Asthma Definition/ What is Asthma

The simplest way to define asthma is as a condition that causes swelling and constriction of the air passages, difficulty breathing, and/or coughing. There are a number of asthma symptoms that can vary from person to person, though many people do share the same symptoms, especially if they have the same variety of asthma. There are a few different varieties of asthma, including bronchial asthma symptoms and chronic asthma. These types of asthma can strike people of any age, but asthma is often particularly pointed in children. This may in part be due to the fact that asthma symptoms in adults are counteracted by the knowledge and experience of an older person, whereas childhood asthma is being dealt with by a young person with relatively little life experience. Children with asthma, like adults with asthma, may suffer from severe asthma symptoms or mild asthma symptoms. Pediatric asthma, like regular asthma, can be triggered by a number of different factors including aspirin, exercise, and intense emotion, and results in a constriction of the airways through a tensing of the muscles and a swelling of the airways themselves.

What are Asthma Symptoms/ What are the Symptoms of Asthma

Asthma symptoms are the reactions that an asthmatic has to an attack. Some common symptoms for asthma are:

• wheezing
• coughing
• being short of breath

From there, we step into the realm of severe asthma symptoms, and progress into the realm of true emergency symptoms, such as:

• Chest pain
• Blue tinted face and/or lips
• Confusion, inattention, or drowsiness
• Racing pulse

While these are by no means all of the adult asthma symptoms or all of the asthma symptoms in children, they do represent a good start to recognizing asthma signs and symptoms.

Facts About Asthma

The asthma symptoms children experience are often quite similar to the signs of asthma that are exhibited by adults, if they have the same type of asthma. This isn’t to say that there is no variation in symptoms between asthmatics. They all have to do with respiratory distress, but some people may deal with more bronchial constriction than others, while others may produce more mucus or have more tightness in the chest. Regardless of the signs of asthma that are exhibited, or the severity of the symptoms, anyone who is dealing with asthma of any variety should go to the doctor. Even if a person’s first asthma attack is mild, they can get worse over time, particularly if the asthmatic is suffering from allergies that are exacerbated by allergens in the area. People can certainly, and often do, suffer from allergy based asthma attacks. Some of the known allergens include, but are not limited to:

• pollen
• pet dander
• dust
• dust mites

Things such as exercise and cold air can also trigger an asthma attack, as well as stress and innumerable other triggers. The severity of the attacks can vary from one to another, though certain tendencies can quickly emerge, such as a tendency toward severe attacks, or a tendency to feel more tightness in the chest than bronchial swelling, etc. While people of any age can have or get asthma, it is often noticed early in life, and should be discussed with a doctor immediately.