Asthma

Informative Speech Outline

Asthma

Specific Purpose: To inform the audience on the struggles that an asthmatic deals with every day.

Central Idea: Asthma is a disease that affects the airways and breathing passages in a person’s body, making every day breathing a struggle.

Introduction

I. Picture this… One day you’re talking to your best friend and he tells a rather humorous joke.

II. However, when you try to take a breath in and breathe out you can’t seem to get your entire breathing capacity back.

III. If this happens to you, you may have become stricken with the inherited disorder known as Asthma.

IV. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology reports in 2007 that there are over 20 million Americans with Asthma and asthma affects 1 in 4 Americans.

V. Asthma is something that can not necessarily be treated to completely heal, though some people do grow out of it, but instead it must be simply controlled.

VI. It is a circumstance in which the tubes that carry air down to your lungs are hyper-reactive, or extra sensitive, and become easily swollen and inflamed when prompted by a trigger.

VII. When you feel short of breathe that means the following has arose in your lungs:

A. The smooth muscle in the walls of the airways spasm and constrict.

B. The inner lining of the breathing tubes swell and become filled with excessive

amounts of mucus.

(Transition: Now that I have explained the background of Asthma lets discuss some of the signs, causes, and triggers.)

Body (Paragraph I)

I. An article from the New England Journal of Medicine in 1995 states the main cause of asthma is hereditary, and it will be passed down from generation to generation, however, that is not the only cause.

II. Asthma can be established in ones body by an excess of stress, an unhealthy diet, dust mites, or the increased pollution in America.

III. There are some ways a person can tell if they have become stricken with the disorder.

IV. Common first signs of Asthma to look for are:

A. Wheezing (can create air pockets in lungs)

B. Breathlessness (air knocked out of you)

C. Chest tightness (hard to inhale, exhale, or both)

D. Persistent coughing

V. Once a person is diagnosed with Asthma, they will have to become familiar with some of the triggers that instigate a flare up.

VI. Some common triggers among a majority of Asthmatics include:

A. House dust and dust mite particles (can’t be seen so hard to avoid)

B. Pollen

C. Exercise

D. Fumes/cigarette smoke

E. Certain foods and drinks

1. Sulfites in Wine

2. Sulfites in dried fruit

F. Changes in air temperature

G. Chemicals and Medicines

1. Aspirin

2. Beta-blockers

H. Colds and flu (allergies also may cause difficulty on breathing)

VII. Depending on a person’s sensitivity to a certain trigger, and how sensitive their airways are at the given time they come in contact with the trigger, they could begin their struggle instantaneously, but if not, it will almost always take place within 30 min. to 2 hrs. of exposure.

VIII. There is another type of asthma called EIA (Exercise Induced Asthma).

A. People experience difficulty breathing 5-20 mins. after exercise.

1. Overly sensitive to sudden changes in temperature and humidity.

2. During strenuous activity, people tend to breath through their mouth, allowing cold, dry air to reach airways without passing through the warming, humidifying effect of the nose.

B. Even the athletes, who are considered “physically fit”, are able to possess EIA.

C. A report from the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in 1998

found that one in six athletes representing the United States in the 1996 Olympics had a history of asthma

IV. There are some asthmatics that only have this type of asthma, and nothing else.

(Transition: Next, I will go over a few ways to control it, some treatment for it, and medication used to fight it.)

Paragraph II

I. When faced with wondering whether or not you have your asthma under control, there are some signs to look for yet again:

A. Attaining

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