Joseph's Asthma Case Study

Asthma is a term used to describe an obstructive pulmonary disease whereby an individual’s airways are considered chronically inflamed, affecting eight to twelve percent of Australian adults (Brown et al 2016). While the cause of this chronic disease is yet to be determined, multiple triggers have been identified; including allergens, infections, exercise and irritants (Vernon et al 2012, and Brown et al 2016).

To describe the pathophysiological processes involved in asthma, this paper will use Joseph’s case as an example. When Joseph is exposed to an allergen such as animal hair or pollen, the process of bronchial inflammation occurs as the mast cells that are located underneath the basement membrane (between the epidermal and dermal layer) of the bronchial wall
When the nerve endings within the airway are stimulated by the original stimuli, in this case an allergen, the parasympathetic nervous system overcompensates and signals the release of acetylcholine from the synaptic knobs (Brown et al 2016, Marieb & Hoehn 2016). Acetylcholine functions to increase the contractions in smooth muscles in the Bronchi and secrete excess mucus, which then cannot be moved away from the airways due to impaired mucociliary function (Brown et al 2016). The severity of asthmatic episodes can vary from slightly uncomfortable to debilitating and life threatening. Josephs exacerbations have gradually become milder over the years and have not been serious enough to require hospitalisation in eighteen months, however he does not take his medication as directed and as a result experiences cough variant asthma that interrupts his sleep – a sign of poorly controlled asthma – causing him to feel lethargic and therefore perform far less physical activity than others his age, and he does admit to occasionally experiencing breathlessness in cold