What is Asthma Or Bronchospasm?

WHAT IS ASTHMA

Asthma is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that affects our airways (the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs).

Asthma symptoms include shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and feeling tight in the chest. Each person with asthma may have different symptoms.

Children and young people with asthma have airways that are almost always red and sensitive (inflamed). These airways can react badly when children and young people with asthma come into contact with an asthma trigger.

Asthma triggers

Asthma trigger can be anything that irritates our airways and causes asthma symptoms. There are many triggers and the common triggers include house-dust mites, colds, viral infections, pollen, cigarette smoke, furry or feathery animals, exercise, outdoor air pollution, laughter, excitement and stress. There are many people with this chronic disease and each one of them may have different triggers and most of the time they can have several of them. It is important that anyone with asthma should know his own triggers and try to stay away from them or take precautions.

What happens during an asthma attack?

When a person with asthma comes into contact with an asthma trigger, the muscles around the walls of the airways in their lungs are tightening so that the airways become narrower. The lining of the airways becomes inflamed and begins to swell, making it difficult to breathe and leading to symptoms of shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing or feeling tight in the chest. It is at this point that the person with that disease will need to take a dose of his reliever medicine.

What does asthma feel like?

Every person can feel different asthma.

Asthma varies in severity from person to person. Some people will experience an occasional cough or wheeze, while for others; the symptoms will be much more severe.

Some people with asthma may occasionally need to take time off work if they have come into contact with a trigger (for example contact with house-dust mites). Some people with asthma may experience those symptoms after contacting with feathery animals and as a result they can suffer at night and become tired at work.

Avoiding known triggers where possible and taking the correct medicines can usually control asthma effectively for most children and young people.

To help with asthma control, all people should have regular asthma reviews with their doctor or nurse. They should also have a personal asthma action plan.