What are Asthma Attack Symptoms?
March 30, 2008
What Is Asthma?
Before beginning with the symptoms of Asthma, it is absolutely essential to understand what is asthma, what are its causes and lastly what treatment needs to be done.
Asthma can be deadly and life threading and a, fatal disease. Asthma also referred as an asthma episode or flare, occurs when a person feels shortness of breath that may interrupt the patient’s well being and there can be an urgent need for medication or any other form of intervention to control breathlessness and regain the normal process of breathing, once again. Usually asthma is accompanied by wheezing that is a rattling or whistling sound that occurs air is not being able to flow freely due to obstructions in the airway and wheezing may occur when the asthmatic patient exhales.
But when the attack persists for a longer period or progressing, it may occur in both inhalation as well as exhalation. . With even further progress of the asthma attack, the wheezing may stop and may be indicative of small airways becoming totally blocked and it is a very serious condition. Thus wheezing, trouble breathing, and coughing are thought to be external influences (i.e. smoke, or exercise).
Causes of Asthma:
Constricted Airways, Inflammations, or too Much Mucus is the most important reason of Asthma. In most cases asthma attacks are caused by airways constricting, becoming inflamed, or being lined with too much mucus and may be in response to triggering events such as being exposed to an allergen, cold air, exercise or some form of emotional stress. In the case of children it could be viral illnesses such as common colds. An asthma attack may be chronic or recurring when the airways develops too much responsiveness to stimuli that are characterized by bronchial hyper-responsiveness, inflammation, or increased production of mucus, as well as sporadic obstruction of the airway.
Symptoms Of Asthma Attacks:
Asthma that is a dreadful disease can at times prove to be life threatening as well. If the symptoms are known well in advance, it is quite possible to save the asthmatic from its severe attacks and timely medication can also save his/her life.
a) Asthma is a very deceptive disease. Wheezing, trouble breathing, and coughing are generally attributed as external influences (i.e. smoke, or exercise). But in the case of an asthma sufferer, they might be experiencing the early stages of an asthma attack.
b) Severe wheezing by itself doesn’t have to mean an asthma attack, but when this wheezing is heard and felt while inhaling and exhaling, you might be experiencing an asthma attack. This wheezing is not only just heard, but it can also be felt when you place your hand on your chest. This is the second symptom.
c) If one is experiencing a persistent cough that is accompanied by any other asthma attack symptom, then the person may be experiencing an asthma attack. So one has to bear this in mind that while coughing by it isn’t a symptom, coughing that cannot be controlled or stopped is a good indication that you are having an asthma attack.
Thus asthma can occur due to various reasons. This deceptive disease has already taken its toll on many people staying in the urban areas. Children as many as one fourth of the urban areas are infected with asthma. When a person is suffering from an asthma attack it may lead them to turn blue due to lack of oxygen, and the asthmatic may experience chest pain and may even lose consciousness and lead to respiratory arrest and even death.
Summary:
With the proper medication and proper counseling from physicians asthma can indeed be taken care of.
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