“Some 235 million people currently suffer from asthma in the world” (WHO,2014)
Chronic respiratory diseases are chronic diseases of the airways and other structures of the lung. Some of the most common are: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, occupational lung diseases and pulmonary hypertension.
Research one of the following chronic respiratory disorders for your homework this weekend.
Asthma,
Bronchitis
Cystic Fibrosis
Allergies.
Brainfood-Home Economics Blog 
Asthma In Ireland
Ireland has the fourth highest prevalence of asthma in the world
7.1% of 18+ population have asthma
18.9% of 13 – 15 year olds have asthma
38.5% of 13 – 15 year olds reported wheezing
More than 1 person a week dies from asthma
29% of asthma patients miss school or work
Adults miss 12 days a year on average
Children miss 10 days a year on average
The Asthma Demonstration Project in Primary Care was carried out by the Asthma Society of Ireland in 2009 / 2010 and found that:
8% had been admitted to hospital
14% attended A&E in the last year and
27% had been nebulised in the previous year.
45% of asthma patients had at least once course of oral steroids in the previous year
There was an average of 4,753 asthma admissions per year from 2005 – 2010
A&E admissions are estimated at four times the admission rate, approx 19,000 per annum
The average length of stay with an asthma admission was 3.13 days
Patients under 15 average length of stay was 1.9 days
Patients over 65 average length of stay was 6.2 days
How Asthma Occurs:
Asthma occurs when certain cells of the body’s immune system misidentify substances as very harmful and overreact to them, causing the bronchial tubes in the lungs to become inflamed and narrowed. What causes asthma — and why it occurs in some people and not others — has long baffled medical experts. Still, a growing number of risk factors and asthma triggers have been identified, helping doctors to diagnose and treat people affected by the disease.
Super, super research completed. An-mhaith ar fad! Relevant research interesting to see the statistics in Ireland. The Asthma demonstration project statistics are very interesting. You have covered Asthma in great detail. Are there any home remedies or myths that are like with curing asthma? It would be interesting to find out. Sár-obair!
Homework:)
Asthma is condition that affects a person’s airways.
People with asthma breathing is hard,because their airways are very sensitive.
An asthma flare-up, or a asthma attack as some people call it, happens when a persons airways get swollen and narrower and it becomes alot harder for air to get in and out of the lungs. Sometimes the swollen airways produce extra mucus,which make things pretty sticky!
Different children have different triggers that set up asthma flare-ups,there are a lot of triggers. Some children sensitive to allergens….some of these are dust mites,pollen and mold. A lot of children have asthma flare-ups when they are near furry animals. Smoking is always a bad idea around someone with asthma.
Website: kidshealth.org
Ar fheabhas :)! Good work, well laid out, be careful with your Capital letters. A video or a shocking statistic or image would be great here too. Precise information, short, sweet and to the point. Perhaps, you coulds link the exact site/ page in the future.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system of about 1200 children and adults in Ireland 70,000 worldwide. A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick ,sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life threatening lung infections and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. In the 1950s, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend primary school.Today ,advances in research and medical treatments, including in Ireland, have further enhanced and extended life for children and adults with cystic fibrosis. Many people with the disease in Ireland can now expect to live into their 30s and 40s and beyond. People with CF in Ireland are increasingly going on to attend third level colleges, accessing employment, and living more independent lives, with the support of family and friends.
