Managing Asthma – The Steps

Once asthma has been diagnosed, there are several steps to managing it. Well managed asthma should cause no problems, although getting the right control regime may take a while.

Many people develop asthma as a child and live with it throughout their lives. Some have asthma as children but then grow out of it, and some people develop it later in life. There are theories that allergic conditions such as asthma and hay fever go in seven year cycles and will start to improve after seven years. That hasn’t been borne out in research so may be more myth than fact. It is the case, though that some asthma improves with very little medical intervention.

Most people control their asthma by working out what triggers it and then avoiding those triggers. Obviously that isn’t always possible, but it should be tried as a first step. Alongside this many people are prescribed reliever medications. These are given to people with mild or occasional asthma. They are known as short acting beta2-agonists and are often in inhaler form. These work by preventing the muscles around the air tubes from narrowing, they reduce any swelling and also the amount of phlegm produced. In this way the symptoms of wheezing and coughing are reduced.

If you need to use a short acting beta2-agonist more than a couple of times a week, you may be given the next step medicine, which is known as a preventer. This is an inhaler containing corticosteroids. They should be taken twice a day, and the other reliever inhaler used when symptoms get worse. Regular use of corticosteroids dramatically reduces the incidence of asthma attacks. Be aware that smoking reduces the effect of the preventer medications.

The third step of treatment, if your asthma is not kept under control, is an add-on preventer therapy. Usually this is another inhaler known as a long acting beta2-antagonist.

If your asthma is still poorly controlled then the dosages of the medicines may be increased. There are also other drugs which can be prescribed such as slow release beta2-agonist tablets, which are used to control night-time attacks; Leukotriene receptor antagonists which are tablets that work by preventing inflammation, and Theophyllines which can have side effects but act to make the airways wider by relaxing muscles.

As a fifth step, oral steroids may be prescribed but the incidence of this being required is low. There are risks associated with oral steroids so doctors prefer to exhaust other options first.

Asthma is common and treatable so if you find yourself diagnosed with it, don’t panic. Your doctor and healthcare team will be able to find a therapy solution that works for you.

Copyright 2009

What is Asthma ?

Asthma is a common lung disease. It often runs in families and statistically affects more women than men, but the number of men suffering from asthma is increasing year on year. It is caused when the small tubes in the airways of the lungs, known as the bronchi, become inflamed and swollen. The bronchi on people with asthma are more easily irritated by triggers than bronchi on people without the illness. The triggers could be cold air, allergies, smoking or colds and chest infections.

When the bronchi become irritated and become inflamed, the production of mucus in the tubes also increases. This makes breathing difficult and can lead to coughing, a tightness in the chest area and the characteristic asthmatic wheezing and shortness of breath. A severe asthma attack is prolonged, can often take up to 48 hours to develop and may require hospital treatment. The symptoms will worsen and the breath output will decrease, the pulse rate will increase, the wheezing will get worse and the patient may become restless. In addition, the lips and nails may become a little blue colored and talking may become harder.

Asthma can usually be managed by a combination of medications and lifestyle changes, but some complications can arise from it. It is recommended that asthma patients receive a vaccination against influenza as other illnesses can make asthma worse. Pneumonia also has a higher incidence rate among asthma sufferers than non sufferers, and asthma can occasionally cause the collapse of part or all of a lung, lead to an unresponsive asthma attack or respiratory failure. All of these complications can be treated if hospital attention is sought quick enough. The risk of complications is greater in older people and very young children.

There is no single known cause of asthma. Genetic factors do seem to play some part as do diet and the environment in which people live. Smoking also increases the likelihood of any respiratory disease and can certainly make asthma worse. If someone has been exposed to smoke as a child (even second hand smoke) or if their mother smoked whilst pregnant then this also seems to increase their chances of having asthma. If a person has allergies or other allergic conditions such as eczema then they are also more likely to have asthma.

Whilst there is no known cause, the treatments available now are highly effective and provided asthma is managed properly sufferers can lead full, active lives without complications.

Copyright 2009

Lung Cancer-Warning Signs And Symptoms

Lung cancer being the most fatal of all the cancers worldwide is regarded as one of the leading causes of death amongst both men and women in the U.S. It is the most universal form of cancer in men worldwide whereas, the fifth most common form of cancer in women.

In medical terminology, the malevolent transformation and expansion of lung tissues causes lung cancer, in simple words, the rapid growth of abnormal cells in the lungs leads to lung cancer which may start anywhere in the lungs and cause respiratory issues, healthy tissues are destroyed and invaded and the whole body is affected.

When examined under a microscope by a pathologist lung cancer can be of two types, namely:

Small Cell Lung Cancer: This type of lung cancer accounts for 20% of lung cancer, with smoking being one of the most common causes for SCLC.

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: NSCLC is accountable for 80% of lung cancers, which have related symptoms. This includes Squamous cell carcinoma (also called epidermoid carcinoma), Large Cell Carcinoma, Adenocarcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Treatment of lung cancer varies as it is based on the exact location and the extent of spread. Usually, there are no definite signs or symptoms in the early stages, as they only occur later in the advance stages. It is only on a routine chest X-ray or CT scan that lung cancer in the form of coin lesions, is detected in its tumour form which looks like a coin.

