18 June 2007, 21:13  

Effect of Socio Economic Factors on Asthma.


There are a number of factors a medical doctor needs to consider before determining the appropriate asthma clinic treatment plan. There are many inconsistent considerations a doctor may attempt to understand before recommending specific course of action. Even then, the therapy strategy will need to be adjusted over both the near term and long term as the patient symptoms and needs change.


Asthma is a disease that is a world wide phenomenon. There are numerous factors that contribute to the cause and aggravation of this disease. With the increase in environmental factors that are known to contribute towards the increase in instances of this disease it would not be completely wrong to call this disease also a lifestyle disease.


There are many more people falling victims to this disease than what were seen in the earlier times.

The Critical Few factors that are commonly used to determine the asthmatic situation and appropriate course of action are:
• Test Results. These include a lung capacity test using a peak flow meter. This is simply a way to measure lung capacity. This is a portable instrument to check peak expiratory flow rate and is a good indicator of the severity of the respiratory illness. Blood Tests may also be used and considered.
• Patient History. Here, the doctor may ask revealing questions concerning recent illnesses that involved breathing. Questions about sleep patterns and influenza are of special concern and can help obtain an accurate diagnosis.
• Patient Physical. A physician will also check the current status of the lungs by listening for the sounds that are symptomatic of asthma. Wheezing, coughing etc.
• Just plain good diagnostic skills. Doctors can use all the results to determine a diagnosis.


It is also a debatable issue whether social and economic factors may be contributing towards increase in number of cases of asthma. Although it seems to be quite a plausible thing that the people from socially and economically backward backgrounds may be more susceptible to falling victims to this disease, still there are no studies to support this assumption in a concrete way. Also there are number of cases from socially and economically upper classes to make the matters more confusing.


In the cases of allergic asthma it may be deduced that the social and economic factors play a greater role than in the cases of non-allergic asthma. This is because generally the people living in socially and economically backward situations may also be more exposed to various allergens. Also allergies of such people would have greater chances to go undetected and so undiagnosed.

Using the symptoms and the results of this work-up, a diagnosis will be made. It may take a week or more depending on how fast the doctor can collect and review the test results.


Also it may be possible that even if they suspect their allergies they may not be able to afford and thus get the proper treatment for their ailment because of their economic situation. Hygiene is a factor generally in places which are socially and economically backward.

Based on your symptoms, the diagnosis will also determine the severity of the asthma and a direction to determine the correct asthma clinic treatment necessary. There are 4 basic severity levels which include mild intermittent, mild persistent moderate persistent and severe persistent asthma. The intensity of the respiratory affliction. will determine the ultimate treatment plan.


Allergens are more in number in such places. They may have greater chances of coming in contact with people also in such environs.


Allergens may be present everywhere but the dust related allergies are more prevalent in the people from lower socio economic zones. It is a fact that the socially and economically backward families do not have access to clean, independent and clutter free atmospheres.

Most doctors will then develop an asthma clinic treatment plan or program to address specific issues. They will prescribe, depending on the final diagnosis, drugs to control the symptoms long term and possibly short term as well. These drugs include...


Their homes may not be well lit and well ventilated. This leads to accumulation of dust mites and various types of fungi in their surroundings.


The people who have allergic asthma due to these allergens would have problems because of these conditions.

Quick relief or rescue type of drugs are available to stop an asthma attack before the symptoms worsen. The medicine of choice are bronchodilators that are fast acting drugs that relax muscles and allow air passageways to reopen.


Also there are higher chances of other people developing allergies due to unclean atmospheres especially unhygienic living spaces. The chances of frequent aggravation of their conditions are also very prevalent. These frequent aggravations in their symptoms are most likely to create situations of fatality also.

Long-term control drugs used in many asthma treatments are usually inhaled corticosteroid (kor-ti-ko-STE-roid) type as they are fast acting and can reduce bronchial swelling and lowers the severity of an asthma attack. These steroids are good for controlling most forms of asthma and are considered safe for most users.


So although it may not be a proven fact logically the people from lower socio economic situations appear to be more prone to be dying from asthma as with other diseases.


Apart from allergic asthma it is also seen that the asthma caused by nicotine and drug abuse is also very high in places where the people from lower socio economic backgrounds dwell. This may be due to very high rates of smoking and drug abuse.

This last option is one where you need to take responsibility for your own healthcare and find those things that trigger an asthmatic event and change them within your own environment.


Although in the higher strata of the society also there are very high cases of smoking and drug abuse the unhygienic conditions and cluttered life lived by the people of lower socio economic classes seems to have been contributing to this factor. Also the qualities of products that may be available to people in different strata of the society are very different.

Careful review of the living environment can determine triggers in the home that can cause an asthma attack. Changing or removing those triggers can result in fewer bronchial episodes. By simply changing some basic cleaning methods you may be able to lower the number of asthma attacks experienced. Some common triggers include: dust mites, animal dander, dust, bed bugs and skin cells, some types of exercise and even cold weather.


Naturally the products of poor quality may be adding more to the reaction of the body against the abuse.


When survival is a question of utmost importance other things do become less in intensity, be they diseases or education. This is the case in many situations in socially and economically low segments of the society. In fact this is the situation in most of the underdeveloped countries, which include many Asian and African countries.

Find out how you can learn to live WITHOUT the treatment drugs using techniques that have been shown to be successful for many asthmatics. Visit the site below for more information.


Education is a facet that is mostly neglected because the basic survival of the people is at stake and survival takes higher priority over education. While illiteracy levels are constantly on the rise the situations cannot be controlled unless better prospects of survival along with basic amenities are provided to the people.

The asthma treatment is something that will continue to change due to the different factors that can affect the person living with the malady. Diagnosis and treatment therefore must always be considered dynamic and changing. To live successfully with asthma means always monitoring the disease... [read more]


Asthma is one medical condition that is constantly on the rise because of excessive increase in population. This is because not only do the hereditary factors come into play with excessive increase in population, but various other factors like lack of basic amenities for the people also come into action full force. This also leads to lack of education for the masses, which in turn gets translated into rise of many diseases including asthma. Although statistics available to prove this are not really sufficient logically it looks like all this may add up to compound the situation.


With excessive increase in population there are greater chances of all the hereditary factors coming into picture. The non-allergic as well as allergic asthma that may be related with the hereditary situations gets compounded many times over because of the excessive rise in population. This is true for other diseases as well.


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