The impact of cystic fibrosis can vary from one person to another. There are some people with cystic fibrosis who live until their teens and there are others that live in to their 50’s. Ireland has among some of the most severe strains of cystic fibrosis and also has the highest incidence per head of population of cystic fibrosis in the world, with three times the rate of the United States and the rest of the European Union. However it is important that we now have a network of centres of expertise in place and dedicated multi-disciplinary teams lead by specialised cystic fibrossis consultants.Some of the symtoms are a persistent cough that produces thick spit sputum and mucus
Wheezing
Breathlessness
A decreased ability to exercise
Repeated lung infections
Inflamed nasal passages or a stuffy nose
Some of the digestive signs and symptoms are a thick mucus can also block tubes that carry digestive enzymes from your pancreas to your small intestine. Without these digestive enzymes, your intestines can’t fully absorb the nutrients in the food you eat. The result is often
Foul-smelling, greasy stools
Poor weight gain and growth
Intestinal blockage, particularly in newborns meconium ileus
https://www.cfireland.ie/index.php/aboutcf
An-mhaith! Relevant research interesting to see the statistics in Ireland, obair ar dóigh. A video or image would be great here to back up your work. It is important that you reference your work and reword. Maith a bhean 🙂
kidshealth.org
An allergy is your immune system’s reaction to certain plants, animals, foods, insect bites, or other things. Your immune system protects you from diseases by fighting germs like bacteria and viruses, but when you have allergies, it overreacts and tries to “fight” ordinary things like grass, pollen, or certain foods. This causes the sneezing, itching, and other reactions that you get with allergies.
The substances that cause allergies (grass, pollen, foods, pet byproducts, insects, etc.) are called allergens . When your immune system reacts to one of these allergens and you have symptoms, you are allergic to it.
Symptoms:
Some of these allergens cause sneezing, a runny nose, itchy eyes and ears, and a sore throat. Other items on the list, such as foods, may cause hives (a red, bumpy, itchy skin rash), a stuffy nose, stomach cramps, vomiting, or diarrhea. Less often, allergens can cause breathing problems like wheezing and shortness of breath (asthma). Some allergens, such as foods, are a problem all year long. But others might bother people only during certain seasons. For instance, you might be allergic to pollen from trees, which is present in the air only in the spring.
Excellent work, well done for including your website. Short, sweet and to the point. Rinne tú sár-obair.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is Ireland’s most common genetic (inherited) disease. It primarily affects the respiratory and digestive systems in children and young adults. The gene responsible for CF was first identified in 1989. CF causes the production of thick, sticky mucus that clogs the air passages of the lungs, leading to persistent infection and permanent lung damage due to scarring.
Some 94% of CF deaths are due to respiratory failure. With improved medical care, the outlook for patients with CF has been improving progressively. Currently, individuals with CF have an average lifespan of approximately 30 years. Projected survival for babies born with CF in the 1990s is 40 years. Women at all ages have slightly lower chances of survival than men, for reasons that are still unclear.
A child born to parents who are each carrying the faulty CF gene has a one in four chance of being born with CF; a one in two chance of being a carrier, but not having the disease; and a one in four chance of not having CF or being a carrier of the faulty gene.
Routine genetic screening can identify couples at risk of passing on the CF gene to their children. A simple sweat test is used to determine whether a child is suffering from CF.
Treatment of cystic fibrosis
At present, there is no specific treatment that can correct the underlying genetic defect causing CF.
Drugs or genes
Several drug-based approaches are being investigated.
Attempts at gene therapy remain experimental.
Control of symptoms
Current therapy aims to alleviate the symptoms of CF or slow the progression of the disease in order to improve the patient’s quality of life.
CF therapy is tailored to the needs of each patient.
Antibiotics and other treatments are used to clear the thick mucus that accumulates in the lungs of CF patients.
Excellent research, very well done, clearly laid out and great use of headings. Are these figures based in Ireland? Don’t forget to quote your website and reword your information to make it yours! An-suimúil! A link to a video would be very interesting.
What are allergies?
Allergies are a damaging immune response by the body to a substance especially from a particular food,pollen,fur,dust to which it has become hypersensitive.
You forgot to include your student number. Could you have researched this a bit more. Good effort made. Well done.
Asthma in Ireland
Ireland has the fourth highest prevalence of asthma in the world
7.1% of 18+ population have asthma
18.9% of 13 – 15 year olds have asthma
38.5% of 13 – 15 year olds reported wheezing
More than 1 person a week dies from asthma
29% of asthma patients miss school or work
WHAT IS ASTHMA?
