Asthma attacks Environmental Health

A combination of the two usually causes the space between the walls of the respiratory tract to reduce immensely in size, a process called constriction. With the narrowing of the airways, individuals experience difficulty in passing air into the lungs. This condition presents coughs, shortness of breath and wheezing. Chemical, physical and biological factors external to an individual often impact a great deal to the well-being of those individuals, commonly known as health. Assessing and controlling these external factors, in a bid to improve and regulate shortcomings that might influence the health of inhabitants, can be referred to as environmental health. Black carbon has been revealed to have direct influence in the development of asthma attacks, particularly in children living in urban settlements (Gilmour et al.

It is further suggested that the organic compounds and metals, which are additional components of traffic pollution increase the susceptibility of asthma attacks in these types of population. Town s with major highway corridors are considered to have high amounts of diesel exhaust particles (DEPs). Research shows that asthma incidences, wheeze and exacerbation of asthma can associate with geographical factors of the environment (Gilmour et al. Populations living in regions that are closer to these highway corridors are depicted to report more cases of asthma attacks considered to those that live in areas distant from the highways. Chest pains may also accompany the attacks due to immense pressure exerted on the chest. The pressure felt often result from tightening respiratory organs and high deposits of mucus (Murray et al.

For individuals who have not experienced the attacks, it is easy to identify someone experiencing attacks from the rapid way that they breathe. Sometimes the rate of breathing from victims may be so rapid that they may fail to talk properly. The mechanism to breathing faster is a compensatory way that the respiratory system uses to counter the insufficiency of oxygen to be used in serving the physiological needs of the body. In case the condition does not improve, patients are usually advised to see an asthma specialist, who can perform more tests to discover the specific cause of their asthma and prescribe better treatment plans to try and improve the condition. In asthma treatment, patients are usually advised to work very closely with their healthcare providers.