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  •What is Asthma  
  •Body's Reaction to Asthma  
  •Asthma Triggers  
  •Diagnosis of Asthma  
  •Management of Asthma  
  •Occupational Asthma  
  •Food and Asthma  
  •Exercise and Asthma  
  •Pregnancy and Asthma  
  •Allergy Testing  
  •Immune System  
  •Immunotherapy  
  •Allergic Rhinitis  
    
  •Sinusitis  
  •Stinging Insects  
  •Atopic Dermatitis  
  •Contact Dermatitis  

 
WHAT IS ASTHMA

It is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by inflammation of the airways, and increased responsiveness to various stimuli commonly called asthma triggers.

Asthma episodes involve progressively worsening shortness of breath, cough, wheezing or chest tightness, or some combination of these symptoms. The severity of asthma may range from mild to life-threatening.


Normal

Inflamed

 

ASTHMA TRIVIA

Americans with asthma: 20.5 million.

Children with asthma: 6.2 million children under age 18.

Asthma prevalence: approximately 6.8 percent of americans had asthma in 2002.

Asthma prevalence in pre-school children: 5.8 percent of children under age 5 had asthma in 1994.

Asthma deaths: more than 5,000 each year.

Asthma-related hospitalizations: 484,000 in 2002.

Emergency room visits for asthma: 1.9 million in 2002.

Healthcare costs for asthma care: $11.5 billion.

Missed schooldays: 14 million a year.

Loss in productivity by working parents caring for children who miss school due to asthma: an estimated $4.6 billion a year.