Asthma is a chronic disease that inflames the lungs and it is affecting more people throughout the world each year. The actual definition of asthma can be found here. It causes a number of respiratory problems and is sometimes misdiagnosed or goes without any diagnosis at all. Some people might be living in a home and get a cough every once in a while that they can't explain while others might experience wheezing when they exercise. The causes of asthma are not entirely known but it is not associated with emotional triggers, as doctors thought that it was in the past. There are millions of people across the world who suffer from this condition and it is definitely something that affects younger children, young people in their twenties and thirties, and people over the age of sixty-five.
There are several different symptoms that you might want to look for if you think that you could be a sufferer of asthma. You could have a chronic cough that follows you to working at your place of employment or that you have had in school for several weeks or you might experience chest tightness or frequent nighttime awakenings for no apparent reason. Then there are those who have shortness of breath or have decreased ability to perform at their normal level sometimes. If you have experienced any of these symptoms repeatedly then you might want to visit your physician to see if you suffer from asthma. This is something that can affect those that are frequent runners.
It is estimated that about one in twelve people across North America suffer from some form of asthma. This is about eight percent of the population and this is an increase of about one percent over the last ten years. Asthma is more common in children then it is in adults and about one in ten children suffer from this condition. But, only about half of the people who have some form of asthma suffered from an asthma attack last year. That means that if you're working this does not have to be a condition that affects your everyday life. It is completely manageable in the majority of people with the condition.
About seventy percent of people who suffer from asthma have some sort of allergies and your environment can certainly play a factor whether it means contracting the condition or bringing on an attack. If you're working in an office then you might not have to worry about your environment on a daily basis. But, this might be something that you want to think about if you're allergic to something like dust or if you're living in a place where there are lots of allergens around you. While asthma is usually not a serious condition, it can trigger some pretty intense attacks.
For more information and advice regarding asthma, please visit The Lung Association.