What Is A Severe Asthma Attack?

What Happens During An
Asthma Attack?

It is important to know what happens during an asthma attack.

People with asthma have sudden episodes when the air passages in their lungs become narrowed and breathing becomes difficult.

These problems are caused by an over-sensitivity of the lungs and airways.

Although no one knows for sure how a person contracts asthma, there are logical guesses given the scientific information that medical professionals are working with.

Nobody knows how asthma develops but we know that if you have asthma, there may be several different things that can be triggers.

What Causes An Asthma Attack?

Here we list some elements that may cause an asthma attack:

No one knows how asthma starts.

  • Allergens - like pollens from plants
  • Mold
  • Animal protein like hair
  • Cockroaches
  • Certain foods
  • Respiratory infections and sinusitis
  • Irritants - like air pollutants, chemicals, weather conditions
  • Sensitivity to medications
  • Exercise
  • Smoke
  • Stress

 

Here are three things that can happen to your lungs when an asthma attack occurs:

  1. The skin in the air tubes begin to swell
  2. The muscles in the air tubes constrict and prevent breathing easily
  3. The cells in the air tubes produce much more mucus that normal

This particular problem of production of a thick sticky mucus can clog up the tubes making it difficult or impossible to breathe.

Asthma attacks can take a long time to develop but they can also occur suddenly. They can be severe, moderate or mild.

What Is A Severe Asthma Attack?

Asthma can kill.

A severe asthma attack can kill.

Call 911 or your local emergency service if you see a person having an attack of this kind.

Severe asthma attack can mean any of these:

  • Breathless and can't breathe
  • Extreme trouble talking
  • Neck muscles very tight or look strained
  • Bluish or grayish lips and fingernails
  • Sucked in look at the bottom of the chest - most often in children.

Don't try to treat any of these problems yourself because you can make the situation worse, you are delaying the right treatment and if you give any drugs you might lead to making the condition the the hospital needs to treat more complicated as well as any health insurance issues.

And any of these signs do need to be treated at a hospital where they have the staff and expensive equipment.

You can read about how to recognize mild asthma on the Home Page.