...Asthma Management for School Nurses Asthma is one of the most common chronic problems in children today. Asthma affects approximately 7 million US children today as per the Center for Disease Control. Asthma is an overwhelming cause of children being absence from school according to the American Lung Association. Children spend a majority of their time in school, so the school nurse does most of the education regarding signs and symptoms of the illness along with its management. Jaime Donohue-Brennan Grand Canyon University NRS-433V November 15, 2015 Author Note Abstract School Nurses play an important role in the overall management and education of school age children with Asthma. They help to identify children at high risk of exacerbation of symptoms. Nurses in 44 school located in higher risk areas were surveyed about the management of asthma related issues during the 2008 school year. One of the major issues found was with the line of communication between the parents, nurses, and other school staff. Another problem was with the adherence to the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP). Keywords: compliance, school nurse, asthma, hospitalizations. Asthma Management for School Nurses Asthma is one of the most common chronic problems in children today. Asthma affects approximately 7 million US children today as per the Center for Disease Control. Asthma is an overwhelming cause of children being absence from school according to the American Lung Association...
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...Asthma is a lung disease that is chronic and it aggravates and tightens the airways of a person. Asthma cause recurring periods of wheezing, which is a whistling sound when a person breathes, tightness in the chest area, a shortness of breath, and coughing (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). Coughing mostly happens at night time or either early in the morning. The airways are the tubes that carries air in and out of the lungs, so it is difficult for a person who has asthma because their airways are swollen and sensitive, the muscles around the airways become tight and makes the airway narrow, which causes the airflow to the lungs to decrease (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). The cells in the airway can possibly make more mucus than it usually does, which is a thick and sticky causing the airways to narrow even more (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). The causes of asthma is not exactly known, however, researchers have reason to believe that there are genetic and environmental reason that interact and cause asthma, in the early part of life. Some of the reasons are parents who has asthma, childhood respiratory infections, inherited tendencies, viral infections in infancy, and airborne allergens, mostly during their early childhood. The triggers of asthma can differ from person to person. Tobacco Smoke or secondhand smoke is a trigger for asthma because the smoke that is created by someone smoking is breathed in by someone...
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...Asthma Describe the Disease: Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs that affects the airways and causes them to become very swollen and sensitive to the air that you breathe. With this disease you can get what is called an asthma attack, this is where your airways become narrower, making it difficult to breathe. You may notice that someone is having an asthma attack if the person begins wheezing, getting a tight chest/ chest pains, breathing problems, and coughing. There are different types of asthma depending on your age and what causes you asthma to get worse. There is Child-Onset Asthma, Adult-Onset Asthma, Exercise-Induced Asthma, Cough-Induced Asthma, Occupational Asthma, Nocturnal Asthma, and Steroid-Resistant Asthma. Asthma is different for all patients so what they react to is different, for the most part, patients tend to have symptoms from common allergens in the environment, exposure to particles or chemicals in everyday things, during/ after exercise. Asthma can prevent you from doing physical activity, and/ or going outside and being able to breathe normally during the months with dust and mold. This disease is still not curable but there are ways to control it. Doctors Treatment: You should see your doctor regularly and make an asthma plan to help control your asthma, because most asthma is physically active induced, it may be difficult to get you on a plan that will help keep you healthy. This is called an asthma action plan which will help you...
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...Asthma Bronchial asthma; Exercise-induced asthma Last reviewed: July 14, 2010. PubMed Health U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health National Center for Biotechnology Information U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airways, which causes attacks of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. See also: Pediatric asthma Causes, incidence, and risk factors Asthma is caused by inflammation in the airways. When an asthma attack occurs, the muscles surrounding the airways become tight and the lining of the air passages swells. This reduces the amount of air that can pass by. In sensitive people, asthma symptoms can be triggered by breathing in allergy-causing substances (called allergens or triggers). Common asthma triggers include: * Animals (pet hair or dander) * Dust * Changes in weather (most often cold weather) * Chemicals in the air or in food * Exercise * Mold * Pollen * Respiratory infections, such as the common cold * Strong emotions (stress) * Tobacco smoke Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) provoke asthma in some patients. Many people with asthma have a personal or family history of allergies, such as hay fever (allergic rhinitis) or eczema. Others have no history of allergies. Symptoms Most people with asthma have attacks...
