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What is Asthma?
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What is Asthma?

Asthma is a lung disease with no known cure.  It interferes with normal breathing - interfering with the body's ability to easily take in oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide.  It is characterized by inflammation or obstruction of the airways between the mouth/nose and the lungs.  While this is a serious disease, with proper care and doctors' supervision, it shouldn't stop you.  Remember to control or asthma so it doesn't control you.

Asthma is not contagious, but does tend to run in families.  You can get it at any age.  Difficulty in breathing is the main sign of asthma and often includes a wheezing sound as you breathe out.  "Attacks" are really episodes of intensely difficult breathing triggered by certain conditions.  During an episode, the muscles around the small air tubes tighten and the membranes inside the air tubes swell.  In addition, the traumatized membranes produce excess mucus.   All of these factors restrict the breathing.

Asthma can be a severe disease, but it can also be controlled in several ways.  Medically, there are maintenance medicines and inhalers - to be used as prescribed by doctors.  One thing you can do is to recognize things that trigger episodes, and then learn to avoid them.  You can also learn how your body reacts at the start of an episode, and then begin to take immediate action as soon as you recognize one is starting - this might include breathing and relaxation exercise, or might include using your inhaler. 

These are the kinds of things we hope Camp Catch Your Breathe can help you to learn.