Understanding asthma

Asthma is characterized by airflow obstruction caused by alterations in the caliber of airways which gave rise to wheezing, coughing and tightness in the chest or simply shortage of breath. Increased prevalence and severity of asthma is directly related to inflammation of the lungs.

This inflammatory disease was observed to occur when there is chronic exposure to dust mites, allergens or other chemicals, strong odor, tobacco smoke and fumes. It normally occurs when there is stress, experiencing cold air or hyperventilation, there is change in weather upper respiratory tract viral infections and too much laughter or crying. Asthma usually occurs early morning or at night time. So you will see that the patient may be a little bit normal at daytime but increases coughing and wheezing at nightfall.

Narrowing of the airways is usually reversible but in some cases there may be an element of irreversible airflow obstruction. The lining of the airways becomes tighten and swollen while the muscles surrounding the airways tighten during an attack. This results to the inside of the airways becoming narrower which may also be blocked with mucus. This way air is no longer free to move in and out of the lungs because the sticky liquid plugs up the airways which seem to slow or stop the flow of air making breathing difficult.

Asthma attack may last for several hours to days ranging from slight breathlessness to not being able to breathe at all. Asthma may be chronic for some people where the illness may last for a long time or even a lifetime. Most people with asthma have airways that are very sensitive to things that do not bother other people. Asthma triggers vary from person to person. Oftentimes asthma and allergens go together but a person may have allergies without suffering from asthma. Likewise a person may have asthma but without allergies.