Waiting_to_Exhale

My topic is how do the qualifying factors that characterize a person as asthmatic compare to the lungs of a longtime smoker' The topic really interests me because asthma runs in my family and my aunt that was a longtime smoker died recently because of lung cancer. I have no clue what exactly asthma is or what causes it. Although, I’ve heard the token phrase “Stay smoke free” dozens of times, I’ve never taken the time to learn what smoking does to your body. My hypothesis is that my experiment will show that someone who is asthmatic has less flow of oxygen to the lungs whereas a smoker just has less room to hold the oxygen being taken in. Hopefully, this will make me more aware and less naïve to my own risk. The lungs do a very vital and unique job for your health. The chest contains two lungs, one lung on the right side of the chest, the other on the left side of the chest. Each lung is made up of sections called lobes. The lung is soft and protected by the ribcage. The purposes of the lungs are to bring oxygen into the body and to remove carbon dioxide. Oxygen is a gas that provides us energy while carbon dioxide is a waste product of the body. The lungs are one the most important parts in the human body. Asthma is defined as is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing often occurs at night or early in the morning. Asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts in childhood. In the United States, more than 22 million people are known to have asthma. Nearly 6 million of these people are children. Asthma has no set pattern. Its symptoms can be mild, moderate or severe and can flare up from time to time and then not appear for long periods. The cause of asthma is not known, and currently there is no cure. However, a doctor can prescribe medication or an inhaler which helps to relax the muscles allowing the person to breathe normally. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body; causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general. Smoking is a hard habit to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Like heroin or other addictive drugs, the body and mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person needs to have it just to feel normal. Each time a smoker lights up, that single cigarette takes about 5 to 20 minutes off the person's life. The adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 438,000 deaths, or nearly 1 of every 5 deaths, each year in the United States. Cancer is the second leading cause of death and was among the first diseases casually linked to smoking. Smoking damages your health in a number of ways. Smoking destroys the cilia. These are the tiny hair-like structures that line the airways in the lungs and act as little brooms that sweep out harmful dirt. When those little brooms are not working, dirt-filled mucus slides down your lungs and blocks the tiny airways – and the air can’t get in or out properly and the germs stay present. That is the reason why smokers cough a lot –because they have to cough to rid of the dirty mucus in their lungs. In addition to making you smell bad, giving you wrinkles, staining your teeth, and giving you bad breath just to name a few. In conclusion, I better understand the effects of each. I understand how serious asthma can be and I don’t quite understand why anybody would want to damage their health so drastically just for a temporary release of stress. We have to out ourselves in a position to live as long as we possibly can. I am really excited to see how my hypothesis is going to compare to my results. I have high hopes for my experiment and believe it’s going to educate me and others as well. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Asthma/Asthma_WhatIs.html. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. September 27, 2009. Berger, W. E. (2004). Asthma for Dummies. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc. Sullum, Jacob. (1998). For Your Own Good: The Anti-Smoking Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking/. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. September 27, 2009. http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/smokeinfo.html. Center for Young Woman’s Health. September 27, 2009