Abstract:

Asthma is a long-term lung condition where your airways get inflamed, tighten up, and sometimes block airflow. It’s not one-size-fits-all—different people get it for different reasons, but the end result is usually the same: wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) helps us make sense of it all. Asthma and COPD (the lung disease heavy smokers often get) are two of the biggest respiratory problems worldwide. In kids, asthma is the #1 reason for hospital stays because of breathing trouble. In adults, COPD is a top killer. Both are tied to things in our environment that stress out lung cells and invite immune cells to overreact.