Signs and Symptoms of Asthma

There are many people who suffer from asthma. Asthma is the narrowing of airways so that a person has a hard time breathing. This happens because the airways get so inflamed from various causes. For example, pollen can be an asthma trigger. It can be really dangerous and scary for a person to have asthma. There are many signs and symptoms of asthma.

Breathing

Obviously the first major symptom of asthma will be that you have a hard time breathing. It can come on very suddenly. Your breathing can become very shallow. You may feel like you are suffocating. Try sitting up or standing to help the airways open up so more if you are laying down when an asthma attack comes on. Shortness of breath can be scary so try to calm yourself as much as you can when you have an asthma attack. Talk to your doctor about what you should do when you have signs and symptoms of asthma so that you both can come up with the proper treatment plan for your asthma.

Chest

You may feel chest pain when you are having an asthma attack. Your chest may feel like it is tightening up. The tightness feeling can come with pain or no pain. When this happens the best thing you can do is try to be as calm as possible and follow your doctor's prescribed treatment plan for you. For example, your doctor may recommend that you take an inhaler when you are having an asthma attack.

Wheezing

Since your airways are constricted, you may find that you are wheezing. Wheezing is when your body makes this noise that sounds almost like whistling. It sounds like it is coming from your lungs. This happens because of what is happening to your airways when you are having an asthma attack. Wheezing is a common symptom of having asthma.

Coughing

When you are having an asthma attack your body will naturally react by making you have a coughing fit. Your body is trying to clear your airways so that you can breathe again. Sometimes when you cough it will bring up something called sputum. It will be a clear or yellow substance that is thick. It is what you cough up usually when you have a viral infection. Viral infections can be a trigger for asthma attacks.

Emergency

Unfortunately asthma attacks can be fatal if you do not get the proper treatment in time. Emergency symptoms of an asthma attack are when a person's skin around their lips and face gets a blue color because they are not getting enough air into their body. Their breathing is also very shallow, and it feels like they may stop breathing at any moment. Their regular asthma symptoms seem really worse than usual, and their asthma treatment does not seem to be working. For example, using their inhaler does not seem to help improve their asthma symptoms. Call 911 immediately if you think someone is having an emergency asthma attack because you may just save their life. There are many signs and symptoms of asthma.

Source:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/asthma/DS00021/DSECTION=symptoms