about asthma

Presentation: Asthma English

My presentation is about Asthma

Why I chose this subject:

I chose this subject, because I have asthma myself and I wanted to know more about it. Also I wanted to explain to you what it is and which medications there are. Before I continue with my presentation I want to give you all a straw, because later on I want to do an experiment with you.

About myself:

First, I like to tell you something about myself. When I was little I had asthma myself. I had a beeping noise and I often felt very oppressed. I, but my parents also, often had the feeling that I was about to choke. After I became 10 years old, my asthma was gone and I was rid of it. But that was not for long, because since my 14th my asthma is back. Now I have medication to improve my asthma.

Healthy Lungs:

First, I will explain something about healthy lung, because than you can see the difference with Asthma patients.

Picture 1:

If you breathe, the air goes through your nose or mouth, then through your windpipe to your lungs. The windpipe is divided into 2 smaller pipes. These are the bronchi or respiratory tracts. At the end of the bronchi, there are a lot of lung vesicles. A human has about 500 million lung vesicles.

Picture 2:

Around every lung vesicle there are little blood vessels. Within lung vesicles the oxygen goes to your blood if you breathe. The blood brings the oxygen to other parts of your body.

Picture 3: The Left side

On the inside of your respiratory tracts there is mucous membrane. That part takes dust and wrapped it up in the mucus. Really tiny vibrating hair transport the mucus to your throat, so you can swallow or coughing it up.

What is Asthma?:

Asthma is a very well-known disease. The word Asthma comes from the Greek word Asthma, and that means panting. Asthma is a chronic disease, this means that it will not away. It is possible that when you get older it will reduce, but it won’t completely disappear.

If you have Asthma, It can spontaneous happen that you don’t feel well. You can breathe easily, you will feel oppressed and your breathe is short. And sometimes you make a bleeping noise, like I have.

People with Asthma have very irritated bronchi. The bronchi and mucous membranes get irritated through tingles. People with Asthma are very irritable or these substances.

Picture 3: The Right side

An Asthma attack is caused by a virus or a certain tingle that the person is allergic to. Through that tinge, the mucous membranes will swell in your nose, throat and in your lungs. This is the reason that your muscles will cramp. Your respiratory tracts will become smaller, your lungs will be full of air and breathing will be difficult.

How bad your Asthma attack will be, depends on the person and the moment that it happens. Sometimes the attack will go away, but sometimes the person needs his medications. In some cases it is so bad, that the person needs to go to the hospital.

Experiment:

Like I said in the beginning of my presentation, I want to do an experiment with you. That’s why I have straws to show you something. If you have Asthma yourself, I don’t recommend doing this. Before you try it, I want to explain what I want to show you.

First you put your straw in your mouth, like when you’re drinking with it. Now try to breathe through the straw, but close your nose with your fingers. You’ll notice that it is really difficult to breathe through the straw, because you can’t get enough oxygen. Well, this is how it feels when you have Asthma, it is difficult to breathe and you feel oppressed.

You can put the straws down and breathe normal again.

Solutions/Medication:

Doctors can’t heal Asthma. What they can do is to withhold the complaints or at least try to reduce them. There are many different kinds of medication that can reduce the Asthma. Which kind or how many sorts a patient gets or has, depends on the person and what kind of Asthma that person has.

Picture 1:

First of all, there is the Bronchodilators. You can use these if the Asthma is there, or if you have an Asthma attack. The give rest to the muscles around the bronchi. So that the respiratory tract can get wider again and you can breathe easily again. These medications ensure that you feel less oppressed and that that feeling will be gone.

Blue inhaler:

I have this medication. It is Ventolin and it is the blue one. This one I take minimum 3 times a day, but if I feel oppressed I can and may take more. These will ensure that the lungs will stay open, so you can get more oxygen.

Picture 3:

Second there are inflammatory inhibitors. If your respiratory tracts are often irritated, the chance of getting an infection is higher. Your respiratory tract will swell and you will feel oppressed. These medications try to prevent that. The give rest to the bronchi, but that happens slowly.

Pink/white inhaler:

I also have this kind of medication. That is Salmeterol and it is white with pink. This one I take 2 times a day and I may not have more than that, so 2 times a day is the maximum. It is possible to take it like this. So you put your mouthpiece between your teeth and suck while you press in the button.

Hooter:

You can also choose to use a hooter. You put the inhaler on the hooter and you suck till you hear a whistle. After you’ve taken your medication, it is possible that you have a little bit of powder in your mouth. You can rinse your mouth with some water, but most of the medication will go to your lungs.

Picture 4:

If you have really bad Asthma, there is another way to treat it. You can go to an Asthma centre. This is a hospital where you can stay for a couple of months. In this Centre, patients get guidance with their medications and can get help from experts. For instance there is an Asthma Centre in Switzerland.

Picture 5:

This is a Dutch Asthma centre in Davos, Switzerland.

Facts:

Last I want to tell you some facts about Asthma:

1. At 1 day a person needs 10.000 litre air. Your lungs will make sure that you breathe every 4 seconds. This means that you will breathe about 20.000 times at a day!
2. About 115.000 children till the age of 14 have Asthma.
3. In the Netherlands more than half a million people have Asthma.
4. If you get older your Asthma will reduce. About 1 on 25 adults have Asthma
5. In every class there are about 2 or 3 children who have Asthma.
6. If your parents don’t have Asthma, your chance of getting it is between 5 and 10%
7. Asthma often occurs in a whole family. The cause of getting Asthma often is not clear, but it seems that Asthma is hereditary.

The End:

This was my presentation. I hope you liked it and that you learned something from it. Are there any questions?