Asthma is a chronic lung disease that today affects more than 235 million people worldwide and approximately 25 million in the United States (NHLBI). The disease is caused by inflammation of the airways, characterized by wheezing, chest tightness, coughing and shortness of breath, due to narrowing and/or obstruction of the airways. Currently, a specific reason for the onset of asthma has not been identified, however, studies show that asthma exists in society due to many genetic and environmental factors. Environmental factors include certain allergens and irritants such as mold, pet dander, weather conditions, tobacco smoke, dust mites, strong inorganic odors, pollen, some insects and industrial dust. (NHLBI) Asthma is also caused by genetic factors as some people are born with the hereditary tendency to have the disease, especially if their biological parents had the disease. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Asthma can occur anywhere in the world and is not geographically limited, as the environmental risk factors mentioned above can be found everywhere, but certain ethnic and racial groups are at increased risk for asthma such as African Americans and Puerto Ricans, who are three times more likely to be hospitalized due to the disease. (Holgate, 2010) Furthermore, a group at high risk for asthma is children who have had respiratory infections during childhood, as they can result in weaker and more sensitive airways. If an infant or young child is exposed to viral infections or certain airborne allergens during the development of his or her respiratory system, the likelihood of contracting the disease is also increased. Although there is no exact origin of asthma, asthma-like respiratory complications have been recorded in China as far back as 2400 BC Occupational asthma, which is a type of asthma that develops due to industrial dust and chemical irritants in the workplace, it is a lung disorder that many workers are at risk of having. (NHLBI) This may continue to pose a risk to the community if standards for improved and safe ventilation and air quality are not ensured or enforced to protect workers from irritants and allergens that could lead to asthma. Another risk is that the quality of life of asthma patients will continue to deteriorate if allergens and irritants continue to be exposed and produced. Asthma can lead to a reduction in quality of life due to asthma attacks, which can be fatal. This can affect a student's school life, causing lost learning time in school, or it can affect a worker by reducing available time and energy spent on work due to hospitalizations or emergency room visits. (NIAID, 2018) How to solve the problem Although the number of asthma patients who die from asthma each year is not very significant, many of these deaths can be avoided with proper care and treatment of the disease. (AsthmaMD) Although there is no cure for the disease, one strategy to reduce the pervasiveness of asthma is for asthma patients to follow the Asthma Action Plan, produced by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The action plan is a graphical guide for people with asthma to take their medications correctly, avoid triggers except exercise, respond to symptoms that seem to get worse, monitor their level of asthma control asthma and provide directions for seeking emergency care. if necessary. The action plan is divided into threewellness categories for asthma patients to identify their specific needs in their current condition. There are two main types of medications for asthma patients. The first type is long-term control medications. This type of medicine is generally used more for preventative measures and symptom control, rather than immediate relief of symptoms. Long-term control medicines help prevent asthma symptoms and can reduce inflammation of the airways; therefore, a common long-term control treatment is inhaled anti-inflammatory corticosteroids, the dose of which depends on the symptoms of asthma. person. (NHLBI) The second type of medications for asthma patients are rapid relief medications. Also called rescue medicines, this type of medicine is taken for short-term relief of the symptoms of an asthma attack by helping the airways open temporarily. A common quick-relief medicine is a beta 2-agonist inhaler. (NHLBI) Another strategy used to acquire a solution to asthma is targeted research through clinical trials, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. This research is performed with the goal of understanding the specific immune responses that can lead to asthma and discovering how environmental exposures interact with an individual's genetics to cause a certain response that causes asthma. (NIAID) Understanding responses can support and aid the development of asthma treatments and prevention strategies to improve the quality of life of asthma patients. The research program identified the main asthma reactions, which include rapid heartbeat, drowsiness, chest tightness and shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing and more. Yang Yong Qing, a professor in Shanghai, China, has conducted extensive research on asthma medications, where the rate of asthma is very high due to the city's growing smog. After the professor and his research team tested thousands of drugs, they arrived at the development of a drug that bears the name TSG12. Compared to the traditional and preferred short-term beta 2-agonist drug, TSG12 activates a protein that reduces airway resistance and causes smooth muscle cells in the throat to relax, which is the root of the asthma problem. (Yin, 2018) Furthermore, repeated use of beta 2-agonists can result in desensitization and decreased efficacy, but studies on the drug TSG12 have shown that desensitization was not induced. (Yin, 2018) The drug is expected to enter the market soon, however, additional clinical trials will need to pass before the public can use TSG12. A cohort study conducted in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, showed an effective high-altitude treatment that took place in an asthma center located at an altitude of 1600 meters above sea level and offers personalized and multi-faceted treatment for patients with severe asthma in a low-trigger environment. (Hashimoto, 2018) Treatment results have shown increased quality of life and lung function for asthma patients. High-altitude climate therapy had a significant decrease in blood eosinophil levels, suggesting an anti-inflammatory effect that may be the result of decreased or absent triggers and allergens at sea level. Despite the positive results of the high altitude treatment, the treatment effects differed for each individual, consequently, the study emphasized that the effects can be predicted by patient characteristics such as age, level of eosinophils in the blood and degree of blood control. asthma first.
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