asthma - what it feels like, plus a simple explanation

I remember how bad it felt as a child whenever I had an asthma attack. Because my breathing would be labored, my shoulders would be "higher" than usual and there would be a wheezing sound as I inhaled and exhaled.

Also, I would cough like I was trying to clear my throat. This cough was unproductive and would occur before an impending asthma episode and got worse during the actual attack.

Taking deeper breaths for relief was very frustrating because it felt like there was not enough air for me to take in. Of course physical activity during an asthma episode would take a lot of effort and when I got tired, lying down on my back to rest did very little in terms of comfort. Being in this position during an asthma attack would make me feel like there was a heavy weight on my chest preventing me from breathing normally.

I remember the most comfortable position for me back then would be sitting in bed with either my back propped up with a pillow against the headboard, or with 2 to 3 pillows stacked at shoulder height in front of me to hug and lay my head on. In those days, we could not afford air-conditioning yet so an electric fan steadily pointed at me when I was having an asthma attack helped a lot. Sometimes lying on my side also helped relieve the difficulty in breathing.

"It's bronchial asthma", doctors would tell my parents after they listened to the wheezing sound in my chest with their stethoscopes. I didn't understand or even care what it was called. All I knew then was that when I began to have difficulty breathing, I needed to slow down and rest. Then the coughing would get worse and I would hear that all-too-familiar wheezing with each breath; and it would be some time before I could run around and play again.


Asthma 101

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your airways. The airways are the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways are inflamed (swollen). The inflammation makes the airways very sensitive, and they tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating. When the airways react, they get narrower, and less air flows through to your lung tissue. This causes symptoms like wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing, especially at night and in the early morning.

Asthma cannot be cured, but most people with asthma can control it so that they have few and infrequent symptoms and can live active lives.

When your asthma symptoms become worse than usual, it is called an asthma episode or attack. During an asthma attack, muscles around the airways tighten up, making the airways narrower so less air flows through. Inflammation increases, and the airways become more swollen and even narrower. Cells in the airways may also make more mucus than usual. This extra mucus also narrows the airways. These changes make it harder to breathe.

Asthma attacks may occur because of exposure to an environmental stimulant such as an allergen, environmental tobacco smoke, cold or warm air, perfume, pet dander, moist air, exercise or exertion, or emotional stress. In children, the most common triggers are viral illnesses such as those that cause the common cold.

Read more about asthma at the NHLBI website.