Manageable Symptoms of Asthma Assignment Essay

Presenter Notes: Asthma

1

• The main rationale for me selecting the topic of asthma is that I myself am affected. I have lived with asthma my entire life.
• Due to the above fact, I am uniquely placed to understand the exact way that patients who have asthma live. I understand the way they feel as well as the daily struggles they engage in while living with the condition.
• Therefore, the next part of the rationale for choosing this condition is that I would like to share my personal experiences with the condition so that someone else may be helped to understand it.
• So, the purpose of this presentation is to open a window into what asthma is, its presentation, its diagnosis, its treatment, its prognosis, and its epidemiology. Manageable Symptoms of Asthma Assignment Essay

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• There are a number of known presentations of asthma as a respiratory illness. The presentation is restricted to the respiratory system, since asthma uniquely affects the airway passages and interferes with exhalation (Hammer & McPhee, 2018; Jameson et al., 2022).
• The patient usually has shortness of breath. This is because the process of ventilation is interfered with as the airway passages get blocked. This can be seen from the use of accessory muscles of respiration (Cleveland Clinic, 2022; Mayo Clinic, 2022).
• The patient also coughs and has an audible wheeze. This occurs due to the blockage of the airways by mucus. Wheezing occurs as air is forced through the narrowed airways; while coughing is a reflex to try and clear the passages of the excess mucus.
• The affected also experiences chest tightness and peak expiratory flow readings are typically low (Hammer & McPhee, 2018; Jameson et al., 2022).

3

• Asthma is typically diagnosed through a combination of medical history, physical examination, and lung function tests (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2022).
• The clinician will ask about the body systems and the presence of symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing.
• Also, the clinician will ask about the patient’s medical history and any family history of asthma or allergies.
• A thorough physical examination is then conducted to gather objective data about the patient’s presentation. A stethoscope will be used to listen for abnormal sounds in the patient’s lungs. An expiratory wheeze or whistling sound is typical (Jameson et al., 2022).
• The third component in the diagnosis of asthma is lung function tests. These include peak flow measurement and spirometry (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2022). These help assess how well the patient’s lungs are working.
• The peak flow measurement test helps measure the amount of air the patient can exhale forcefully and how fast they can do it (Mayo Clinic, 2022). Manageable Symptoms of Asthma Assignment Essay

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• In some cases, the clinician might also recommend additional tests, such as allergy tests or chest X-rays. This is to rule out other possible causes of the patient’s symptoms.
• PEF tests gauge an individual’s maximum effort blow-out speed. It can be done during spirometry.
• These examinations assess the response of your respiratory system to inhaled particles.
• A chest X-ray will rule out any other obvious respiratory cause. It will also reveal the typical lung changes in asthma.
• Allergy tests on the skin or blood will reveal whether one is allergic to specific substances or not (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2022).

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• The evidence-based treatment options available for those with asthma include bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and long-acting beta agonists or LABA (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2020).
• The inhaled bronchodilator is usually a short-acting beta agonist (SABA) such as albuterol (Ventolin). It helps with a quick relief by relaxing the smooth muscles around the airways.
• Inhaled corticosteroids such as prednisone (Medrol) are for daily use to help reduce airway inflammation.
• Long-acting beta agonist (LABA) bronchodilators are used alongside corticosteroids for long term control of asthma.
• Lastly, a combination inhaler containing a corticosteroid and a long-acting bronchodilator would provide both anti-inflammatory and bronchodilator effects for long-term control (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2020).

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• Numerous factors, including the severity of the illness, the efficacy of treatment, and lifestyle decisions, affect the prognosis for asthma.
• Most cases of asthma have manageable symptoms that can be achieved with medication and lifestyle changes.
• Asthma is a chronic illness that can be controlled but not entirely healed.
• Since every person’s circumstances are different, it is best to talk to one’s primary care physician about the prognosis. Manageable Symptoms of Asthma Assignment Essay

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• The lungs and airways are the bodily systems that are impacted by asthma (Hammer & McPhee, 2018).
• The tubes that transport air into and out of your lungs are called airways.
• The airways might occasionally become irritated and constricted if you have asthma.
• When you exhale, this makes it more difficult for air to leave your airways.
• Your lungs’ internal airway walls may swell and become irritated. Furthermore, the mucous secreted by the membranes lining your airways may be excessive. An asthma attack is the outcome.
• Breathing becomes more difficult during the attack due to the constricted airways, which causes coughing and wheezing. Intercostal muscles may thus be used in an attempt to help with exhalation.

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• An asthma attack can have emotional effects in addition to physical ones.
• One may have persistent anxiety and fear due to the fear of experiencing another assault. Given the involvement of the brain, it could potentially trigger an attack.
• Different people react differently; instead of feeling terror, they may experience embarrassment, rage, confusion, or even guilt.
• The heart, in particular, is impacted as well since it must modify its pumping action to ensure that the tissues receive enough oxygen.
• Histamine released by the immune system contributes to inflammation as well (Jameson et al., 2022).
• This training has taught me that asthma may have an emotional impact in addition to its effects on the lungs and airways. Thus, the easiest approach to determine whether a person has asthma is to be aware of the symptoms and when to consult a medical professional.

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• Among the fascinating things I discovered was that aging-related changes in the lungs might exacerbate asthma.
• In addition, adult females are more likely than adult males to have asthma.
• According to epidemiological statistics, women currently account for 9.7% of adult asthma cases, with men coming in second at 6.2% (Jameson et al., 2022). Manageable Symptoms of Asthma Assignment Essay
• It is also possible for asthma to develop in childhood or in adulthood (Cleveland Clinic, 2022).
• Asthma with an adult onset begins after the age of 18.
• Childhood asthma, also known as asthma with a pediatric beginning, is a form of asthma that can affect newborns and toddlers and typically starts before the age of five. Asthma may outgrow children.
• Asthma-COPD overlap syndrome, or ACOS, is another type of asthma, as are asthma brought on by exercise, occupational asthma, and asthma.
• Exercise-induced bronchospasm, another name for exercise-induced asthma, is a form of asthma that is brought on by physical activity.
• Asthma that affects persons who work with irritating substances is known as occupational asthma.
• When you have both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), you have asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS). Breathing becomes difficult with both conditions. Manageable Symptoms of Asthma Assignment Essay