ALLERGIES AND ASTHMA
Among all allergic and respiratory-related diseases, asthma makes up the majority. Asthma is perhaps one of the leading causes of respiratory illness among children and young adults although this condition may progress a lifetime.
While it is considered an allergy, asthma is so prevalent (especially among children) that it deserves to be addressed in its own chapter.
Proper care and health maintenance is essential to warding off the debilitating repercussions of exposure to irritants which could trigger all the symptoms underlying such disease.
The following information provides you with all of the basic need-to-know information about asthma, its exact nature, progression of the disease and current medical treatment in place to treat the symptoms manifested by patients.
What exactly is Asthma?
Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by difficulty of breathing, wheezing, coughing, and increased mucus production during recurrent attacks. These same symptoms can cause death in some cases depending on the severity of the amount of allergens involved and antihistamine molecules produced by the body enough to block the airways for the transportation of air to the lungs.
Around 7 to 10% of children experience the condition and current statistics shows an increasing number of sufferers. Asthma does not seem to be an inherited disease since a family member, who apparently do not have relatives exhibiting the symptoms of the disease, can be infected anytime should he or she is exposed to environmental factors triggering the onset of the disease.
People with this medical condition have a very sensitive bronchial pathway. Presence of molecules or particles recognized by the body as foreign can set a huge allergic attack characteristic of the condition described above.
From a medical point of view, asthma is a type of allergy. Allergy is defined as a change in the body's biological activity due to the presence of one or more types of allergens (substance promoting the symptoms of allergy.
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, more than 50 million Americans are suffering from allergy and currently 20 million individuals, comprising the wide-range of America's population experiences the symptoms of asthma.
Causes of Asthma
Causes of asthma can be in the form of dust, certain chemicals, scents, and various odors. Other trigger factors may be in the form of temperature. Cold or hot air can provoke allergic reactions to patients sensitive to them. In any case, allergic reactions are specific to individuals and not all individuals suffering from allergy responds universally to all types allergens.
Particularly interesting clients are the ones allergic to some forms of physical activity like exercise. In the same manner, emotional state is one factor for some individuals in order for the characteristic asthma symptoms to set in.
Among all these influential agents, smoke has been found to occupy the universally recognized trigger attacks for patients with asthma especially for children. At least 8 out of 10 children are more prone to developing asthmatic conditions once exposed to these agents.
Perhaps, as society becomes industrialized and increased fume emissions accelerates, more and more people will develop symptoms characteristic of this disease.
This article is contributed by Ken Cheong. You may find many similar health and wellness articles at the two websites that he publishes at http://www.quick-pain-relief.com and http://www.health-wellness-care.com 