Some of the symptoms of lung cancer include:

• A persistent cough which worsens with time
• Aggravation of an existing chronic cough
• Blood being coughed up
• Breathing difficulties such as shortness of breath accompanied by hoarseness and wheezing
• Constant chest pain
• Repeated attacks of bronchitis or pneumonia
• Swollen face and neck
• Unexplained weight loss and/or fatigue

Some other symptoms related with late-stage lung cancer include:

• Headache, bone pain, aching joints, bleeding or blood clots,
• Bone fractures not related to accidental injury,
• Neurologic symptoms- unsteady walk and/or intervallic memory loss.

The numbers of deaths caused by lung cancer are more as compared to the total number of deaths caused by colon, prostate, ovarian, lymph and breast cancers combined. About 85% of lung cancer cases are due to cigarette smoking. This is based on the correlation between the number of cigarettes smoked and the number of years of indulging in the vice.

However, the risk of developing lung cancer can be reduced by quitting smoking, as 90% of lung cancer is due to tobacco use. Apart from cigarette smoking increase in pollution levels, radiation and asbestos exposure are some of the other causes of lung cancer.

Copyright 2009

Prostate Cancer Symptoms

It is the most common cancer amongst the American men, grows in the prostate gland is called prostate cancer excluding skin cancer. Prostate cancer is the uncharacteristic growth of all of the cells within the prostate gland, which is considered to be a most important part of the male reproductive system. The prostate gland is situated directly beneath the bladder and in front of the rectum.

Prostate cancer in early stages is only restricted to the prostate gland itself, but the prostate cells mutate and multiply unrulingly when it spreads. And these cancerous cells further affect the adjacent healthy cells in the prostate, and may spread to other parts of the body as well, including the bones around the prostate.

According to various studies, one man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime of which only one man in 34 would die of the virus. The main cause of this type of cancer is still unknown like other cancers; however African American men, followed by Americans and Europeans are most likely to be affected by this disease. Though all men with prostate cancer live for at least 5 years after the diagnosis, 93% survive for at least 10 years, and 67% survive for more than 15 years.

The various factors which increase the risk of getting this disease may include the following:

• Age factor, as prostate cancer has been most common in men over fifty years of age who may have a variety of other diseases, such as cardiac or respiratory disease, or disabilities which immobilize or significantly decrease activities.
• Family history, men with family history of the disease are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer
• Risk levels increase based on the nationality of the person as well
• Unhealthy lifestyle and dietary issues also increase the risk of getting this disease
• Some of the symptoms of prostate cancer can be listed as follows:
• General pain in the prostate area
• A need to urinate frequently, especially at night
• Weak or interrupted flow of urine
• Poor flow of urine
• Presence of blood and in urine and semen
• Pain or burning sensation when urinating
• Aching ejaculation
• A frequent pain or stiffness in the upper thighs, hips, or lower back

Significant changes in diet and lifestyle by rational supplementation of rich protein nutrients have clinically improved the chances of great recovery.

Copyright 2009

Large Bowel Cancer Symptoms

Bowel cancer is also known as rectal, colorectal or colon cancer. Usually the people over 60 years of age are at the end of being diagnosed with this disease.

When one of the cells in the colon develops a sequence of changes (mutations) in some of the genes which control how the cell divides and survives, the cancer starts to develop. Because of which the cell splits uncontrollably to structure a cluster of malevolent cells which are cancerous in nature. Primarily, adenomas in the form of polyp, which are a clump of pea sized abnormal cells, are created.

The large bowel, also known as the colon, is the very last section of the digestive structure. Various nutrients are absorbed as the food passes through the small bowel, after which the food waste passes through colon (large bowel) where it develops into more firm phizog.

The colon has three parts, namely, the ascending, transverse and descending colon. It is at the end of the colon, that is, at the rectum, where phizog gets collected before it passes through the anus as a bowel movement.

Since bowel cancer develops very slowly therefore it takes many years for the tumor to grow large enough to cause symptoms. Some of the common symptoms for bowel cancer are as follows:

• Continual change in bowel habits such as constipation and/or diarrhoea
• Blood or mucus in the faeces
• Unexplained weight loss or lack of appetite
• Pain in the stomach or lump in the abdomen
• Feeling of a bowel even after a bowel motion
• Tiredness

Though the exact cause of bowel cancer is still unknown to the research scientists, however there still exist various factors such as specific genetic mutations or inherited diseases known to influence the condition which make people at higher risk. According to various researches’ people with high diet in animal fat and protein and low fibre intake are at a greater risk of developing bowel cancer, along with people with high intake of alcohol. Therefore, it becomes harder to treat in the advanced stages.

People having a family history of bowel cancer are also at a higher risk of developing the cancer however in only 5-10% that the illness resembles.
Tiredness can be a symptom of bowel cancer as it can be caused by the bowel tumour bleeding which may result in shortage of red blood cells. This is known as anaemia.

Copyright 2009