Hygeia

When I was still a kid, I used to have an asthma but it just stopped for an unknown reason when I went to college.

People that suffer with asthma, a nasty condition that affects the air passages making them hypersensitive, often have a more pronounced reaction to allergy inducing products or surroundings. People with asthma have very sensitive airways that narrow in response to certain asthma triggers, leading to difficulty in breathing.

The most successful asthma treatment to date is that of avoiding attacks in the first place which is why it is imperative an asthma patient learns to recognize when an asthma attack is going to take place. These symptoms can all be present or only a few but they include problems breathing, a feeling as if someone has a tight band around your chest, constant coughing and of course wheezing.

A very common asthma symptom is the feeling of breathlessness but the most characteristic (but not universal) symptom is wheezing, which is a musical sound like a faint whistle, produced usually while one is exhaling. This is a symptom not just of asthma but tends to be a common condition with everyone who has a lung disorder it is just most noticeable in asthma sufferers.

The coughing can be the most irritating for the patient though as it has a tendency to affect them most in the morning or at night but it is often experienced by anyone with a cold. This is the reason that many people confuse a person with asthma as someone who just has a cold or perhaps the flu virus. An easy way to see the difference though is the person with have a noticeable bluish tinge to their skin which is an unmistakable indication that they are not receiving enough oxygen and require medication.

While these symptoms are indicative of asthma, the most important one is the problem breathing which is usually caused by an irritant that they have an allergy too. Shallow but rapid breathing is also another symptom of asthma and can last for some time even if the asthma patient is taking medication to treat the condition.

No two asthma attacks are alike and the severity of some is so severe that the airways are completely blocked requiring emergency treatment as oxygen is not getting to vital organs. It may be the case that a previous history of allergies within the family may be the basis of asthma but whatever the cause, it is still responsible for a large number of deaths each year and for over 20,500,000 Americans to have this awful condition.

For the asthma sufferer, finding out what triggers the asthma is the most important thing to achieve as this way preventing attacks becomes much easier. While your doctor will have supplied medication for your condition, that does not mean it cannot be made worse by additional irritants over time so constant monitoring of the condition is necessary.

For More Information:
Asthma Treatment Guidelines