LYCOS RETRIEVER
Asthma: People
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Asthma is a chronic condition that cannot be prevented or cured; ... individual attacks can often be prevented. Asthma attacks may commonly be prevented if the factors that trigger them are identified and treated or avoided. People who have asthma should avoid cigarette smoke. Often, attacks triggered by exercise can be blocked by taking medication beforehand. When dust and allergens are the problem, air filters, air conditioners, and other types of barriers (such as mattress covers, which reduce the amount of particles from dust mites that are in the air) can help considerably. For people whose asthma is stimulated by allergies, desensitization through the use of allergy shots may prevent attacks.
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Asthma is one of the commonest of all medical conditions. There are several different patterns of asthma which may represent a number of closely related diseases which cause similar symptoms. Many doctors believe that asthma is more likely to occur in people who have particular combinations of genes which may be "switched on" by events in the environment at any stage of a patient's life. There is a lot of research going on in this area.
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Asthma care Ireland has worked with hundreds of people involved in sports with asthma over the past number of years. By teaching a player how to breathe correctly, their performance is improved, exercise induced asthma decreases, lactic acid production decreases.
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Asthma attacks vary in frequency and severity. Some people who have asthma are symptom-free most of the time, with only an occasional, brief, mild episode of shortness of breath. Other people cough and wheeze most of the time and have severe attacks after viral infections, exercise, or exposure to allergens or irritants, including cigarette smoke. Crying or hearty laughing may bring on symptoms in some people. Some people with asthma produce a clear and at times sticky (mucoid) phlegm (sputum). Asthma attacks occur most often in the early morning hours when the effects of protective medications wear off and the body is least able to prevent bronchoconstriction.
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The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), founded in 1953, is a not-for-profit organization of patients serving patients. It is the leading patient organization for people with asthma and allergies, and the oldest asthma and allergy patient group in the world. AAFA provides practical information, community based services and support through a national network of chapters and support groups. AAFA develops health education, organizes state and national advocacy efforts and funds research to find better treatments and cures.
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Asthma is characterised by attacks of breathlessness, tight chest, wheezing and coughing which are caused by the airways becoming narrowed and inflamed. Some people may have these symptoms all of the time and others may be normal between attacks.
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