Asthma is a condition that affects the airways – the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. The airways become over-sensitive, which means that they react to things that would normally not cause a problem, such as cold air or dust.
This reaction means that muscles around the wall of the airway tighten up, making it narrow and difficult for the air to flow in and out. The lining of the airways then gets swollen (just like your nose during a cold) and sticky mucus is produced, clogging up the breathing passages.
With the airways narrowed like this, you can see why it becomes difficult for air to move in and out and why the chest has to work so much. Tightening of muscle around the airways can happen quickly and is the most common cause of mild asthma.
Thankfully, this tightness can be relieved quickly with the right inhaler. However, the swelling and mucus happen more slowly and need a different treatment. They take longer to clear up and are a particular problem in more severe asthmatic cases.
WHAT CAUSES ASTHMA?
We still don’t know exactly what causes asthma, but what we do know is that:
Anyone can develop asthma. It is particularly common in Ireland, where over 470,000 adults and children have the condition.
It can start at any time of life, although it most often begins in childhood.
Sometimes it affects several family members e.g. if you have parents or brothers and sisters with asthma or allergies such as eczema or hay fever, you are more likely to have it yourself.
Conditions like hay-fever, eczema, or hives, which are usually the result of allergy, may occur along with asthma.
Adult onset asthma may develop after a respiratory tract infection.
Many aspects of modern lifestyles such as changes in housing, diet and a more sterile home environment may have contributed to the rise in asthma over the last few decades.
Excellent, thorough research completed. You have forgotten to include your website. It is important that you reference and reword. Maith thú very interesting.
what is emphysema ?
Emphysema is a lung condition in which tiny air sacs in the lungs – alveoli – fill up with air. As the air continues to build up in these sacs, they expand, and may break or become damaged and form scar tissue. The patient becomes progressively short of breath.Emphysema is a type of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The main cause of emphysema is long-term regular smoking.The alveoli turn into large, irregular pockets with holes in them. The surface area of the lungs is gradually reduced, resulting in less oxygen entering the bloodstream.The small elastic fibers that hold open the small airways leading to the alveoli also become destroyed. When the patient breathes out they collapse, i.e. the patient has problems exhaling air.Emphysema is not curable, the condition cannot be reversed. However, treatment may slow down its rate of progression and alleviate symptoms.
What causes emphysema ?
The main cause of emphysema is long-term, regular tobacco smoking. It may also be caused by marijuana smoking (much less common), exposure to air pollutions, factory fumes, coal and silica dust.In rare cases, a patient may have inherited a deficiency of Alpha-1 antitrypsin, a protein that protects the elastic tissue in the lungs.
How to stop yourself from getting emphysema ?
1.quit smoking
2.if working with industrial smoke or dusk wear a mask
3.if people are smokig around you MOVE away !
Excellent work,good effort made. Have you reworded it and have you quoted the website? what about linking a video to help explain Emphysema? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVG3MDm9IaE
Well done, excellent research completed. Could you link your website and it is important to reword your information. Be careful with your capital letters and punctuation. An image, video would add to this aswell. maith thú.
What is emphysema?
Emphysema is a lung condition in which tiny air sacs in the lungs – alveoli – fill up with air. As the air continues to build up in these sacs, they expand, and may break or become damaged and form scar tissue. The patient becomes progressively short of breath. Emphysema is a type of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The main cause of emphysema is a long term term regular smoking.The alveoli turns into large,irregular pockets with holes in them.The surface area of the lungs is gradually reduced,resulting in less oxygen entering the bloodstream.The small elastic fibers that holds open the small airways leading to the alveoli also become destroyed .The patient now has problems breathing oxygen (air).
How to stop yourself from getting it
1)quit smoking
2)if working with dust or industrial smoke get a mask
3)if someone is smoking around you move away.