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...Topic: The Life-threatening Disease Asthma Organization: Topical Specific Purpose: At the end of my presentation, I want my audience to be educated on the conditions of asthma, how to manage the disease, and how to help someone under an attack. I. INTRODUCTION A. Attention Getter: What illness do you think is the leading cause for children missing 14.4 school days and 14.2 million adults missing a workday? Well I personally thought the common cold or fever would be the leading cause, but in 2008 the American Lung Association deemed Asthma as the illness responsible (“Asthma”, 2010) B. Relevance: Allergy season is here. Since allergies are a main contributing cause of asthma attacks, it is important to know the signs and symptoms which could save the lives of many and even your own. C. Credibility: Having my first asthma attack at the age of 10 was a terrifying experience. My lungs began closing up and I did not know whether I was going to breath again. However, my coach knew exactly what was happening to me and helped me through every step of the attack, saving my life. Because of the impact of my coach being educated on this life-threatening disease, I feel it’s truly necessary for my community to be capable of the same actions on anyone who may have a potential attack. D. Central Idea: Asthma is a disease that affects millions of people. If you or someone you know is affected by it, the importance to fully understand the condition is key to...
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...Asthma Asthma is a chronic lung disease which inflames and narrows the airways. Inflammation causes the airways to swell and become sensitive. Symptoms are prominent when the airways are obstructed. Sometimes the symptoms go away on their own or with minor treatment. There is no known cure for asthma. You will have the disease even when symptoms subside, because you can have a flare up at anytime. Etiology Asthma is caused by different triggers. Each person has a different trigger, what may trigger my asthma may be different for you. Some triggers are allergens, such as animal fur, mold or pollen irritant, cigarette smoke, and air pollution. Sprays such as hairspray or air fresheners can cause your airways to be blocked. Medications such as beta blockers and NSAIDs can also cause your airways to flare. Physical activity, including exercise is another trigger. Signs and Symptoms There are many signs and symptoms that can determine an asthma attack, some of them are coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and dyspnea (shortness of breath). Coughing is worst at night or early in the morning, making it difficult for you to sleep. Wheezing sounds like a whistling or squeaky sound, it is done during aspiration. When your chest tightens it feels as though someone is squeezing you or sitting directly on your chest, which makes it harder for you to breath. Epidemiology Asthma affects 5-10% of the population or an estimated 23.4 million persons, including 7 million children. It...
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...Asthma An important issue that needs to be further researched in the health care field is Asthma. Asthma is a disease that affects the lungs; it causes wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing (CDC, 2014). Asthma affects children and adults, but is deemed the most common long-term disease among children (CDC, 2014). It is a prevalent disease in the United States affecting 25.7 million people, including 7.0 million children (CDC, 2015). The reason it is important to continue further research on Asthma is because in most cases, the causes remain unknown. With such a large number of people affected by this disease, research related to this issue is important from an organizations perspective. Organizations have the duty to ensure that health care is affordable and accessible to those who are in need of health care. Curing asthma would be a great start in cost reduction; price cuts are a necessary component in making health care more affordable. Research There are a multitude of research applications that can be applied to one’s thinking and decision making as a heath care professional in regards to Asthma. Health care professionals must direct their research to the cause of Asthma. Without knowing the cause, a cure will be obsolete and treatment options will only be help to control the disease, never cure. Programs such as the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion are working...
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...In Sophie’s life there have been five different life factors that have affected her development as an individual. These include genetical factors, socioeconomical factors, environmental factors, biological factors and her employment status. All these factors affect her physical, emotional, intellectual and social development. Genetical Factors: Sophie’s Asthma Medical Condition Asthma is a genetical inherited medical condition that affects her physical development throughout her life stages. Asthma affects the small airways, bronchioles, which carry air in and out of the lungs. Therefore Sophie’s airways can become inflamed, swollen and constricted; this physically puts extra strain on her body when she exercises, making her breathless and dizzy because there is not enough oxygen within the body to make her muscles work properly when exercising. Sophie’s asthma affects her emotional development; this is shown as she still gets embarrassed and frustrated when out in public. When Sophie exercises her asthma causes her to become breathless and light headed very easily. Sophie therefore keeps an inhaler on her. Emotionally she has become slightly unstable at times when faced by embarrassment in front of others. Sophie’s intellectual development shows how she has learned to understand her condition and how to try to avoid triggering an attack. Through support and advice through health care professionals such as health visitors; she has come to terms with accepting that...
