What is asthma?
Asthma is a lung disease. It can be life threatening.
Asthma is chronic. In other words you can live with it every day.
Asthma causes breathing problems. These breathing problems are called attacks or episodes of asthma.

When you have Asthma it is important to:
Take your asthma seriously.
Take asthma medicines for your asthma.
When asthma symptoms do not stop, get help.

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Know your asthma symptoms

"I cough a lot while I exercise or even when I rest after exercising."
"I have shortness of breath."
"I make a wheezing sound when I breathe."
"I feel a tightness in my chest."
Do you feel this way sometimes? Any one of these symptoms may mean that you have asthma .You can have one or more of these symptoms or even different ones. Symptoms are clues that let you know that you are having an asthma attack.

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Find out what starts your asthma symptoms

Usually symptoms get started or "triggered" by something that bothers your lungs. These things are called asthma triggers. There are many kinds of triggers. They can range from viruses (such as colds) to allergies, to gases and particles in the air.
Given this range, you may find it hard to figure out what starts your asthma attacks .You may think your attacks just happen but this is generally not true. Something usually triggers an attack.

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So what’s the good news in all of this?

Once you find out your triggers, you can do something to prevent your asthma attacks. This gives you control .The results is that when and if you have attacks, there’s a good chance that they will be less severe and you won’t have as many.

For example, do you get an asthma attack after you’ve exercised? If you do, you should see a doctor. You can get help. You can still exercise when you have asthma, but you may need to take rest breaks while you exercise. If you know that exercise triggers your asthma medicine before you exercise. This way, you can still have fun exercise without having an asthma attack.

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There are other asthma triggers that you can get rid of or avoid.

Good examples of these triggers are: -
Cold air
Dust
Feathers or molds
Paints, cleaners and sprays
Cigarette smoke
Nighttime asthma
Drugs
Occupational dust and vapors
Air pollution
Emotional stress and excitement

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Doctors are not exactly certain how you get asthma, but they do know that once you have it, your lungs react to things that can start an asthma attack.
For instance, when you have asthma, you might get asthma attack when you have a cold (or some kind of respiratory infection). Or, you might get an attack when you breath something that bothers your lungs (such as cigarette smoke, dust or feathers) in all cases, asthma is a result of the inflammation of the airways.

When this happens, three changes take place in your lungs:
Cells in your air tubes make more mucus than normal. This mucus is very thick and sticky it tends to clog up the tubes.
The air tubes tend to swell, just as swells when you get a scrape.
The muscles in your air tubes tighten.
These changes cause the air tubes to narrow. This makes it hard to breathe

Asthma attacks may start suddenly. Or they may take a long time, even days, to develop. Attacks can be severe, moderate or mild.

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SEVERE ATTACKS

When these happen, you may become breathless. As you’re less and less able to breath, you may have trouble talking. Your neck muscles may be tight as you breathe. Your lips and fingernails might have a grayish or bluish color. The skin around the ribs of your chest might be sucked in.
In case of severe asthma attack:
Take your asthma medicine as prescribed and get emergency medical help right away!
You can get into trouble if you wait too long to get help. This is how people die of asthma.
Go quickly to your doctor’s office or emergency room. The sooner you see the doctor, the faster you get the help you need.

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MODERATE AND MILD ATTACKS

These attacks are more common .You may start to feel tight in your chest, start coughing or spit up mucus. You may feel restless or have trouble sleeping. You might make a wheezing or whistling sound when you breathe. This can happen as you breathe air in and out of your narrowed air tubes.

What should you do in the case of a moderate or mild asthma attack?

Take you asthma medicine as prescribed. Usually then the air tubes in your lungs open up in minutes. Sometimes though, it can take several hours. Ask your doctor how long it takes for your medicine to work. If your medicine does not work in the time it is supposed to call your doctor.

The second wave
In some cases, your asthma attack may seem to ease up. But changes may take place in your air tubes that cause another attack or second wave, which is more severe and more dangerous than the first attack.

In the second wave, the air tubes continue to swell. This may happen even when you are not having asthma symptoms. At this time, you might find it harder to breathe. The second wave may last for days or even weeks after the first attack. Your lungs become more sensitive to other irritants. This can trigger more attacks. During the second wave, you may have to be admitted to a hospital. Doctors need to take care of your asthma and give you medicine that will reduce the swelling in your air tubes and relax the tightened muscles.

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Asthma Medicine

Asthma medicine keeps the air tubes in your lungs open.

There are two groups of asthma medicine:

BRONCHODILATORS are medicines that help to stop asthma attacks after they’ve started and can help prevent expected attacks, as from exercise.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES are medicines that help to control the inflammation and prevent asthma attacks from starting.

These medicines are sold under many brand names. They came in different forms too. These include sprays, pills, powders, liquids and shots. The doctor chooses the medicine and for which will work best for you.

Lets take a closer look at how these medicines can help you.
First, bronchodilators. These medicines give you relief during an asthma attack. Bronchodilators work to relax the muscles in your air tubes. As this happens, your air tubes open up, making it easier for you to breathe.

