Basics of Pharmacological Management of Asthma

The goal of bronchial asthma management is control of the condition by pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures. Total control is described as follows.

• Absence of daytime symptoms
• Absence of night time awakening due to bronchial asthma
• No need for rescue medication
• No exacerbations
• No restrictions on physical exertion such as exercise
• Minimal side effects from medication
• Normal lung function (FEV1 and/or PEF should be more than 80 % of best or predicted values)

Prevention of Bronchial Asthma

There are several dietary, environmental, and other triggering factors, which may worsen and increase the frequency of asthma attacks. Therefore, avoiding these triggering factors will help prevent and improve bronchial asthma.

How to Diagnose Bronchial Asthma in Children?

Bronchial asthma is a relatively common disease among children. It occurs due to a chronic (long-term) inflammation of the airways characterised by recurring and variable symptoms, bronchospasm, and reversible airway obstruction. Common features of bronchial asthma include cough, wheezing, difficulty breathing (shortness of breath), and chest tightness.

Diagnosis of bronchial asthma in children mainly depends on the features of clinical history and examination. It depends on identifying a characteristic pattern of episodic symptoms in the absence of an alternative explanation. Some clinical features increase the probability of bronchial asthma while some lower the possibility.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Prevention Policy

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a common term, which describes an illness of the heart or the blood vessels. CVD occurs due to the process of atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Coronary artery disease (CAD), stroke, transient ischaemic attack (TIA), peripheral vascular disease (PVD), and aortic aneurysm belong to CVD. Why is CVD so important? It is associated with high mortality and morbidity in many parts of the world because, CVD kills about 17 million individuals worldwide every year. This number is also rising gradually. CVD causes one-third of premature deaths in males and one-fifth of premature deaths in females. CAD is the major single cause of death worldwide. One-sixth of CAD episodes present with unexpected death, which is a well-known feature of coronary artery disease.

Alopecia Areata: Another Type of Hair Loss

Alopecia areata is a common cause for hair loss and may be immune-mediated. The immune system doesn’t identify the hair follicles (roots) as own and consider them as foreign substances in affected people (autoimmunity). The process of alopecia areata and regrowth of hairs are poorly understood. It is linked with some other autoimmune diseases like vitiligo (white areas of the skin), diabetes mellitus, and thyroid disease. People with alopecia areata are more prone to have these disorders, although the risk of developing those diseases is low. The health-care professional may offer a blood test for antibodies, which may predict whether an affected individual is prone to develop pernicious anaemia or thyroid diseases.

Male Pattern Baldness (Androgenic Alopecia)

Hair loss (alopecia) is a common problem. It occurs due to a disorder of the hair follicle in which the scalp skin appears normal (non-scarring alopecia) or due to a problem within the scalp skin, which leads to permanent loss of the hair follicle (scarring or cicatricial alopecia). Scarring alopecia causes shiny atrophic bald areas in the scalp skin. These areas are lack of hair follicles.

Other Risk Factors of CAD

Although there are major risk factors for atherosclerosis hence coronary artery disease (CAD), additional risk factors for CAD have been identified. They are:

• Sedentary lifestyle
• Psychological factors
• Genetic factors
• Alcohol
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• Coagulation (clotting) factors
• Lipoprotein (a)
• C-reactive protein (CRP)

Sedentary lifestyle

Lack of physical activities is an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). It is similar to hyperlipidaemia, hypertension, and smoking. Regular exercise possibly has some protective effects against the development of atherosclerosis hence CAD. Sedentary lifestyle is also a significant risk factor of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and hyperlipidaemia, which are main modifiable risk factors of CAD. Lack of exercise raises the risk of developing stroke and CAD by 50 %.