Asthma - 15

ASTHMA

        Asthma is a condition that affects the bronchial tubes (the main air passages of the lungs).   The bronchial tubes become inflamed and tighten. This causes the lungs to produce extra mucus.   The breathing airways narrows or constricts, which in turn causes a person to wheeze or have severe difficulty in breathing.   This condition could result in death if not attended to immediately. Asthma has affected individuals for years including civilizations years ago.   There is no known reason why people get asthma but what we do know is that it does not discriminate.   Anyone no matter ones age or environment can keep one from getting asthma. Although anyone can get asthma with proper treatment, medications and awareness a person can keep systems and attacks manageable.

                                                                                                History of Asthma

      Asthma is a condition that has affected people throughout history.   Cases and treatments for asthma have been dated as far back to ancient Egyptian and Chinese civilizations.   Healers and witch doctors of the ancient world believed that breathless symptoms were signs of a patient’s life being out of balance (“Breath of Life,” 2001).   In order to restore the patient’s balance, herbal remedies were prescribed as a means of treating their symptoms.   The actual term asthma did not appear until the Greek civilization.   Greek physicians would carefully observe any patients experiencing symptoms of asthma in close quarters.   Some treatments used to restore treat symptoms were changes in diet, plant and animal remedies, prayer, and lifestyle changes (“Breath of Life,” 2001).

    As cases of asthma increased over the centuries, physicians began to examine the symptoms further in order to provide methods of effectively curing the symptoms.   During the 12th century, a rabbi and physician named Moses Maimonides proposed a new theory regarding the treatment of asthma... [continues]

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