Asthma

Asthma is a common disease of the lower airways that affects approximately 10-15% of Canadian children and 5% of adults. Although at this time there is no cure for asthma, today there are better treatments available to control asthma symptoms. Asthma is a serious disease that can severely affect one's health and well being, but with proper management, a good quality of life can be maintained.

Asthma is a condition that affects the airways in the lungs. Just as some people have very sensitive skin, persons with asthma have overly sensitive or "twitchy airways". This means the airways react to certain things called triggers. These triggers cause the airways to become narrowed and make it difficult to get air in and out of his or her lungs.

The airways become narrowed in three different ways:

• The muscles around the airways tighten and spasm. This is called bronchoconstriction or bronchospasm.
• The lining on the inside of the airways become irritated and swollen. This is called inflammation.
• The airways over produce mucous. This mucous is thicker than normal and may plug the airways making breathing more difficult.

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