Asthma attack is also known as asthma exacerbation in people suffering from the disease. Asthma is a disease condition of the lungs in which the airways become narrow, have strictures, and become swollen making breathing difficult and labored for the person suffering from it. The incidence of asthma is increasing throughout the world with many people suffering from it on a frequent basis and hence the term “asthma attack” to define an attack of asthma. In recent years the asthma attack frequency has increased considerably especially in the Western world and the developed parts of the world. The huge rise in the number of people suffering from asthma in the past 2 to 3 decades along with the fact the most number of people suffering from asthma are in the Western world and the developed parts of the world has led to the conclusion that asthma is primarily caused by the environment in the Western world and the developed parts of the world which are highly industrialized nations. The exact cause of asthma is not yet known and there is no permanent cure for asthma that the medical community has come up with. There are however many steps which one can take to prevent flare-ups and exacerbations of an asthma attack.
Asthma has been known to cause death in serious to extreme cases and recently the number of people dying as a result of asthma has increased despite the latest advances in the medical field and one can only attribute this to the worsening of the environment and the atmosphere, all of which contribute to the increase in asthma attacks in recent years in patients of all ages. A good long-term prognosis for asthma can be only possible with a change in the environment and significant changes to lifestyle.
Asthma Attack
Asthma Attack Causes
It is hard to pinpoint one specific reason or cause for an asthma attack as these attacks are triggered by various factors in various people. It has been proven medically that a child exposed to dust mites has a higher chance and probability of becoming an asthmatic as an adult later on in life. Based on this one can safely assume that exposure to other allergens and pollutants in the environment will have the same or a similar kind of effect on others too. This is particularly true of the Western world and the industrialized and developed parts of the world where there is a huge population, industries, and lots of vehicular traffic all of which combine to pollute the environment. It is but natural that children growing up in such an environment will suffer from an asthma attack eventually.
The reasons for an asthma attack can be anything however it is medically proven that environmental factors like allergens and pollutants very aggressively worsen the asthma attacks and also increase the frequency in which they occur. Asthma by nature being a breathing disorder is also made worse by addictive habits like cigarette or cigar smoking. All asthma patients are in fact instructed to quit smoking but that is not so easily done given the fact that nicotine is highly addictive, however one should put in all effort to quit smoking especially if they are suffering from asthma. Becoming overweight is also a contraindication for an asthma attack as obesity will only increase the pressure on breathing and cause labored breathing. Exercise to lose weight is also not possible in patients suffering from asthma but gentle exercise by going for early morning walks or mild swimming should be encouraged in an effort to lose weight as this will help alleviate the asthma attacks.
Asthma Attack Treatment
Fundamentally it is accepted by the medical community that at present asthma is an incurable disease condition and because of this the primary goal for the medical community is to achieve relief of the said asthma attack symptoms. This can many times be extremely crucial and even a life and death situation as asthma is deadly and kills thousands of people all over the world every year. As soon as an asthma attack occurs it becomes critical to manage the attack effectively and to control the situation at hand. This is done by symptomatic treatment and the reason why all patients suffering from asthma carry an inhaler at hand for use in an emergency or at the first sign of asthma symptoms. In fact medically the long term usage of asthma inhalers has been known to make asthma attacks less severe and even reduce the frequency in which they occur.
In the long term, treatment for asthma attacks generally consists of prescription drugs and lifestyle modification to eliminate the allergens and pollutants which cause the asthma attack in the first place. Considering the nature of prescription drugs as habit-forming it is advisable to start the patient on the lowest dosage of mildly powerful drugs and also to control the asthma attacks with a detailed plan of action that should be adhered to by the patient’s caretakers. Care must also be taken to avoid anything that will bring about an asthma attack or escalate the condition.
Successful management of asthma is possible for the majority of patients with only a handful of the patients requiring powerful prescription drugs. Proper managed care is essential to strike the right balance and find the least powerful dosage with the maximum benefits as excessive use of powerful drugs will only worsen and weaken the immune system and this will only further escalate the asthma attacks in a never-ending cycle. Other asthma aggravating factors like allergens, pollutants and even stress must be avoided! Stress in both forms – physical or psychological will aggravate and bring on the onset of an asthma attack rather quickly. Even normal physical exercise which is generally good for the body will serve to aggravate and bring on an asthma attack and must be avoided unless it’s very mild physical exercise.
Suffering from asthma is not a pleasant experience to anyone, not even the family members of the patient. Effective therapeutic management of asthma with proper managed care will however go a long way in helping patients manage asthma attacks effectively and also let them lead healthy and productive lives albeit with lifestyle modifications and a change in the environment to prevent any sort of contact with any known allergens and pollutants. This will go a long way in lessening the frequency of the asthma attacks and help the patient successfully manage with the use of an inhaler in the event of an asthma attack.
