Asthma

Excerpt

Asthma is a common disease and has a range of severity, from a very mild, occasional wheeze to acute, life-threatening airway closure. It usually presents in childhood and is associated with other features of atopy, such as eczema and hayfever.

Asthma is a very common childhood illness leading to multiple hospital admissions and increased healthcare costs. The key feature is airway hyper-responsiveness, which can be triggered by many factors. If not treated promptly, asthma has a high mortality.