Acute Asthma Attack

Asthma is a chronic disease of the respiratory system in which the airways become constricted, inflamed or lined with mucus in response to an environmental trigger or irritant. In addition to an environmental trigger, the asthma attack could also be a result of exercise or excessive stress.

An acute asthma attack is one which is sudden and in response to some irritant present in the environment. How sever the attack actually becomes is determined by how well you have taken care of the underlying asthma condition.

An acute asthma attack can be life threatening, in the United States alone about five thousand people die each year due to asthma attacks. Part of the reason is that they don't realize or don't take seriously the fact that their asthma attack is turning acute. Never underestimate the severity of your asthma attack, if it is unusual for you to feel as out of breath or frightened as you feel during an asthma attack, it's something to seek immediate medical attention about.

Dealing with an asthma attack, and hoping to cope successfully with an acute asthma attack requires that you, your family members and close friends be aware of what to do during an asthma attack.



During an acute asthma attack, the airways are greatly narrowed as a result of swelling or bronchoconstriction or by the excessive mucus lining the inner walls of the airways. You will feel extremely out of breath and will literally struggle to stay conscious. The diaphragm and chest walls become exhausted and the ability to adequately ventilate the air sacs in the lungs falls. All in all, those have had an acute asthma attack and survived describe it as a very traumatic experience in itself.

Identifying An Asthma Attack:

It's important to know when an asthma attack is an acute one. Remember that the majority of deaths caused by acute asthma are avoidable, had the patient been given the needed medical care, a life could have been saved.

An acute asthma attack starts out like an ordinary asthma attack. There is the usual sequence of coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and recession, which is the drawing in of flesh between the ribs and sternum. But when it's an acute asthma attack, these symptoms persist and often deviate from the normal asthma attack.

The asthma patient will become withdrawn and quiet, while he or she focuses on trying to breath. They will assume a hunched position because this helps the muscles of the upper body to expand the chest and lungs. Breathing is a strenuous task. Wheezing is longer and so are the expirations of air.

Inspiration of air is short and harsh. Recession becomes marked. The symptoms continue despite using a reliever or resume shortly after a reliever has been used. A peakflow reading of 50% or less of the normal reading indicates an acute attack. The asthmatic may not be able to use the peak flow and there is no point forcing them to try - using a peak flow under these circumstances can often make asthma worse.

The situation becomes worse as the airways become further clogged and the patient goes into a state of ‘silent chest' asthma. Most people mistake this stage as an improvement in the asthma symptoms while the fact is the airways are extremely clogged and very little air is going through. The patient needs immediate medical care, the absence of which will lead to death. In many cases, assuming that the silence is an improvement, medical help is not summoned and the patient dies, a death which could have been clearly avoided.



If you have asthma or a family member or close friend has asthma, it's best that you learn as much as you can about it and share the knowledge with others who are close around you. This may end up saving a life.

• Matt Thompson
• 01/01/2009, 4:59 PM
• 0 Comments