About 20 million - or one in four - Americans have asthma that causes 5,000 deaths each year. The disease strikes nine million children under 18 and is responsible for 44 percent of hospitalizations in that age group.

"Every day in America, 40,000 people miss school or work, 30,000 people have an asthma attack, 5, 000 people visit the emergency room, 1,000 people are admitted to the hospital and 11 people die due to asthma," according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).

Statistics show that the prevalence of asthma has increased 75 percent from 1980 - 1994. On the other hand, asthma rates in children under the age of five have increased over 160 percent in the same period. The sad part about all of this is that asthma is preventable and rarely fatal if treated.

"In 2004, there were 13.6 million physician office visits and 1 million outpatient department visits due to asthma. Asthma accounts for one-quarter of all emergency room visits in the United States each year with 2 million emergency room visits in 2001," the AAAI added.

Asthma is a disease that affects all ages but it appears to be more common in men than women and affects more boys than girls in children. Most children who develop the disease be­fore the age of five tend to outgrow the problem. Others, however, aren't so lucky.

"Asthma episodes are responsible for eight million school days lost each year; 24 million days of restricted activity for both children and adults; and 12 million bed rest days," said Dr. Robert B. Mellins, professor of pediatrics, in "The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Complete Home Medical Guide."

"About half of all chronic sickness in childhood is due to asthma, which accounts for more days lost from school than any other illness. One child in every 40 has the disease, boys more often than girls. However, asthma can and often does have its onset in or persists into adult life. I have several patients who, without any previous history of lung problems, suddenly become asthmatic in their 70s," added Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld of the New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center in "Modern Prevention: The New Medicine."

What happens during an asthma attack? Simply explained, air passages (bronchi and bronchioles) become narrow and swell, affecting the way air travels to the lungs. This causes the whistling sound and shortness of breath common in asthmatics. Coughing is the result of excessive mucus production which clogs the breathing tubes.

"When an asthma attack starts, the muscle layer contracts causing the narrowing of the airways. As a consequence, it is more difficult for air to flow in and out so that breathing becomes harder and more prolonged," said experts of the Asthma Foundation of the Philippines. (Next: Types of asthma.)

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