Asthma Introduction & Overview - OmniMedicalSearch.com, by Martha M Grout, MD, MD(H)

Conditions & Diseases: Lung & Respiratory Diseases & Disorders

Asthma

Introduction & Overview:

Asthma is a “syndrome” or disease characterized by

• airway obstruction,
• an exaggerated narrowing of the small airways in response to irritating stimuli (called a bronchoconstrictor response),
• inflammation of the airways resulting in production of thick sticky mucus which is difficult to cough out, and
• recurring attacks, with wheezing or cough caused by factors which do not affect most of the population.

Asthma affects about 7% of the adult population, and up to 25% of children in big cities like Harlem, NY. , It is seen more in boys than girls. Worldwide, the incidence has increased by 45% since the 1970s. The increase is seen mainly in countries which are industrialized. This suggests that some factor in the lifestyle of industrialized nations is causative – although it is difficult to design ethical placebo-controlled double blind studies to prove exactly what might be the primary cause.

Most cases of asthma begin before age 25. Sometimes, childhood asthma will apparently go away for many years, as children “grow out of it”, before the symptoms recur in middle age.

Article by Martha M Grout, MD, MD(H)
Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine

Dr Martha Grout of Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine in Scottsdale, Arizona

Martha M. Grout, MD, MD(H) has two decades in emergency medicine and a decade in homeopathic medicine. She specializes in chronic diseases and HEG-based brain training for ADHD, memory loss, and depression. Her environmentally friendly office at the Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine makes preservative-free antigens for testing and treatment of allergies.