Asthma : Heredity factor?
Heredity may be a factor. The reason some people have hyperreactive airways is unknown; heredity, however, is suspected of playing a role, because the disease runs in families. Many asthmatics also have hay fever and other allergies.
Although stress and emotional upsets can trigger or worsen an attack, experts emphasize that asthma is a lung disease, not a psychological disorder; as such, it should be treated as a serious and even debilitating physical condition.
Some asthma attacks are quickly reversed by taking a bronchodilator medication. These ease symptoms by opening the constricted airways. Other episodes are more prolonged, and, as the airways become more inflamed and clogged with mucus, breathing becomes increasingly difficult. In such cases, an injection of epinephrine (Adrenalin) and a corticosteroid drug may be needed to stop the attack.
Although asthma is a chronic disease, the changes that occur during an attack are temporary, and the lungs generally function normally at other times. When asthma starts during childhood, the frequency and severity of attacks tend to lessen as the youngster grows and may disappear by adulthood. Some adults, however, suffer a recurrence, often as an aftermath of a viral infection. In such cases, the asthma may be even more severe than it was in childhood.
