Any healthy-looking person may be harboring a particularly annoying, and sometimes dangerous, ailment deep inside their chests. This ailment is known as asthma. With proper education, it would be ideal if anybody could help anybody during an “asthma attack”, which, for the afflicted person, is certainly a time of great need. Please be informed of what it is and what it can do. You’ll be glad you read this if the person who’s most special to you turns out to suffer from this ailment.
What is Asthma?
Asthma is an ailment of the respiratory system where the airways can constrict, become inflamed and are lined with excessive amounts of mucous. If left untreated, asthma can prove to be very painful for the afflicted person. It can lead to hypoxia (starving the body of much needed oxygen), and in extreme cases, death.
Even with today’s advanced medical technology, there is still no known cure for asthma. However, with proper treatment and medication, along with certain lifestyle changes, asthma can be kept at bay. With proper treatment, people afflicted with asthma can lead healthy and normal lives.
General Cause
In essence, asthma is an abnormal immune response in the person’s airways. The airways of the patient become very sensitive to a certain stimulus, such as organic dust, chemicals in the air, or in certain cases, a certain type of emotion. Soon, inflammation will follow and mucous will flow, giving the patient a difficulty in breathing.
Symptoms
During normal conditions, a person afflicted with asthma will look like any healthy and normal person. However, certain conditions will trigger the “asthma attack” and the patient will show the symptoms.
An asthma attack is characterized by wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Most asthma patients nowadays are aware of their situation and now carry inhalers. However, there are rare occasions that the inhalers seem to do little in comforting the patient.
An acute asthma attack may sometimes happen and this is what everybody must be aware of, since a person that is currently suffering from an acute asthma attack usually becomes weak, vulnerable and helpless. If you have an asthmatic friend that is suffering an asthma attack and is struggling for breath, cannot finish a sentence, nostrils flaring out, becomes pale, has blue lips and/or nail beds, or faints, and his/her inhaler or medication doesn’t seem to be working, seek medical treatment immediately to prevent the problem from getting worse.
Treatment
Asthma is a chronic disease, and therefore, the person has it all the time regardless of the fact that the symptoms are visible or not. The first step to treatment is a visit to your doctor to get a diagnosis of your case. Since asthma treatment varies from person to person, you’ll get a lot more information from your doctor’s diagnosis.
After your visit to your doctor, you must remember to follow his/her advice to the letter. Avoid your asthma triggers and your asthma inducers as much as possible and use your asthma medications as prescribed.
Remember, with good asthma treatment, it is always possible for you to live a normal and active lifestyle.
