Asthma FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about asthma including its symptoms, causes, and forms of treatment. It should be of interest to anyone who has asthma or knows someone who does.

Introduction:

Welcome to alt.support.asthma! This newsgroup provides a forum for the discussion of asthma, its symptoms, causes, and forms of treatment. Please note that postings to alt.support.asthma are intended to be for discussion purposes only and are in no way to be construed as medical advice. Asthma is a serious medical condition requiring direct supervision by a physician.

This FAQ attempts to answer the most frequently asked questions about asthma on the newsgroup alt.support.asthma. It was compiled by Patricia Wrean prwrean@sfu.ca and is currently maintained by Marie Goldenberg mwg@radix.net. The Asthma Medications FAQ is also posted monthly as a companion to this one. For information about allergies, please see the alt.support.asthma FAQ: Allergies -- General Information (still under construction), and its companion posting, the Allergy Medications FAQ.

Please be aware that the information in this FAQ is intended for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with a doctor. Most of the contributors are not health care professionals; this FAQ is a collection of personal experiences, suggestions, and practical information. Please remember when reading this that every asthmatic responds differently; what is true for some asthmatics may or may not be true for you. Although every effort is made to keep this information accurate, this FAQ should not be used as an authoritative reference.

Comments, additions, and corrections are requested; if you do not wish your name to be included in the contributors list, please state that explicitly when contributing. I will accept additions upon my own judgement -- I'll warn you right now that I'm a confirmed skeptic and am not a great believer in alternative medicine. All unattributed portions are my own contributions or those of the original maintainer, Patricia Wrean prwrean@sfu.ca.

Disclaimer: I am not a physician; I am only a reasonably well-informed asthmatic. This information is for educational purposes only, and should be used only as a supplement to, not a substitute for, professional medical advice.

Copyright 1996 by Patricia Wrean, 1997-2000 by Marie Goldenberg. Permission is given to freely copy or distribute this FAQ provided that it is distributed in full without modification, and that such distribution is not intended for profit.