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Monthly Health Topic
May is Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month
Each
year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) declares
May to be "National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month." With
allergy season on the way, take time to educate you and your family
about asthma and allergies.
Allergy is defind as an overreaction of the immune system to a
foreign protein substance (“allergen”) that is eaten,
breathed, injected or touched.
Allergy Symptoms:
- coughing
- sneezing
- itchy eyes
- runny nose
- scratchy throat
- rashes
- hives
- lower blood pressure
- difficulty breathing
- asthma attacks
- and even death
Asthma is defined as an inflammation of the air passages resulting
in the temporary narrowing of the airways that transport air from
the nose and mouth to the lungs. This is caused by allergens or
irritants being inhaled into the lungs, resulting in inflamed,
clogged and constricted airways.
Asthma Symptoms:
- difficulty breathing
- wheezing
- coughing tightness in the chest
- and even death
Did You Know?
As many as 50 million Americans suffer from all types
of allergies while more than an estimated 20 million people in
the United States have asthma.
Asthma and Allergy Facts
- There are no cures for allergies. Allergies can be managed
with proper prevention and treatment.
- Anyone can develop allergies, but those who do usually have
inherited the tendency as a family trait.
- More Americans than ever before say they are suffering from
allergies. It is among the country's most common, yet often overlooked,
diseases.
- Each season brings different irritants. In the spring, it’s
tree pollen; in the summer, the culprit is mainly grass; in the
fall, weeds are usually the biggest cause.
- Allergies can lead to other chronic conditions such as asthma.
Asthma affects more than 20 million Americans, including 5 million
children.
- Asthma and Allergies cost the U.S. economy nearly $25 billion
each year, lost productivity from 14 million school days and
19 million workdays missed, and costs associated with more than
7,000 deaths per year.
- The best ways to treat allergies: minimizing or avoiding exposure
to your allergic triggers; taking prescription or over-the-counter
medications; and using allergen immunotherapy (“allergy
shots”).
- Detroit was ranked the 4th most challenging
place to live for people with spring allergies according to the 2006
Spring Allergy Capitals report (ranked 80th last
year).
- Ethnic differences in asthma prevalence, morbidity and mortality
are highly correlated with poverty, urban air quality, indoor
allergens, and lack of patient education and inadequate medical
care.
Be an informed healthcare consumer! Learn more about the prevention,
diagnosis and treatment of asthma and allgergies by visiting our
related links section.
Breathing dirty air? You can find out with the American
Lung Association State of the Air 2006 report.
Related Links
2006
Spring Allergy Capitals
Michigan
Stage of Air: 2006 Report
The Asthma
and Allergy Foundation of America - Michigan Chapter
Asthma and Allergy
Foundation of America (AAFA)
American Lung
Association of Michigan
Disparities
in Asthma Care
Source: Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America,
American Lung Association.
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