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Is That You Wheezing?
By Jill Stoops APN/CNP UIS Campus Health Service
Do you have trouble breathing in
cold weather? Does walking up a long flight of stairs or
exercising cause your lungs to make a “musical sound”? Do you
feel short of breath after being exposed to cigarette smoke or
other air pollutants? Do colds typically “go to your chest”
when you get sick? If you said yes to any of the above questions
you may have Reactive Airway Disease (RAD). This is commonly
called asthma.
In 1995, 14.9 million persons
were affected by the chronic condition asthma. In 1998, this
disease was estimated to cost $11.3 billion in direct and
indirect costs. Within the general population, asthma affects
more females than males and more African Americans than whites.
It is the cause of 1.5 million emergency department visits,
500,000 hospitalizations, and 5,500 deaths. Yes, asthma
can kill. (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov)
There are many triggers that can
cause your lungs to constrict its airways and cause you to feel
short of breath, cause coughing and that musical sound called a
“wheeze”. (See Figure 1.) Not all wheezing or coughing is
asthma; other lung diseases can cause coughing and wheezing, and
there are other diseases not related to the lungs that can also
cause the same symptoms. Gastric reflux, for example may cause
symptoms similar to asthma.
People with reactive airways are
more sensitive to irritation than normal. They may react to
particles in the air such as cigarette smoke, leaf burning,
farming particulates, household and other aerosols by developing
inflammation and swelling in the tiny airways deep in the
lungs. This inflammation causes excess mucous production and
tightening of the airway muscles and narrows the airway
passages. The combination of airway narrowing, excess mucous
and swelling, cause the whistling sounds and labored breathing
in an attack that we call wheezing. |
