About Asthma

Asthma is a condition that affects the air passages of the lungs. It is a two-step problem:

• When a person has asthma, the air passages are inflamed, which means that the airways are red and swollen.
• Inflammation of the air passages makes them over extra-sensitive to a number of different things that can “trigger,” or bring on, asthma symptoms. This happens through narrowing of the airways, tightening of the airway muscles (Bronchoconstriction) and excessive phlegm.  Causing shortness of breath, tightness, heeze and cough. Occasionally this can result in reduced oxygenation and respiratory failure.

Asthma is a chronic condition. This means that while it often looks like it goes away for awhile, the inflammation of the air passages remains present all the time. However, in some instances, this inflammation may go unnoticed for long periods of time. As long as the air passages are inflamed, asthma can flare up at any time. This is one of the reasons that an awareness of the triggers that cause the flare-ups.

Most children outgrow their allergies, however some dont! We can predict to a certain level who is most likely to outgrow their allergy. That depends on the type of allergy and the cause.