Asthma

The word asthma is derived from Greek and is literally translated as "panting" or "shortdrawn breath". If you or your child has ever experienced an asthma attack, this translation seems quite appropriate. Yet asthma specialists are quick to point out that most asthma patients have more subtle symptoms and, only rarely, experience asthma “attacks”. It is now recognized that the one thing that all asthmatics have in common is airway inflammation, resulting in hyper-responsiveness of the lungs to allergic and/or non-allergic stimuli. This inflammation occurs primarily in the medium to smaller bronchial tubes and, if untreated and persistent, can create a pattern of obstruction throughout the lungs. This obstruction is caused by swelling of the lining