow into it.
Maintaining a normal, healthy lifestyle can be challenging for people with asthma, particularly when exercise triggers a flare-up. “We see it a lot, in children especially, where exercise is impaired by asthma,” said Don Dvorin, MD, an allergist at The Asthma Center in Philadelphia. It’s important that asthma patients remain active, as exercise can help their condition by strengthening the lungs and improving breathing.
Your doctor can help develop an action plan to keep symptoms under control while identifying what activities are better for you than others. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology recommends walking, leisure biking, hiking and “team sports that require short bursts of energy” as some activities that may be less likely to cause symptoms.
Steve Gaudet, who’s had asthma his whole life, knows the importance of exercise firsthand. “Not in a million years did I think I would ever walk two miles much less walk a whole marathon,” he said. But that’s what Gaudet did in 2006 and again three years later when he walked the Boston Marathon. “Working towards that goal made me realize how important physical activity was to improving my quality of life.”
Having asthma or caring for someone who does is often stressful and frightening. Patients and caregivers can benefit from learning about how other people cope, while sharing experiences and information about the disease.
“After what happened to Christopher, I was looking for support groups and couldn’t find any,” said Ledford. “You see all these groups for people with heart disease and people dying from it, but it was difficult to find help coping with an asthma death.”
Your doctor may know of local 