I am sure you have heard of asthma. Many people have it. Maybe it’s you. Maybe it’s your kids. Perhaps some of your relatives have it, but whether or not, someone you know does have it. It is the number one chronic disease among children, and affects over ten percent of the world’s population. But what is it, exactly? Well, asthma, comes from a Greek word, like many medical terms. It originates from the verb “aazein-” to pant or to breathe with an open mouth. As so, asthma, makes breathing much more difficult than for someone who doesn't have asthma. This involves a much thicker lining of mucus inside the airways, and an inflamed and thickened airway wall. This traps the air inside the alveoli, and as mentioned, makes it harder for an asthmatic to breathe. Usually, while deferring breathing a bit, it is not life threatening or even severe enough to do sports- many athletes like Olympic swimmer …show more content…
To start, the bronchial airways are much more stressed even when relaxed. At the same time, the mucus layer on the side of the muscles is increased to a thick level. When an asthma attack happens, the muscles tighten up and trap air in the alveoli, making it very hard- if even possible- to breathe. Asthma attacks the integral function of our body, but this is because of a malfunction- not a virus. Researchers say there may be a gene for asthma that may open new doors for asthma research. However, the cure for asthma being developed in Great Britain says something else. There is a cell that can be deactivated, stopping the body from producing vast amounts of phlegm and tightening the bronchial muscles, which may completely cure asthma. Despite this, perhaps research into the gene can stop asthma before it develops using gene therapy. But what are symptoms of asthma, you ask? Most asthmatics are vulnerable to coughing in multiple situations such as; exercise, sleeping, and allergenic reactors like pollen or