Ask the Expert:
Q: What can you tell me about progress toward a cure for asthma?
A: Asthma, a disease that affects the lungs, causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. There is continued great interest in asthma, especially in all industrialized countries where the potent controller medications have been available for some time. The paradox is that even though these medications are available, the prevalence and death rates from asthma continue to rise. Many ideas regarding these increasing rates have been put forth, ranging from dirty environments to those that are too sterile, poor air quality (while air quality is actually getting better in many areas), and increasing diagnosis rates. The list goes on and on.
Even though no one yet knows the cause, the focus is still on preventing the underlying allergic inflammatory response. The importance of self- or provider-delivered education for the promotion of asthma-related self-care behavior can't be underestimated.
Asthma is a chronic disease; one that is with you every day of your life. Therefore, you must become educated to the point that you can control your asthma on a daily basis and build a relationship with your healthcare practitioner that will aid this development. The idea is to control your asthma so that it doesn't control you! |
