THE CARE & TREATMENT GUIDE FOR ACTIVE ADOLESCENTS

Now that you have asthma...
What is it?

Your doctor has explained your recent health problems as being due to asthma. So what is this unwelcome invader in your life? Asthma is a lung disease that is characterized by the inflammation and/or obstruction of the airways that transport air from the nose and mouth to the lungs. It can be controlled effectively with a treatment regimen overseen by your physician. In other words, proper management is the key.

Asthma is not contagious, but it does tend to run in families, and you can get it at any age. It is not caused by emotional factors, but once you have asthma, emotional situations can trigger an attack or make it worse. Some people experience attacks during the night due to mucus accumulated as they sleep.

Difficulty in breathing is the chief sign of asthma and often includes a wheezing or whistling sound as you breath out. "Attacks" are episodes of intense difficulty triggered by special conditions. In an attack, the muscles around the small air tubes tighten, which narrows the air tubes, and the membranes inside the air tubes swell, so the tubes become even narrower. The traumatized membranes then produce an excess of mucus, which clogs the air passage further still. Asthma attacks can be triggered by: