Asthma

Asthma is a chronic, or recurring, respiratory illness that affects Source: EPA 14.6 million Americans and kills an estimated 5,600 Americans annually. In Houston, it is estimated that 10-12 percent of children under 18 have asthma, approximately twice the national average and slightly higher than the percentage found in most other urban areas. Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism and pediatric emergency visits in Houston as in other US cities.

Similar to allergies, asthma is caused by sensitivity to various stimuli called asthma triggers which cause the walls of the lungs to swell and/or contract, narrowing air passageways. Asthma symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing and/or chest tightness.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a particularly useful website about asthma and environmental triggers. The nonprofit citizen's organization, Environmental Health Watch, has a useful website for controlling asthma triggers in the home. Common environmental asthma triggers Source: Chatsworth Road Medical Centre include:

cigarette smoke;
mold;
cockroach droppings;
dust mites;
pet dander;
cleaners and solvents;
ozone;
pollen;
combustion particles;
nitrogen and sulfur oxides (combustion gases);
cold; and
exercise.

Children who live or attend school near freeways or major streets have higher rates of allergies, cough, and respiratory symptoms. Emissions from industry, cars, trucks, and also off-road vehicles and to a lesser extent those from barbecues, fireworks, restaurants, garden equipment, and agricultural fires can aggravate asthma.

The following animation, What's Asthma All About?, from Neomedicus and available in both English and Spanish, gives an excellent overview of asthma.