Asthma: Impact on school age children

Asthma Overview Lecture:

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways of a person’s lung.
Airways are tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs.
When an Asthmatic attack/episodes occurs the person’s airways start to swell and the tubes start to narrow. Along with the swelling and narrowing of the airways the mucus glands start to hyper secrete mucus in the airway.


Who can get Asthma?

Affects people of all ages and nationalities.
The greatest impact of Asthmatics is school age children.
Statistics show that 22 million people have Asthma and of these numbers there are 8 million children affected.
Asthma is not a contagious disease.
Genes and environmental factors play vital roles when a person is diagnosed to be an Asthmatic.
The exact cause is unknown.


The vicious cycle of having an Asthmatic attack:
Genes and environmental are key factors. A positive family history may exhibit that Asthma runs in the family.
The environmental factor also plays a vital role. These factors are allergens (dust, animal hair, smoke…) that can cause an Asthmatic person the start to react to the allergen by narrowing, swelling and an increase of mucus secretions in the airways.
This hyper response will cause a person to start to cough and wheeze.
The response may be mild or severe.
I untreated the person may start to experience a state being deprived of oxygen.
Ultimately if uncorrected…..death may occur.

How Asthma affects our school age children:

The Cost of Asthma
In U.S. Children
Lost School Days
14 Million Days/Year

Asthma Treatment
$3.2 Billion/Year

Hospitalization
3rd Leading Cause
Among Children
Under 15 Years Old

Asthma can be debilitating. However if we educate ourselves it can be controlled.



Websites:

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Asthma/Asthma_KeyPoints.html

http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/asthma/pdf/asthma.pdf

hhtp://www.youtube.com


Sales, Robert J.
ASSURE #2 Asthma: Impact on school age children
ED 451-03
http://rjsasthma.weebly.com/

The Bar Graph Shows that the students have indeed increased their knowledge base on the topic