Asthma Facts

Listed below are some interesting facts, you may or may not know about asthma. I was quite surprised myself to learn about some of them. To the best of my knowledge, these are all true facts and figures.

: Over 300 million people have asthma.

: Scotland has the highest asthma rate worldwide.

: Asthmatics experience wheeze, chest tightness and breathlessness.

: Most asthmatics will of had a day of work in the last month.

: The risk of dying from asthma increases with age.

: Asthma tends to be long lasting.

; Asthma occurs frequently or occassionly.

: More boys than girls have asthma in childhood.

: In adults, more women than men have asthma.

: 80% of asthmatics have allergic rhinitis.

: Asthma causes 180,000 deaths a year worldwide.

The facts above are quite alarming. Asthma deaths are 'surprisingly' high. In 1999 asthma was only made a top Health priority, (only 8 years ago) and this is quite alarming. Below are even more facts about asthma.

: Asthma is a chronic lung disease.

: Asthma is a disease that can be controlled not cured.

: Asthma is an inflamatory condition of he bronical airways.

: Asthma is a disease that some people are born with.

: Asthma is a disease others can develope later on in life.

Asthma is indeed a chronic lung disease, and of yet, no cure has been found. The condition can be controlled for most asthmatics, but some severe asthmatics have a harder time controlling the disease. According to a recent questioner on asthma, the following information was collected.

: 84% of asthmatics say 'asthma has a great impact on their lives'.

: 75% of asthmatics report 'urgent Doctor visits'.

: 61% of asthmatics say 'they have altered lives'.

: 61% found it hard to sleep through the night due to their asthma.

: 70% say 'their whole family life is effected by asthma'.

: 50% say 'their level of activity is altered'.

: 73% Did not know the difference between a Controller inhaler, and a reliever inhaler.

Are you shocked yet? Below is a list of common asthma triggers (things that make asthma worse). Asthmatics can have a few triggers, or quite alot of them. These are the most common ones.

: Smoking.

: Asprin and other medications.

: Dust and Dust mites.

: Strong emotional responses.

: Pets.

: Stress.

: Breathing in cold air/weather changes.

: Colds and respiratory infections.

: Mould and mildew.

: Playing sports or running.

: Perfumes/deodrants.

: Air pollution.

: Strong smelling chemicals.

: Second hand smoke.

Asthma attacks can be very frightening, to both patients and their family. Below are symptoms of an asthma attack to look out for. Knowing what to look out for could save your life or someone elses life.

: Coughing.

: Tightness in chest.

: Feeling tired.

: Restlessness.

: Wheezing.

Around 300 million people are estimated to have asthma, and by 2025 there could be an additional 100 million. Roughly 5 out of every 100,000 asthmatics will die from the disease, this is 4,000 people worldwide, but new shock figures are now estimating 180,000. In 2004, 187 children died from asthma. Asthma is more comon today. This is because we spend more time indoors so we are exposed to more allergens like, cigarette smoke, pets, dust and mould. We are exposed to fewer viruses and bacteria because of improved living conditions. We also are today more over weight and tend to do less exercise. Yes ( thats a Fact).

References: allergy matters.