Asthmais a chroniclung diseasethat makes it hard to breathe.
The problem can cause symptoms that range from mild to severe.
In some severe cases, symptoms can threaten your life.
Illustration by Mira Norian for Verywell Health
Asthma symptoms trigger swelling in the airways that carry air in and out of your lungs.
This causes them to become smaller and tighter.
Inflamed airways make it hard for air to flow through these tubes.
When the airflow to your lungs is blocked, it is hard to breathe normally.
Most people can live a normal life when they manage their asthma symptoms.
This article describes asthma symptoms and its causes, diagnosis, and treatment.
Asthma Symptoms: What Does It Feel Like?
Asthma doesn’t produce the same symptoms in everyone.
Kids
Children with asthma commonly have coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath, just as in adults.
Anasthma attackis often accompanied by wheezing and coughing.
It is usually triggered by an external factor like an allergen or tobacco smoke.
Symptoms of a panic attackusually include problems like nausea, dizziness, and trembling.
A panic attack is triggered by stress or anxiety.
A panic attack comes on suddenly without an apparent physical trigger (there could be a mental trigger).
Knowing your asthma triggers can help you control your asthma.
Triggers vary by individual, and it’s possible for you to have more than one.
How is Asthma Diagnosed?
Asthma is diagnosed by a healthcare providerbased on your symptoms.
Thefollowing testsare most often used to determine whether you have asthma:
What Is Allergic Asthma?
Allergic asthmais atype of asthmatriggered by a reaction to an allergen.
Allergic asthma is the most common form of asthma.
Asthma medication and treatment include several types of therapies.
Together, they comprise an asthma action plan, which is an individualized treatment plan for asthma.
An asthma action plan can be adjusted as your asthma symptoms become controlled.
These medicines are usually administered via an inhaler or tablets.
It is approved for both the treatment of acute asthma symptoms and the prevention of future asthma attacks.
Some are taken alone, while others are combined with other drugs.
However, what you do depends on whether you have an inhaler with you.
Panic and anxiety can often make your symptoms worse by tightening your chest and back muscles.
This can make it harder to breathe.
Being proactive about your condition can help you reduce your risk of asthma attacks and avoid hospital visits.
This means doing your best to control your exposure to triggers in every environment and circumstance.
Regular exercise or participation in sports-related activities supports lung health and overall well-being.
It requires ongoing medical management throughout your lifetime.
However, symptoms can usually be controlled with treatment.
While it can go into long periods of remission, the disease remains, and symptoms can resume anytime.
About 50% of children with asthmaoutgrow the conditionduring adolescence, though symptoms may recur later in life.
When an asthma attack occurs, it becomes hard to breathe.
Without proper care, severe symptoms can threaten your life.
Doing so can allow you to live a normal life with asthma.
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