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Asthma Facts - The History of Asthma Diagnosis and Prevalence
As we know, asthma has been widespread for thousands of years. Asthma and wheezing were historically viewed as acts of God against evil spirits. Early 20th century studies viewed this illness as a purely psychosomatic illness. Eventually, concrete research refuted these flawed psychiatric theories and proved that it was a real physical illness with multiple causes. A large study was carried out in 1864 by Dr. H. Salter to prove that asthma is a purely physical disease. He discovered that animal hair could trigger asthma, and when the subject was in an environment free of animal hair...
Asthma Facts - The History of Asthma Diagnosis and Prevalence
As we know, asthma has been widespread for thousands of years. Asthma and wheezing were historically viewed as acts of God against evil spirits. Early 20th century studies viewed this illness as a purely psychosomatic illness. Eventually, concrete research refuted these flawed psychiatric theories and proved that it was a real physical illness with multiple causes.
A large study was carried out in 1864 by Dr. H. Salter to prove that asthma is a purely physical disease. He discovered that animal hair could trigger asthma, and when the subject was in an environment free of animal hair, he stopped experiencing conditions of this disease.
There are many known and unknown causes of asthma. For example, the disease can be inherited, but it does not always follow a predictable line of inheritance. This means it can jump from one generation to the next or show up with cousins, uncles or aunts. Many asthmatics who lack a family history of the disease may have had grandparents or parents who were misdiagnosed with chronic bronchitis or emphysema when they actually had asthma.
The presence of an asthma gene does not always mean that one will develop the disease. Many brothers and sisters of asthmatics carry the asthmatic gene but never show any outward signs of the disease.
Asthma is common in almost all parts of the world, but is worse in some countries than others. The disease is more common in Western Europe, Great Britain and North America, where almost 10 percent of the total population suffers from asthma.
Asthma is more common in urban than rural areas. This is likely due to the environment in which city dwellers may live. High levels of pollution in urban areas are a trigger for asthma. Lack of fresh air indoors, dietary habits and stress trigger asthma in much higher proportions. Indoor air pollution has a greater impact on triggering asthma than outdoor air pollution. Most homes and offices these days are fully air-conditioned, so we rarely open the window to let in fresh air.
Inspired by Andy Kahn