December 12th, 2017
Did you know…? Over 20 million people in the United States suffer from asthma? Over 6.3 million children under 18 report having asthma? There were 75% more cases of asthma in 1994 than in 1980? Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization in the United States? What is it? Asthma is a lung disease. It causes people to wheeze, cough, be short of breath, and sometimes even die. People with asthma can suffer from frequent periods of difficulty breathing called “asthma attacks.” During an attack, the airways swell, the muscles around them tighten, and the airways produce thick yellow mucous. Asthma is not contagious, but it does run in families, so if parents have asthma, their children are more likely to have it, too. Children, particularly those living in urban areas and crowded or unclean conditions are especially at risk for developing asthma.