Asthma is a condition in which the airways are constricted, leading to wheezing and difficulty in breathing. The airways in the lungs known as bronchial tubes become inflamed and swollen, blocking the air passage. It is not known precisely why the airways get constricted in certain persons. Symptoms can range from mild and occasional wheezing to severe wheezing and breathlessness. Asthma can attack any person at any age. If you are an asthmatic patient, there are a number of factors that can make your symptoms worse. These include infections, pollens, molds, cold or humid air, vigorous exercise, smoking including passive smoking, stress and becoming emotional, dust, and allergy to specific foods, medicines, or animals.
Diagnosing Asthma
In most cases your doctor can easily diagnose the disease from typical symptoms. Sometimes the diagnosis is not so straightforward, or you may need to confirm the diagnosis. In these cases, two simple tests are performed. These tests involve breathing into a measuring device that can measure the quantity and rate of airflow from your lungs. A peak flow meter is a common device used for this purpose. This device measures the maximum speed of air that you can blow. This indicates the peak flow and is characterized by low and variable values in asthma patients. If over a period of a few days, the person records low values of peak flows, which are variable, asthma could be suspected.
Treatments
The first thing that you should know about asthma is that it cannot be cured. However the symptoms caused by asthma can be relieved by avoiding the triggers that cause asthma and by taking medication.
The most common treatment for asthma involves the use of inhalers. Inhalers deliver a small quantity of the medicine directly into the air passage and relieve the blockage. Inhalers can be taken to get relief from the problem as and when it occurs or can be taken as a preventive medicine every day to prevent the occurrence of asthma. Relieving inhalers are fine if you have a problem once in a while, but if you have to take them regularly, say more than three or four times in a week, then it is better that you go in for the preventive inhaler. Preventive inhalers usually contain steroids that can reduce the inflammation in the airways. Sometimes the symptoms may not be controlled by steroids alone. In such cases a longer acting medicine that functions like a relieving inhaler may be prescribed in addition to steroids.
In a few cases, where the inhalers alone are not effective in controlling the problem additional medicines in the form of tablets or liquids may be prescribed.
It is advisable to have preventive treatment if the asthma typically occurs during or after exercise. In this case the affected person should take a preventive inhaler before the exercise. Dosage may also be increased when the person has a cough or cold.
Ways to help yourself
If you are suffering from asthma, there are a few simple precautions that you should take. Proper use of the in halers is vital to getting relief. Make sure you know how to use your inhaler and are using it properly. If you are in doubt see your doctor for help. If the symptoms are not fully controlled with the treatment, you should consult your doctor. If severity of the attack increases at any point, see you doctor immediately.
Various resources are available to help you cope with asthma. These include reading resources, resource directories and help groups. You can find out the resources that are available in your area or on the Internet.
Methadone treatment is finally being recognized as the abject failure that it is. The original idea behind methadone was to substitute it for heroin only for a brief time to relieve withdrawal symptoms while curing the person of addiction. The only circumstance under which methadone was to be used long-term was if every effort to cure the addiction had failed. However, efforts to cure drug addiction are now rarely offered to those given methadone, and methadone treatment has turned into little more than a vehicle to turn heroin addicts into methadone addicts. It’s now called ‘methadone maintenance’ and it hooks heroin addicts on methadone for years, if not for life – with no effort whatsoever put into the drug detox and drug rehab programs that are needed to cure addiction. Fortunately, the days of the methadone maintenance program are numbered.
What’s wrong with methadone maintenance? In a nutshell:
*Methadone is a highly addictive drug, at least as addictive as heroin.
*Methadone generally stays in the system longer than heroin – up to 59 hours, according to the FDA, compared to heroin’s 4 – 6 hours. However, unlike heroin, you can’t really tell it’s there. Users may take another dose, not knowing the previous dose is still affecting them and, dose after dose, the methadone accumulates to toxic levels. You never know if the next dose is going to be the one that tips those levels beyond what the body can tolerate. If it is, you’re a goner. In fact, twice as many deaths are attributed to methadone than to heroin – even though twice as many people use heroin.
*Methadone can also be deadly in combination with other drugs and with alcohol. Taken with other opiates – heroin, morphine, Vicodin or OxyContin, for example, which is not unusual for methadone users - the effects of the drugs combine to slow down your systems, put you to sleep and, next thing you know, your relatives are being called to identify your body. No warning, no clear indication that there’s a problem.
*Withdrawal from methadone is often even more difficult than withdrawal from heroin. As painful and uncomfortable as heroin withdrawal can be, methadone can be even worse. When you’re withdrawing from heroin, medical drug detox may be advised. With methadone, you’ll almost certainly need it.
Perhaps the worst thing of all about methadone is that it’s legal: Because it’s not a crime to take methadone when administered by a methadone clinic you are way too far off the addiction and abuse radar. Officials are more interested in what illegal drugs are doing to people and, even more so, with the crimes being committed to support illegal drug habits.
Why does it look like methadone treatment is on the way out? A recent study conducted by the Center for Drugs Misuse at Glasgow University in Scotland revealed that one in three heroin addicts who go through residential drug rehab – although they may need a medical drug detox for the withdrawal process – are drug free after three years.
The success rate of methadone is less than one-tenth that – the study found that only three percent of those on methadone were clean after the same time period.
These statistics indicate that methadone treatment for heroin addiction is, possibly, the least successful drug treatment ever. In fact, heroin addicts have a better chance of getting off heroin cold turkey than with methadone treatment.
In the face of such abysmal success rates, it’s hard to imagine that methadone clinics are going to be around much longer – any self-respecting drug treatment professional, knowing the risks and the rate of failure, would find it difficult to justify administering methadone treatment instead of getting someone through drug detox and rehab.
If you or someone you care about is on heroin, don’t take a chance with methadone. Opt for a medical drug detox program and follow it up with a longer-term residential drug rehab. Messing with methadone only prolongs addiction, and the risks are even higher than they are with heroin.
Both John Henderson & Gloria Mactaggart are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
John Henderson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and Leisure, Vacation and Travel and Leisure. John Henderson is a natural health practitioner and author of several articles on . John Henderson's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.
Gloria Mactaggart has sinced written about articles on various topics from Detoxification, Alcohol Treatment and Addictions. Gloria MacTaggart is a freelance writer that contributes articles on health.. Gloria Mactaggart's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.