Asthma bronchiale

Asthma (or Asthma bronchiale) is a common disease of the lungs. It makes it hard for people to breathe. People can never grow out of asthma, it is a lifelong condition. The lungs and throat are constantly irritated (puffy and swollen). People with asthma produce more mucus than normal people and the muscles that wrap around their lungs are very sensitive. An asthma attack is when something (known as a trigger) causes the sensitive lungs to tighten and produce more mucus than normal. The more irritated the lungs, the more tight the lungs become. Asthma attacks are considered very serious emergencies by doctors.

Asthma attacks

Asthma attacks are treated with rescue medication inhalers (or nebulizers) that the person breathes into their lungs. Asthma attacks are not always easy to spot; children are especially hard to tell how bad the asthma attack is. Things to pay attention to are things like:

• It's hard to breathe
• Using the stomach, chest muscles or muscles at the top of the chest to help breathe.
• Children won't eat. Babies won't feed (or nurse).
• Children cannot finish a sentence without gasping.
• Rescue medicine doesn't make it better.

Asthma attacks can be caused by exercise, pets, allergies or many other triggers. Asthma attacks can be dangerous. Doctors call the worst attacks status asthmaticus, and usually admit the person to a special room in a hospital.

Triggers

A trigger is anything that causes asthma to get worse. Asthma is not something that ever goes away so the lungs are always irritated and sensitive. Triggers cause the lungs to tighten. Common triggers are things like:

• Cigarette smoke (Even just the smell)
• Pets (Cats and dogs)
• Bugs
• Mold
• The outdoors
• Exercise

The way to avoid triggers is to get rid of them if possible.

Treatment

Asthma can be controlled most often by avoiding contact with triggers and by using certain drugs. Most asthma sufferers carry special medicines around with them. These are called inhalers. The medicine inside the inhaler opens the tubes that go to the lungs. The inhaler is usually used to prevent an asthma attack, or to stop an attack that is already happening.

Rescue medicine — A rescue medicine is an inhaler ("puffer") that is used if a person thinks they are having an asthma attack.

Controller medicine — A controller medicine is a medicine in either a pill or an inhaler taken every day to prevent asthma attacks.

Common treatment in a hospital

Hospitals have other options they can use in an emergency when the regular treatments don't work:

• Oxygen
• Certain drugs that act like an asthma spray, but are much stronger
• Certain drugs that can be given through an IV (intravenously).
• Steroids
• Breathing aids (including tubes, and valves in very severe cases)