Asthma is a reversible obstructive lung disease, caused by an increased reaction of the airways to various stimuli. It is a chronic condition with acute exacerbations. Asthma can be a life-threatening disease if not properly managed. It is estimated that 6.3 million children under eighteen years of age have asthma, of which four million suffered from an asthma attack or episode in the past year. Asthma is the leading serious chronic illness among children. Most children have mild to moderate problems, and their illness can be controlled by treatment at home or in the doctor's office. For some children the illness becomes a formidable problem causing numerous visits to the hospital emergency room and multiple hospitalizations. When I began researching this paper, I wanted to look at childhood asthma within the context of promoting the positive health of a child, providing information, which would help parents to manage childhood asthma. As I continued looking in to the masses of research material available, I become increasingly aware of how this chronic disease affects huge amount of children before the age five. It is the leading cause in of school absenteeism attributed to chronic conditions.
Asthma is a disease that causes the muscles surrounding the bronchial tubes in the lungs to contract more than they should, narrowing the air passages. The lining of the air passages becomes inflamed and swollen. Increased mucus production begins to block the passage of air into the lungs. Asthma breathing problems usually happen in episodes, but the inflammation underlying asthma is continuous. During an asthma attack the tubes become further inflamed and obstructed, and the air sacs become enlarged, resulting in an inability to breathe properly. Many parents do not realize that a chronic cough may be the only symptom of asthma and that a child does not have to wheeze to have asthma. Children with reactive airway disease, recurrent bronchitis or wheezy bronchitis probably have asthma.
