Asthma sufferers find it difficult to breathe in and out of their lungs, as if they were breathing through a straw. A whistling sound accompanies this discomfort and indicates narrowing of the bronchi. Air gets trapped in the chest, and the chest feels tight.
The word “tightness” is most often used.
This feeling is accompanied by an irritating cough and sometimes a feeling of anxiety. It cannot be compared to shortness of breath caused by physical exertion, although exercise can trigger an attack in some asthmatics.
In some circumstances, as we have discussed, asthmatics experience chest tightness, wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath, which can be unpleasant. What is happening in the lungs?
Normally, when we breathe in, air enters the pulmonary alveoli to deliver the oxygen we need to our blood and cells. It is carried by the trachea and bronchi, which are surrounded by muscles like shoelaces.
The largest tube leading from the larynx to the bronchi is the trachea.
The trachea divides into the right and left bronchial tubes, each of which divides several more times and becomes increasingly narrow.
In a healthy person, the bronchial tubes remain open enough to allow air to be inhaled and exhaled freely and easily without much effort.
When an attack is triggered by various factors that we have already mentioned (allergies, irritation, viral infection), the muscles contract and the surface of the bronchial tubes becomes more or less inflamed, causing the airways to narrow. This leads to a narrowing of the airways and difficulty breathing.
Asthma is sensitive to several factors
Asthma is caused by the bronchial tubes being overly sensitive to several factors. This is called non-specific bronchial hyperresponsiveness.
This explains why an attack can occur in different situations:
- Contact with an allergen. Inhalation of pollutants: smoke, exhaust fumes, aerosol cans, paints, dust mites, pollen, animals.
- Viruses. A simple cold can trigger an attack after several days of development. Taking certain medications: aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, high blood pressure medications, certain eye drops, etc. Eating: food allergies can trigger a full-blown asthma attack.
- Stress
“Is stress causing my asthma?” is a question often asked by people with asthma.
It is true that worry, stress, and anxiety can aggravate asthma, but not everyone has asthma, and asthma does not exist solely in the mind!
There is a natural variability in asthma that coincides with our sleep patterns. This is more important in the early hours of the morning between 3 and 5 a.m.
Asthma sufferers wake up from coughing or wheezing. He or she may also feel short of breath in the morning, even if sleep has not been disturbed. Asthmatics feel best in the middle of the day.
Physical activity is one of the triggers of asthma, especially in children and adolescents. Indeed, an attack can occur after intense effort and last a quarter of an hour or more. Asthma caused by physical exertion is more intense if the fresh air is cold and dry and is inhaled through the mouth.
These various factors play different roles in different people. They can also play different roles in the same person, depending on how their asthma develops.
Asthma is often unpredictable
Asthmatics experience congestion, wheezing, and coughing that vary in frequency and intensity.
Attacks can be short-lived or last for several days. In this case, it is called an “asthma attack.” Attacks may be associated with certain triggers or occur for no apparent reason.
Between attacks, shortness of breath may persist, and in some asthmatics, most often the elderly, it may become constant and more or less intense. This is called persistent asthma. This is called “asthma with constant shortness of breath.”
Asthma can be episodic or persistent
Some types of asthma occur from time to time in very specific conditions: at work, when in contact with animals, during walks in nature, when pollen is in the air. This is called intermittent asthma.
In other cases, asthma is present throughout the year. It then becomes permanent and more or less severe. There are often several causes.
Whatever the trigger, asthma is now recognized as an inflammatory disease: hence the importance of anti-inflammatory drugs in the daily treatment of asthma and for relieving acute attacks.
With our current knowledge of this disease, we cannot talk about a definitive cure. However, the lives of asthmatics have changed thanks to significant advances in the treatment of this disease over the past 30 years. There are now effective medications that allow asthma symptoms to be completely controlled. Asthmatics should be able to live a normal life if they are well monitored and treated.