Anti-inflammatory, on the other hand, work to keep your air tubes open all the time, so that you don’t have an asthma attack in the first place. These medicines reduce the swelling in your air tubes and decrease the mucus. Cromoly and nedocromil are two examples of anti-inflammatory medicine. Another example is corticosteroids.

When you hear the word "steroid" you might think of the steroids used by athletes. This may worry you if you have heard about the side effects and problems athletes have when taking steroids. But corticosteroids are not the steroids used by the athletes. Those steroids are called "anabolic steroids."

Remember that corticosteroids are used to help prevent asthma attacks form starting. When you take this medicine in spray form the serious side effect is very little, if any at all. The chances of serious side effects increases only when these medicines are take in a pill or liquid form over a long period of time. In that case you need to get regular check-ups by a doctor to make sure that the medicine works best for you.

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Lets talk about side effects for the moment. Every kind of medicine, even aspirin
Can have some side effects. But a doctor can help you by finding ways to control side effects. When it comes to asthma medicine, it is important to check regularly with a doctor to make sure that these medicines are helping you. Sometimes you may have some side effects, such as a sore throat, nervousness, nausea, rapid heartbeat, loss of appetite, or staying awake. Tell a doctor if you feel this way. The doctor may want to change your dose, or try to a different asthma medicine. The purpose of asthma medicines is to help you feel better and control your asthma so that you can do what you want to do without asthma getting in your way.
One final note on medicines. There is another kind of treatment that can be important to you if your asthma attacks get started by allergies. This treatment is called hypo sensitization therapy or allergy shots. These shots may be helpful to you in preventing your asthma attacks.
On the other hand, the kind of things that you do are just as important as the kind of medicine that you take You can help yourself when you try to avoid or get rid of the things that make you allergic, such as dust, feathers, or animal fur. By doing this, you really take control and make it possible for your asthma medicine to work successfully.

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The doctor’s role in asthma care

The doctor’s role in asthma care begins with your diagnosis. Once a doctor decides that you have asthma, and then you and the doctor can work together to control it. During the diagnosis, a doctor will take your medical history, give you a physical checkup and do some lab tests. These tests may include a chest x-ray, blood and allergy tests, and lung-function tests.
The lung-functions tests may involve such things as spirometry and peak flow monitoring. In spirometry, you blow into a device called a Spiro meter, which measures the air you breathe in and out of your lungs. In the peak flow monitoring, you blow into a device called a peak flow meter, which measures the greatest amount of air that you can exhale. Both spirometry and peak flow monitoring tests can help the doctor decide whether or not you have asthma.
Once the doctor decides that you do, indeed, have asthma, then medical treatment
Can start. This means that the doctor chooses the best asthma medicines at the right doses for you. The doctor too may recommend that you start using a peak flow at home. Ask your doctor about this. Peak flow meters are easy to use by you every day. These devices can help you to know if your breathing problems are starting even when you do not feel any asthma symptoms. That way you when to take your asthma medicine before your symptoms get worse.
After you start taking your asthma medicine, you need to see a doctor on a regular basis-not just when you’re having problems. That way the doctor can make certain your medicines are working well.

He needs to know: -

1) You have breathing problems at night and you do not get a good night’s sleep.
2) Your asthma makes it hard for you to do things during the day.
3) You take more medicine than the doctor has prescribed. This is a danger sign! It means that something is not working treatment.

There is no need for you to suffer. Once you talk with a doctor; you may find that a change in your asthma medicines is all that is needed to help you feel better.
So talk regularly to a doctor about your asthma. There are many things that can start asthma and asthma can change, sometimes getting better or worse. You may find that your medicines need to be changed. Or, new medicines may be available that will work even better for you.

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YOUR ROLE IN ASTHMA CARE

There are three things that you need to do to control your asthma. If you’ve read this far, then you know at least two of them already!

FIRST: - see a doctor regularly about your asthma. This is important because your symptoms can change over time. Your trigger can change, too. You may need different medicines to keep you healthy. So regular contact with the doctor is an important part of controlling your asthma.

SECOND: -take your asthma medicines as the doctor has prescribed, even when you feel well. That way, you keep breathing problems from happening.

THIRD: - get educated about asthma. Find out what triggers it and what you must do to stay healthy. In fact, everyone in your family should know what to do when you need help

Start taking control of Asthma:
Learn your triggers and symptoms and what to do about them.
Learn what to do for asthma attacks.
Learn about your medicines so you know how quickly they should work.

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The National Asthma Association of Kenya (NAAK) can help you

Controlling asthma can be hard and frustrating. But don’t give up. The National Asthma Association of Kenya (NAAK) can help you. NAAK offers asthma education programs, asthma camps, for you, your family and health professionals. We can help learn more about asthma.
Give us a call on 561043 and asks for Nyagaki.

We need your support to fight Asthma call us to find out how you can help, or visit us at Yaya center 4th floor (Yaya medical and chest services)

"Let every person breathe!"

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