An Asthma Attack Causes Shortness of Breath and Wheezing

An asthma attack, sometimes also referred to as an asthma episode or flare, occurs when a person feels shortness of breath that may interrupt the patient's well-being and may need recourse to medication or other form of intervention to control and regain the normal process of breathing, once again.

An asthma attack may be accompanied by wheezing that is a rattling or whistling sound that occurs in the event of air not being able to flow freely due to obstructions in the airway and wheezing may occur when the asthmatic exhales but with the attack progressing, it may occur in both inhalation as well as exhalation. With even further progress of the asthma attack, the wheezing may stop and may be indicative of small airways becoming totally blocked and it is a very serious condition.

Constricted Airways, Inflammations, or too Much Mucus

Asthma attacks are caused by airways constricting, becoming inflamed, or being lined with too much mucus and may be in response to triggering events such as being exposed to an allergen, cold air, exercise or some form of emotional stress. In the case of children, the most common triggering events could be viral illnesses such as common colds. An asthma attack may be chronic or recurring when the airways develops too much responsiveness to stimuli that are characterized by bronchial hyper-responsiveness, inflammation, or increased production of mucus, as well as sporadic obstruction of the airway.

In the developed world, people who are suffering asthma attacks are on the increase and it is believed that as many as one fourth of the urban children are so afflicted. When a person is suffering from a severe asthma attack it may lead them to turn blue due to lack of oxygen, and the asthmatic may experience chest pain and may even lose consciousness and lead to respiratory arrest and even death. Even though a severe asthma attack is life threatening, the asthmatic may show few signs of the illness in between attacks.

Treating an asthma attack patient may require a physician to study the patient's clinical history as well as undertake his or her complete examination. Prior to diagnosing a person as being asthmatic, it is necessary for alternative possibilities to be considered. In any case, the best treatment for asthma attacks is to identify the triggers that cause it to occur (these may include pets or aspirin) and then not permitting the asthmatic to be exposed to such triggers.

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