What Is Asthma?
By editor | July 2, 2007
Asthma is a chronic disorder that swells the walls of the lungs’ airways. As the airways swell, the muscles around them tighten, squeezing the airways. At the same time, the airways clog with mucus. These combined factors-swelling, tightening, squeezing, and mucus-:- keep air from moving in and out of the lungs as easily as it should. That’s why your child coughs, wheezes, or has trouble breathing.
This doesn’t mean that all children with asthma have the same symptoms or have them all the time. Some never cough. Others rarely wheeze. Some show symptoms only when they are physically active, or have colds, or during seasons when allergies trigger wheezing, coughing, or difficulty breathing.
Asthma is always present but not always observable. When symptoms kick up, we call it an asthma flare. Some medical professionals also call it an asthma episode, attack, or exacerbation. If you want to know what a flare feels like, take a breath and hold it for a few seconds. Without breathing out, take another breath, and then another and another. You’ll soon be able to take only very shallow breaths. Your chest will feel quite full and even painful. You may feel like you’re choking. You may also start to feel a little panicky. Imagine feeling that way and also having to cough uncontrollably. Now you have a better understanding of how unpleasant and frightening a severe asthma attack can be for your child.
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