Question

1) Why is juvenile asthma common in UAE?

2) How does the breathing rate in children differ from that from adults.

3) How can you calculate your pulse rate from you breathing rate?

Answer 1

1)One person in six in the UAE suffers from asthma. And despite medical experts’ efforts to increase awareness of the debilitating breathing condition – the numbers continue to rise.

As the summer season approaches, the conditions for asthma patients can significantly worsen.

Asthma is a condition in which the airways narrow and swell and produce extra mucus. This makes breathing difficult and triggers coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.

“When the humidity goes high and allergens like dust mites and AC ducts aren’t maintained, then they could trigger asthma,” Dr Mohammad Rafique, the medical director of Prime Hospital, told Gulf News.

“There are also sand storms in the summer, which can be another trigger,” he said. “Pollen from date plant is an allergen too. There are definitely more allergens during the summer that cause an increase in asthma.”

2)Body size, weight and activity level influence normal breathing

rates. But age is the factor most commonly used to determine

normal values. Normal breathing rate ranges from as high as 30

to 60 breaths per minute at birth to as low as 12 to 16 breaths

per minute at age 18. This means that the breathing rate in

children is higher as compared to the adults. This is due to the

fact that the infant's body is growing rapidly and their body

metabolism is high. This requires more oxygen which is

achieved with the help of supply of more oxygen to the body.

Hence, the breathing rate is high to compensate for the

increased demand for oxygen in the body

3)Multiply the number of beats by 4 to get the heart rate (beats per minute). Record this inthe table below. c Measure the exerciser'sbreathing rate at rest for 15 seconds. Multiplythe number of breaths by 4 to get the breathing rate (breaths per minute).

I hope you understood

Your teacher