March 14, 2013
Asthma: a breathless existence
Asthma is now said to affect nearly 25 million people in the U.S. alone (that’s one in eight individuals), 300 million worldwide. It continues to increase annually. An estimated $48.6 billion are spent in medical bills, $6 billion in prescription drugs, and who knows how much in alternative treatments – practitioner-based or supplement-based. It has increased by 48 percent in the past 10 years, according to the American Lung Association August 2012 statistics.
There are many causes of asthma, and many more triggers. It is important to differentiate between the two terms related to asthma. “Causes” refers to the underlying mechanism, or mechanisms that set the stage for someone to have asthma, whereas, “triggers” refers to the event or exposure that can set off an asthma attack.
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