More than 16.4 million adults and 7 million children are currently suffering from asthma in the United States, states the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An asthma attack is a sudden worsening of asthma symptoms caused by the tightening of muscles of the airways. During an attack, the lining of the airways becomes swollen or inflamed, and abnormally high levels of naturally occurring thick mucus are produced. Asthma attacks have both short-term and long-term effects on a patient's body and life.
Short-Term Effects
An asthma attack has serious effects on a patient's lung function. In the beginning of an attack, a patient may feel chest pain or pressure. He breathes rapidly and coughs frequently. A wheezing sound can be heard when the patient is breathing in and out. Many patients report that they feel anxious or panicky and have difficulties talking, according to the website Mansfieldisd.org. If the asthma attack goes untreated, breathing may become even more labored. The lungs will tighten and the wheezing will stop because there is not enough air movement to produce wheezing. Then a patient may develop bluish coloring around her lips, signaling a diminished amount of oxygen in the blood. According to the CDC, without treatment, the patient will eventually lose consciousness and die. Asthma attacks cause approximately 3,500 deaths every year in the United States, notes the CDC.
Long-Term Effects
Frequent asthma attacks also have long-term effects on the patient's lungs. Dr. Nick Hacken and colleagues from the University Hospital Groningen in the Netherlands report in a study published in the "Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine" journal in 2003 that the cells in the lungs of an asthmatic patient begin to produce more mucus over time. Mucus is a thick liquid found in the lungs during respiratory infections. It is also commonly found in the lungs of patients suffering from asthma. The increased amount of mucus makes breathing even more difficult for these patients. Chronic inflammation of the lungs can also result in scarring of the lungs tissue, according to ScienceDaily.com. Such scarring can cause further obstruction of the airways.
Quality of Life
Frequent asthma attacks have a huge effect on a patient's life. Jason M. Fletcher, Ph.D., and colleagues reported in a March 2010 article published in the "Journal of Health Economics" that asthma has a profound effect on a person's life even decades after the individual's last asthma symptoms. Patients with asthma frequently miss time from school or work due to their symptoms. They are often unable to attend certain social events due to cigarette smoke and cannot have pets. Some patients can't participate in sports because they would get attacks due to the physical exertion involved. Patients may even go as far as moving to a warmer climate if their condition is activated by cold air. Fletcher also concluded that childhood asthma was linked to obesity and poor health, even in adulthood.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Asthma Facts
- Journal of Health Economics: Long-Term Effects of Childhood Asthma on Adult Health
- ScienceDaily: Potential New Treatment for Lung Scarring Caused by Chronic Asthma
- "Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine"; Airway Remodeling and Decline in Lung Function in Asthma: Airway Remodeling; Nick Hacken, Dirkje Postma, Wim Timens; 2003
- Mansfieldisd.org: Asthma Information
