Introduction

“I feel like I’m breathing through a straw.” “Oh, my aching sinuses.” “I can’t stop coughing.” “My child keeps wheezing.” If you’ve ever uttered words like these, you’re not alone. Statements similar to these are some of the most frequent medical complaints that people in the United States and around the world report, and their complaints often describe asthma symptoms.

Asthma affects 17 million people in the United States and is the most common chronic childhood disease. Asthma also leads to more than 2 million emergency room visits and more than 9 million doctors’ appointments per year. In fact, costs associated with asthma, including treatment, medications, and lost productivity, exceed $11 billion each year. The incidence of asthma is rising dramatically in the United States and across the globe, particularly in highly developed parts of the world, including Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In fact, many experts now consider asthma a global epidemic.

But enough about facts and figures. I want to talk about you: How are you feeling? Do you, or someone you know, think that having asthma means that feeling unwell is normal and that your condition can never improve? Unfortunately, many people answer yes to this question. However, as I explain throughout this book, the plain, simple, and accurate medical truth is this: Although no cure exists for asthma, when you receive effective, appropriate care from your doctor, combined with your motivated participation as a patient, you can lead a normal, active, and fulfilling life.

About This Book

I wrote this book to give you sound, up-to-date, practical advice, based on my 25-plus years of experience with numerous patients, about dealing with your asthma effectively and appropriately. For that reason, I structure this book so that you can jump to sections that most directly apply to your medical condition. You don’t need to read this book from cover to cover, although I won’t object if you do. (Be careful, though, because when you start reading, you may have a really hard time putting it down!)

This book can also serve as a reference and source for information about the many facets of diagnosing, treating, and managing asthma. Although you may pick up this book for one aspect of asthma, you may realize later that other topics also apply to you or a loved one.

Don’t worry about remembering where related subjects are in this book. I provide ample cross-references in every chapter that remind you where to look for the information you may need in other chapters or within other sections of the chapter that you’re reading.

I intend the information in this book to empower you as a person with asthma, thus helping you to

Set goals for your treatment

Ensure that you receive the most appropriate and effective medical care for your respiratory condition

Do your part as a patient by adhering to the treatment plan that you and your physician develop

Foolish Assumptions

I don’t think I’m being too foolish, but I assume that you want substantive, scientifically accurate, relevant information about asthma, presented in everyday language, without a lot of medical mumbo-jumbo. In this book, you find straightforward explanations when I present important scientific aspects of asthma and when I use key medical terms. (You also get a chance to work on your Latin and Greek.)

If you’ve chosen to read my book, I know you’re no dummy, so I’m willing to go out on a limb and make some further assumptions about you, dear reader:

You or someone you care about suffers from asthma.

You want to educate yourself about asthma as part of improving your medical condition (in consultation with your doctor, of course).

You want to feel better.

You really like doctors named Bill.

How This Book Is Organized

I structure this book in six parts to help you find the information you need as easily as possible.

Part I: Asthma Basics

This part helps you determine what may affect you, explaining how asthma presents itself, the underlying immune system mechanisms involved in asthma, how you can — as well as why you should — get a proper diag- nosis of your condition, and how to develop a long-term management plan.

Part II: Understanding Asthma Triggers

In this part, you find an extensive discussion concerning the underlying inflammatory mechanism that characterizes asthma, what you need to know about how your doctor diagnoses your condition, and the important connections and coexistence between asthma and allergic rhinitis (hay fever). I also cover how to cope with food allergies and asthma, and deal with exercise-induced asthma (EIA).

Part III: Treating Your Asthma

In Part III, I cover how to avoid allergens that cause allergic rhinitis, the many effects allergies can have on your body, how those effects occur, the types of complications frequently associated with allergic diseases, and what you and your doctor can do to effectively treat your allergic condition.

You also discover appropriate medications that you can take to control and prevent your symptoms. Likewise, I explain why immunotherapy (allergy shots) may successfully manage your allergic rhinitis long-term and treat your asthma.

Part IV: Controlling Asthma with Medications

In this part, I detail the ways that medications are successfully used to manage asthma. Chapter 14 provides an overview of asthma treatment. I devote Chapters 15 and 16 to the controller (long-term) and rescue (short-relief) drugs that your doctor may prescribe for you. Chapter 17 presents my insights on upcoming drugs and therapies that may offer even more effective ways of treating asthma.

Part V: Special Asthma Conditions

In Part V, I discuss taking care of a child with asthma, continuing your asthma treatment during pregnancy, and managing asthma in the elderly.

Part VI: The Part of Tens

All For Dummies books contain one of these parts. The chapters in this part offer information that simply fits better in this more informal format, such as:

What you need to take with you — and practical information and steps to remember — when traveling with asthma

Examples of significant people, from ancient times to today, who have excelled in spite of their asthma

Appendix

The appendix at the back of the book is a compendium of valuable asthma and allergy resources, information on numerous important asthma and allergy organizations, and suppliers and manufacturers of environmental-control products that can greatly assist you in managing your condition. I also include listings of other important books and information sources about asthma and allergies, and, of course, a survey of quality asthma Web sites.

Icons Used in This Book

Throughout the margins of the book, you may notice the following icons. They’re intended to catch your attention and alert you to the type of information I present in particular paragraphs. Here’s what they mean:

The Berger Bit icon represents me expressing my opinion.

A Warning icon advises you about potential problems, such as symptoms you shouldn’t ignore or treatments that you may not want to undergo.

Myths and misconceptions abound about asthma. The Myth Buster icon indicates that I expose and correct mistaken beliefs that many people hold about asthma.

The Remember icon indicates things you shouldn’t forget, because you may find the information useful in the future. (Now, where did I put my car keys?)

The See Your Doctor icon alerts you to matters that you should discuss with your physician.

To give you as complete a picture as possible, I occasionally get into more complex details of medical science. The Technical Stuff icon lets you know that’s what I’m doing so that you can delve into the topic further — or skip it. You don’t have to read these paragraphs to understand the subject at hand. (However, reading the information with these icons may give you a better handle on managing your medical condition, as well as provide some great material for impressing your friends at your next party.)

You can find plenty of helpful information and advice in paragraphs marked with the Tip icon.

Where to Go from Here

Although you can read this book from cover to cover if you want, I suggest turning to the table of contents (okay, check out Rich Tennant’s cartoons first) and finding the sections that apply to your immediate concern. Then begin reading your way to better management of your asthma.