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...Asthma March 21, 2011 Anatomy & Physiology II Asthma Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects more than twenty two million people in the United States, with more than six million of them being children. Asthma inflames and constricts airways, which are the tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. When these airways are inflamed and constricted the result is shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. Airways that are inflamed are extremely sensitive and tend to react strongly to certain inhaled substances. The chain reaction of muscles tightening around the airways, inflammation, and increased mucus production typically result in asthma symptoms. Asthma is a serious disease that without proper diagnosis, management and treatment could be fatal. Causes According to the National Health Institute, the exact cause of asthma is still not known. Researchers think that some genetic and environmental factors interact to cause asthma. Some genetic factors that are believed to play a role in asthma are an inherited tendency to develop allergies, or atopy, and having parents with an asthma diagnosis. While there appears to be a genetic link, environmental factors play an important role in asthma as well. Viral infections in infants appear to have a role in the development of asthma. Most babies will experience wheezing due to a viral infection at some point, but not all will develop asthma. The common viruses that cause wheezing are RSV, Parainfluenza...
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...Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs that affects millions of children in America. Millions of children are diagnosed with the disease each year, and are frequent visitors of the countries’ emergency rooms. Asthma is Greek for panting, which is what asthmatics experience when they experience an asthma attack (Eisele, 2003). According to Neergard (2006), more than 20 million Americans have asthma, and the chronic lung disease is on the rise. This paper will discuss the, causes, symptoms, treatments and the demographics of children being diagnosed with the disease. In order to understand the severity of the disease called asthma, one must understand it causes. These causes lead to the symptoms that have thus far caused the disease to kill 5,000 people every year and accounts for 2 million emergency-room visits (Neergaard, 2006). Though there are treatments for the disease widely available, certain causes of the diseases aren’t concretely founded, causing asthma to remain a mysterious disease to doctors. In the following we will go on a journey to discover the mysterious, precarious reality of children diagnosed with asthma. According to Eisele (2003), five thousand people die of it every year in the United States. Currently it's the sixth most common chronic condition in the nation. Three times as many people have it now as in 1980. Some 6 million of them are children. For children, asthma is the most common chronic disorder, the leading cause of missed school, and the leading...
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...Asthma Evidence Based Pharmacology Asthma is a chronic debilitating disease which affects children and adults. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), “asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts during childhood. In the United states, more than 25 million people are known to have asthma. About 7 million of these people are children.” Asthma is most commonly diagnosed during childhood. Pathophysiology and Age Continuum Implications Asthma is a disorder that affects the airways; it is an obstruction of the airways that takes place due to inflammation, chronic airway hyperactivity, and remodeling of the airway. According to Maddox & Schwartz (2002), “the etiology of asthma is complex and multifactorial. It involves the interaction between genetic factors and environmental stimuli” (p. 477). Therefore, patients suffering from asthma are not only susceptible to un-modifiable genetic factors but also environmental factors that trigger the airway obstructions. Essentially asthma is an inflammation of the airways in which there is an infiltration into the walls of the airway by mast cells, eosinophils, T-helper cell type two (Th2), and T-lymphocytes (Bonsignore, Profita, Gagliardo, Riccobono, Chiappara, Pace, and Gjomarkaj, 2015). According to Bonsignore, et al. (2015), “persistence of chronic inflammation may alter the homeostasis of lung tissue, leading to airway remodeling. Tissue remodeling includes epithelial alterations (epithelial...
