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One Airway, One Disease
BreatheAmerica believes in the concept of "One airway, One disease". The air we breathe in passes through our nose and continues down the airway into the lungs. A variety of diseases can cause problems with our breathing by obstructing the free passage of air along this path. This relationship between the nose and the lung has been recognized for over a century and seriously studied for the last 15 years. From this research, it is now clear that the upper airway is closely linked to the lower airway. Hence, our focus on the entire airway.
One of the most compelling aspects that challenge the treatment of airway disease is that it acts as a catalyst to trigger another, creating an overlapping and linked effect. For example;
- More than 50% of people with asthma also suffer from allergies, while at least 90% of pediatric asthmatics have allergies
- More than 50% of asthmatic patients also suffer from sinusitis
- Some 80% of chronic sinusitis is caused by an allergic reaction
- Allergic reactions trigger many of the asthmatic "flare-ups" and sinusitis episodes
Allergic rhinitis affects between 10% and 30% of all adults and as many as 40% of children.
Children 5-17 years of age missed 12.8 million school days due to asthma in 2003.
Asthma accounts for about 10.1 million missed work days for adults annually.
COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. More than 12 million people are currently diagnosed with COPD. An additional 12 million likely have the disease and don't even know it.