Asthma

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Asthma

Definition/Symptoms: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many cells (mast cells, eosinophils, and T lymphocytes) may play a role. In susceptible children, inflammation causes recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and cough, especially at night or in the early morning. The asthma episodes are associated with airflow limitation or obstruction that is reversible either spontaneously or with treatment. The inflammation also causes an increase of bronchial hyper- responsiveness to a variety of stimuli. There are four categories of asthma: mild intermittent, mild persistent, moderate persistent, and severe persistent. The mild intermittent category has the least number of symptoms; symptoms increase in frequency and/or intensity until the lst category of sever persistent asthma. These categories proved a stepwise approach to the pharmacological management, environmental control, and educational interventions needed for each category. (Maternal Child Nursing Care, Wong, p.1212-1215)

Etiology: Studies of children with asthma indicate that allergy influences both the persistence and severity of the disease. In infants, a strong relationship exists between viral infections and asthma. Allergens play a less important role because it takes time for allergic sensitivity to develop. There is also a genetic predisposition for the development of an allergic response to common allergens in the air. In addition to allergens, other substances and conditions can serve as trigg3eres for asthma episodes.
Although allergens play an important role in asthma, in some cases no allergic process can be detected. Other theories such as a basic defect in the B-adrenergic receptors on leukocytes, and increased cholinergic activity have been offered. However, most experts agree that asthma involves biochemical, immunologic, endocrine, and phychologic factors. (Maternal Child Nursing ...