Asthma Help

Asthma Help

Nearly 10% of kids ages 0 – 18 have asthma and the number is getting worse.  So, What is asthma?  Asthma is a wheezing or shortness of breath that occurs when someone needs to take in more oxygen but have to struggle to do so because the muscles of the bronchi are keeping the tubes are so small.

What does that mean?   When you are relaxed the need for oxygen going into the blood is relatively low.  As you breath in air, the air enters your mouth and goes down your throat, then through the bronchi and into the lungs. The Bronchi are tubes that can change size.  Because the need for oxygen is low, the muscles around the bronchi are in spasm to keep the tubes somewhat constricted.  This way a normal in and out breath will not send in too much air into the lungs.  If the bronchi weren’t constricted, you would be getting too much oxygen.  This would make you feel faint or light headed.

When you start to do activity like running down a hall, playing a sport or even walking around the block, the need for oxygen increases.  The muscles around the bronchi relax and the bronchi tubes increase in size.  This allows more air into the lungs with each breath for more oxygen.  Thus body meet it’s increased demand for oxygen.

Sometimes the muscles around the bronchi do not relax even though the oxygen demand is greater.  This means the person has to struggle to force an increased amount of air into the lungs through the constricted tubes.  This is what creates the sounds of wheezing or the feeling of panic.

The big question becomes, “why aren’t the muscles around the bronchi relaxing to allow more air flow when needed?”

There are multiple reasons why this isn’t happening.  The most common reason is that the nerves going from the brain to  the muscles are not fully functional.  When increased oxygen is called for, the brain sends a signal to the muscles of the bronchi to relax. But the signal doesn’t get there to tell the muscles to relax.

By opening up the nervous system, the proper signals can get where they are supposed to go.  Then the symptoms of asthma will disappear.

If you want asthma help, we have a computerized scanning program.  This program can tell us if signals are your problem.  Call 402-333-4848 to schedule your exam now!

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