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...Asthma By Luis M. Cotto Asthma is considered a chronic (long-term) lung disease that causes inflammation and narrows the airways. Asthma is also known to cause recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), tightness of the chest, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing usually occurs at night or early in the morning. Asthma has been known to affect people of all ages, but it mostly starts during childhood. More than 25 million people are known to have asthma. About 7 million of these people are children. In order to have a complete understanding on how asthma affects the human body, you must first have a complete understanding of how the airways work. The airways are tubes that carry air into and out of the lungs. People who have asthma have inflammation of the airways which causes them to swell and become very sensitive. The airways have a tendency to react very strongly to certain substances that are inhaled. When the airways react to these foreign bodies, the muscles will tighten up. This causes the airways to narrow, causing less air to get to the lungs. The swelling can even get worse, making the airways even narrower. When that happens, the cells in the airway might make more mucus than usual, which can further narrow the airways. Sometimes your symptoms are mild and will go away on their own or after treatment with asthma...
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...Asthma Asthma can be a very frustrating disorder. It affects so many people of all ages. There are many different types of asthma with many different symptoms. The way asthma affects one person may be very different from how it affects another person. Etilology Asthma is when your airways become narrow and inflamed. There’s extra mucus that is produced which makes it very difficult for someone to breath. Causes of asthma are unknown but heredity seems to play a role along with allergens and environmental factors. The strongest factor for developing asthma is Atopy, which is the genetic development of an IgE-mediated response to common aeroallergens. There happens to be two categories of asthma: allergic and idiosyncratic. With allergic asthma there is an antigen/antibody reaction on cells in the respiratory tract, which causes inflammation. Idiosyncratic asthma is a result from neurological imbalances in the autonomic nervous system. Asthma in people between the ages of 5 to 15 years usually have an allergic asthma and people that get asthma later in life are more likely to get idiosyncratic asthma. Mild asthma attacks are more common and the airways usually open up anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. Severe asthma attacks are less common but they last longer and end up requiring immediate medical help. Pathophysiology Asthma is considered an airway disease. It can be classified physiologically as a variable and partially reversible obstruction to...
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...According to "American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology" (2015), “The number of people with asthma continues to grow. One in 12 people (about 25 million, or 8% of the U.S. population) had asthma in 2009, compared with 1 in 14 (about 20 million, or 7%) in 2001.” Another scary eye opener is that more than half 53% to be exact of people with asthma had an attack in 2008. Out of that 53 percent of people more children suffered from asthma attacks then adults. In 2007 a whopping 185 children and 3,262 adults died from asthma ("American Academy Of Allergy Asthma And Immunology", 2015). Asthma can be a very scary chronic diseases. Asthma is a chronic lung disease that happens to be long-term this disease inflames and narrows the airway. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing which could sound like a person is trying to whistling when they are breathing. They also suffer from recurring chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. A person with asthma coughing usually happens in the morning when they first wake up or at night when they getting ready for bed ("National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute", 2016). To really understand how asthma effect a person you have go to understand how the human airway works. You may not pay attention to the length of what our body does to help us breath. We breathe twelve to twenty times per minute day after day due to our wonderful respiratory systems. Our lungs expand and contract supplying our body with oxygen and helps remove...
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...Understanding Asthma Zachary Carter Asthma is a chronic condition that is caused by inflammation of the airways. It is a sudden and severe outburst often allergic disorder of respiration. It is a condition of the small tubes in our body (bronchi). This tube carries air in and out of the lungs. An inflammation of this tube can make the person become very allergic or over sensitive and they get irritated very easily. This causes the airways to become swollen and the muscles surrounding it tighten. People who have this condition will have trouble breathing at times as sticky mucus or phlegm builds up which can further narrow the airways (NHS, 2012). (Ashtma-NZ.org, 2008) Symptoms may come and go and it varies from one person to another person. It may as well vary every day. There are days when the symptoms may not be so bad while other days, it might be severe. * Shortness of breath This is due to the lungs not able to get enough air into. * Tightness in chest The chest feels tight as making them unable to expand freely when breathing. * Coughing This is a very common symptom and it is usually persistent and dry. * Wheezing To breathe with difficulty (with a whistling sound). (NHS, 2012) Patients who have asthma can have a significant effect on their lifestyle. Asthma should be taken very seriously. Aside from having an extra medical care, patients are advice to avoid the things that could trigger asthma attacks. Some of these attacks usually occur...
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