As the leading chronic illness among children,
asthma claims over 5,000 lives every year. It affects 5 million
children, and poses a significant threat to the African American
population. African Americans and children are hospitalized for asthma
more than any other race or age group. Asthma can be acquired at any
age, but since one-third of the victims are children, early prevention
is crucial.
It has been estimated that 200,000 to 1 million
asthmatic children are further harmed by secondhand smoke. Mothers who
smoke during pregnancy tend to have babies with unusually small
airways, making them more apt to develop asthma and other respiratory
diseases. For a child with a parent who smokes, the likelihood of
developing asthma during their youth increases twofold. Therefore, an
African American child whose parent is a smoker is placed at a very
high risk of contracting asthma and dying from it.
Asthma results from the narrowing of the breathing
tubes, which causes swelling and increased mucous secretion, all of
which make it difficult for air to flow in and out of the lungs. In
children, asthma can be hard to diagnose; while wheezing and coughing
are generally due to asthma, it can often be seen as bronchitis or
pneumonia. However, it is necessary that we are mindful of how common
asthma is in the African American community.
An African American teenager is three times more
likely to develop steroid resistant asthma and to die from it than
their Caucasian peers are. It has also been found that there is an
increased risk to children whose families lack medical care and live
in impoverished neighborhoods with poor housing; two conditions which
many unfortunate inner-city African American families find themselves
in.
Asthma can be brought on by allergies, household
products, mold, dust, work toxins, cockroaches, drugs, weather, air
pollution, vigorous exercise, and infections. If a child is exposed to
such conditions, the parent should look for some of the early warning
signs which include: coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest
tightness, itchy or sore throat, stuffy nose, watery eyes, and
sneezing. Just because a child comes down with asthma does not mean
that it cannot be treated. Asthma treatment is usually mild and can be
done at home. There are many people that have thrived despite being
burdened by the effects of asthma; several such individuals include
Jesse Jackson, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Theodore Roosevelt, Dominique
Wilkins, Beethoven, and Dennis Rodman.
