Asthma can be defined as a chronic disease that affects your breathing track. Breathing tracks are tubes that carry air we breathe to and out of your lungs. In case of asthma patients, the inner wall of these airways will be swollen or inflamed. Such inflammations can lead to increase in sensitivity of tracks, and can result in strong reaction to particles present in the air that are allergic or irritating to your body. Inflammation in respiratory tracks can cause its narrowing. It leads to decrease in air flow towards the lungs and thus to all other parts of body. Symptoms of asthma include wheezing characterized by whistling sound when you breathe, chest tightness, coughing and trouble in breathing especially during early morning and night.
Asthma is an incurable condition. But most patients are able to control the symptoms which cause disturbance and can keep life active. Asthma episode or asthma attack is a condition by which the symptoms of asthma will get worse than usual. During asthma episode, the muscles lining your respiratory track will tighten up, resulting in more narrowing and to highly reduced air flow towards lungs. High inflammation will also make the breathing tubes narrower as it gets swollen. The cells covering inner layer of track is able to produce mucus and this will be more in case of asthma patients. It can also reduce the diameter of respiratory tract. These changes can make breathing harder.
The degree of attack differs from patient to patient. In severe asthmatic patients, the volume of air to lungs and other vital organs will be much so that it can result in stalling of function. This is an emergency condition and patient may die because of such severe attacks. So it is necessary for asthma patients to learn about the condition and to consult a specialist regularly. Medications can keep the symptoms under control.
It is important to take care of asthma through regular check ups and to follow instructions of a doctor. It can help you to respond quickly to change in symptoms that are more problematic than in usual cases. It can also help you to prevent such symptoms from occurring. Increase in asthma attack can hinder your routine and to miss school and other important functions. In some cases, you may be forced to withdraw from physical activities and the children to miss classes. |
