What is an asthma attack?

An asthma attack is where muscles around the airways tighten up and make them narrower than normal, prohibiting air to flow through. The victim struggles to breathe and could require emergency medical assistance.

What is asthma? Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the walls of the airways, which are the tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. These walls remain inflamed, swollen and very sensitive, and react intensely to things that the person could be allergic to.

When the airways react, they swell more and become narrow which allows less airflow to and from the lungs. If you know someone who has asthma you'll be familiar with their wheezing or whistling sounds they make when they breathe.

Under attack, the person will begin to cough and get a tightening in their chest as they struggle to breathe. Night and morning air is especially difficult for them.

Most asthma patients can control the disease through medication, and can have long and otherwise healthy lives. However, they still live in fear of unexpected changes that can bring on a deadly attack which will suddenly cause the airway muscles to become so tight that they struggle to breathe.

The inflamed walls of the airways swell even more making breathing almost impossible. And at that point, cells in the airways often produce extra mucus to aid in the breathing, but this actually causes the airways to become even narrower.

The greatest danger that these attacks bring on is the inability to reduce the swelling in time to allow the person to breathe again. The severity level of the attack can vary in its strength, as some attacks are worse than others.

Often the person or the caregiver of the person will recognize the symptoms before it gets to the dangerous level and will use the inhaler, which relaxes the muscles making the airway wider so the person can breathe again.

But in some instances, the person cannot get to their inhaler in time or the attack comes on so fast that their airways close very quickly and won't allow any oxygen in at all. The person cannot breathe and without their medical inhaler, they require immediate emergency medical assistance, otherwise they will die.

Anyone suspecting that they have asthma should see their doctor right away and not take any chances because this disease does not get better, and to date there is no cure for it. The doctor will prescribe medication that will help to keep the asthma under control.

Patients learn what to do in case of attacks and as well, how to prevent attacks by avoiding certain things and learning the signs and symptoms of oncoming attacks. Most people are able to monitor their asthma and live relatively normal lives. These patients, however, have learned to respect the disease and live prepared for an attack.