History Of Asthma Goes Way Back To The Ancient Times
Asthma is a disease that goes a long way back in time and there is a lot of mention of it throughout the ages; so much so, that it can be considered a very primeval disease. Thus, it would be wrong to think of asthma as a relatively modern ailment, and if you look closely at the history of asthma, you will find it mentioned in many an ancient chronicle as well. However, you can be sure that asthma as a disease has certainly grown and affected more people in the recent past than at any time before, and the reason for this is the greater number of pollutants present in the air as also in the environment today.
A Greek Term
Before you look at the history of asthma, it may be worth knowing that this term actually owes its origins to Greek in which language it was deemed to denote the act of panting or breathing whilst the mouth was open. And, according to the history of asthma, there was an ancient physician who was also of Greek descent that found out that women were more likely to suffer from asthma as compared with men, though he did observe that men were more likely to die from asthma as compared with women.
Another interesting mention of the asthmatic condition was made by a consulting physician to the Roman emperors, and this person named Galen found out as early as the second century AD that asthma was a lung disease with seizure-like properties and he could even perceive that the disease came about because of blockage of the bronchial tubes.
The next interesting mention about asthma came about, as chronicled in the history of asthma, when in the year 1552, Archbishop Hamilton who was being treated for asthma by a physician named Giolamo Cardano recommended an entire routine to treat the problem that included exercising, taking a diet and removing the leather pillow as well as the feather bed from the bedroom of the Archbishop, which needless to say, provided prompt relief and which made Cardano very famous as well.
And, the history of asthma also tells of Van Helmont who was a well known physician and an asthmatic as well who found the link between smoking, irritants and asthma and he even went so far as to compare asthma with epilepsy and found out that asthma came about because of trouble in the lung pipes.
Thus, there have been many new findings related to asthma that have been found out during all these many years and the history of asthma is indeed very interesting, and the study of the disease has now progressed far enough for doctors to be able to diagnose as well as treat and also control the disease quite effectively, which has brought new hope into the lives of many asthmatics even though a new asthmatic is being diagnosed every day somewhere in the world today.
