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Running Header: Awareness of Asthma to Teachers

Awareness of Asthma to Teachers

Chris Casciotti

Alvernia University

Dr. Zappin

5.7.15

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Asthma is a chronic disease involving the airways in the lungs. It affects the airflow in

the lungs with mucus. It is a disease that can be controlled and it cannot be cured it is not as

severe as it was before. Many different medications can be used to treat asthma and they work to

control your airways.

An estimated 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma, with 250,000 annual

deaths attributed to the disease. It has been growing every year since May 2011. (Ratini, 2015)

There is a gender role that plays in when men or women can develop asthma. Men get it during

their childhood and eventually it turns into mild asthma as they get older. Women are less likely

to develop asthma in their childhood but it is when they get to adulthood.

My job is to make sure that teachers are taught about asthma triggers and how to handle a

situation when someone has an asthma attack. There are so many things that can be triggers in a

classroom so each teacher should know why they are a trigger and help the student in any way

possible to get them the help that they need. As someone with asthma I know from experience

how bad asthma really is.

I am here to make sure people know about asthma and now how to treat it property.

Another thing that needs to addressed are the “asthma myths” and people need to know why

these are not real. Through facts and through experience you will get the education that is needed

and understanding of how deadly asthma really is.

When people are diagnosed the physician looks for signs to see if the airways are

constricted which does not allow air to go through and making breathing harder. Another thing

that a physician looks for is wheezing. That is done from the mucus may be made by the body

which makes the airway even smaller than it already is.

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The CDC, American Lung Association, Natural Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology are all organizations that help to give

asthmatic information how to treat them. You have many people around the world that are there

to help and make it simple for people to understand. The month of May is also asthma awareness

month so people are learning how bad asthma can really be.

Triggers can range from many different things. The popular ones that people have are

pollen, exercise, mold, cats, and dogs. Those are only common ones people can be allergic to

various things that range from certain perfumes to certain foods. People can have just asthma or

just allergies but when someone has both of them they are together. These attacks are much

worse and if not treated property then the person may have to go to the hospital.

Asthma rates have been rising steadily in the U.S. for decades. There is no cure for

asthma. (The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 2015) It is a lifestyle that

people have to live with and asthma stays with you. Asthma is treated with many different

inhalers and pills. These medications do help lessen the pain that comes from an attack and they

can help prevent attacks from happening. “The risk of serious asthma exacerbations and asthma-

related death is not unique to LABAs.” (Badrul A. Chowdhury, 2010)

Medication is something that people with asthma are used to and it becomes a part of

their daily routine. They are just used to taking their medications because they help them breathe

and expand their airway which allows them to breathe. There are many types of inhalers like

albuterol and pulmicort.

If the inhalers do not work then asthmatic people go and take breathing treatments. The

medicine that goes in for the treatments is just like what is in the inhaler. It is stronger and has a

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better chance of helping ease the pain of the attack. Another medicine that has been a big help to

the asthmatic people is called xolair.

Xolair is an antibody that helps decrease allergic responses in the body and it is also

known as omalizumab. (Cerner Multum, Inc. , 2015) It is also used to treat asthma and prevent

the severity of the attacks. It is not the first one that is given out to people. If nothing else has

worked then the physicians or allergists turn to Xolair.

Use Xolair regularly to get the most benefit to help your asthma symptoms. It is not

known for being a miracle drug and it cannot cure asthma. Sometimes it could there is some

cases where that has happened. My older brother Edward went on xolair and after a year or two

on it then he was magically cured of asthma. Sometimes things like this can happen.

Now we can tackle the myths of asthma and there is a couple that people believe. Three

in particular: Allergies have nothing to do with asthma, asthma medicines are habit-forming, and

asthma is easy to control. Sometimes allergies help develop asthma. When people have asthma

they are easily exposed to allergens. Which then develop allergies much easier because of their

constricted airways?

When asthmatic people take their medicines it is because they are having attacks.

Sometimes they take them to prevent attacks from happening or make them less painful so it can

tolerated. Asthma is very hard to control and to make sure it is good you got to stay away from

triggers and take their medicines. Breathing clean air, avoid triggers, and taking your medicine

can allow the asthma to be easy to tolerate and make life easier.

With all the information out there on asthma it is needed to educate teachers on asthma

because they may have students in their class that have asthma. In the past teachers do not seem

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to understand and think that the students use it as a crutch. It seems to them as an excuse but

truly it is a serious disease. I want to make classes at colleges for teachers to take on asthma and

other health issues that students can have.

It would be taught either by a teacher that has experience with asthma, an allergist, or a

respiratory therapist. The teachers would be taught on what asthma does and triggers that can be

prevented in the classroom. The reason is to give asthmatic people a comfortable classroom and

give teachers the education that they need to get a good understanding about asthma.

This allows more people to get an understanding of asthma and allow asthmatic people to

get an education without them getting sick. In some cases you cannot control what they react to

like the air outside and the weather or the pollen count.

You can control the dust and the mole in buildings or classrooms to prevent reactions

from occurring. There can be precautions made to make sure classrooms are dust or mold free.

These are things that teachers do not really think of and they can be the biggest triggers to some

asthmatic people.

In conclusion, I want to show people what asthma does to people and how reactions can

be prevented. By educating the teachers about asthma they can get an understanding what

happens when they have an attack. They also can see if the classrooms they teach in are in good

condition they can get them cleaned and in good shape for asthmatic people.

This can spread awareness for asthma to everyone and allow the teachers to get further

education. This can be good for the future and allow asthmatic people to feel comfortable and

avoid any conflict between the students and the teachers. It is all about relationships and if the

relationships do not work then the patient will not get their information.

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It is important to make sure that the public gets the information for their health problems.

Advocating for the teachers will allow them to understand how asthma can affect students. It will

also prevent any issues if something happens to them. Asthma is a disease that has affected one

in 12 people and 300 million people worldwide. This is not a disease that cannot be cured and

when people have it asthma becomes a part of their life. Asthma is something that cannot be

cured just treated. It is not just a disease it is a lifestyle.

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