Asthma and Allergies!By: Maddy Macari

Your eyes itch, your nose is running, you’re sneezing, and you’re covered in hives!

The enemy known as allergies, has struck again!

What are allergies? Allergies are abnormal immune system reactions to things

that are typically harmless to most people. When you're allergic to something, your immune system mistakenly believes that this substance is harmful to your body.

Allergies are not only annoying, but many have been linked to a variety of common and serious chronic respiratory illnesses, such as asthma.

Some allergic reactions can be severe or even fatal.

Allergies…..

When you have a reaction to a substance, this triggers wheezing, coughing, sneezing, and itching.

An allergen is any thing that causes an allergic reaction.

How fast is a sneeze?If your sneeze were a car, it would get a ticket for speeding! When you sneeze, tiny particles fly out of your nose at over 100 mph!! A sneeze is the body’s way of getting rid of something that’s irritating the nose. Your nose feels a tickle and the sneeze center in your brain responds by coordinating muscles in your belly, chest, and diaphragm to sneeze out the irritant.

Common Allergies..

Animal products:Fel d 1 (cat allergy)Fur and danderCockroach calyxWoolDust mite excretion

DrugsPenicillinSulfonamidesSalicylates Amoxicillin

Common Allergies… Continued!

Insect stings Bee sting venom Wasp sting venom Mosquito bites

Foods Celery Corn Eggs (typically the white part!!) Fruit Pumpkin Beans Peas Peanuts Soybeans Milk Seafood Soy Pecans Almonds Wheat

Continued….Again!!

Mold Latex Metal Plant pollens

(hayfever)GrassWeedsTrees

Asthma Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways

characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasms.

Symptoms include wheezing, coughing , chest tightness, and shortness of breath.

It is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Treatment of acute symptoms is usually with an inhaled short-acting beta-2-agonist(such as salbutamol). Symptoms can be prevented by avoiding triggers, such as allergens and irritants, and by inhaling corticosteroids. Leukotriene antagonists are less effective than corticosteroids and thus less preferred.

Its diagnosis is usually made based on the pattern of symptoms and/or response to therapy over time. The prevalence of asthma has increased significantly since the 1970s. As of 2010, 300 million people were affected worldwide. In 2009 asthma caused 250,000 deaths globally. Despite this, with proper control of asthma with step down therapy, prognosis is generally good.

On days with bad air quality, it isn’t good for asthmatic people to be out.

Personal Story When I was born, I had respiratory problems, my lungs were

failing and they collapsed. So they had me on machines to pump my lungs back up and eventually they repaired. The doctors knew that I would have respiratory problems for the rest of my life. When I was 8-ish I was running out in my field and my lungs collapsed again and I had a major asthma attack. So that’s when I had to start medication and treatments. Now I carry around my inhaler, I have to take a type of steroid to keep it under control, and I have to use a nebulizer. Every once in a while my lungs collapse and I have to go to the hospital, and I have an asthma attack about everyday.

My asthma flares up when its cold out, when I run, when my allergies flare, when I get sick, if I cry, when I get mad and it flares up over other silly things like that.

Asthma Symptoms Wheezing- A whistling sound usually heard when

breathing out. Coughing- A cough or hack that may not go away

and often occurs or worsens at night. Chest tightness- Feeling as if a rope is being

pulled tighter and tighter around your chest. Shortness of Breath- Feeling as though you're

trying to breathe through a straw and can't catch your breath at all. Breathing out is especially tough.

How Asthma is treated!

People with asthma can treat it with:

A nebulizer A Flovent Diskus Inhaled Corticosteroids (an inhaler) Shots

Health Triangle Mental/ Emotional- You’re

constantly worried about using your inhaler and when it will flare up again. You sometimes think that you’re different because and you feel funny having an attack and using your treatments in public.

Social- When you use your inhaler, people stare and laugh. You’re afraid people will think that you’re on drugs or something. And lots of get scared and they worry about you when you have an attack. But most friends are REALLY helpful!!

Physical- With asthma its hard to do a lot of stuff! And when you work out you have to take lots of breathing breaks.

ACTIVITY!! :]:]:]:]:]

For my activity, I’ll pass around my inhaler and show off my nebulizer!