Description

An asthma attack is a sudden worsening of asthma symptoms. Asthma is a long-term condition that makes it difficult to breathe because the airways in the lungs become narrowed. Symptoms of asthma include coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and difficulty to get enough air.

These symptoms occur because the muscles around the airways contract, the airways become irritated and inflamed, and the lining of the airways produces a fluid, called mucus. All of these factors make it difficult to breathe.

People who already have a diagnosis of asthma often have an asthma action plan. It tells you what medicines to take, in case you have an asthma attack and when to get emergency care. People who do not have a diagnosis or not you have a plan of treatment should be to obtain emergency medical care if you have any of these symptoms.

Frequent attacks of asthma show that a person's asthma is not under control. A health care provider may make changes in medications and the asthma action plan to improve the control.

An asthma attack is also called an asthma exacerbation or attack of asthma.

Symptoms

The symptoms of attacks of asthma may include:

  • Shortness of breath.
  • Chest tightness or pain.
  • Cough.
  • Wheezing.

The severe symptoms can include:

  • Gasping for breath.
  • Difficulty speaking due to shortness of breath.
  • The effort of the muscles of the chest to breathe.
  • Worse symptoms when lying on the back.
  • Severe sweating.

The result of an at-home test, called a peak flow meter, can be an important sign of an asthma attack. This device measures the speed with which it can force the air out of the lungs. Peak flow readings are typically a percentage of how the lungs are working at their best. This is called your personal best peak flow.

An asthma action plan often includes the steps to take based on a peak flow reading. A reading below 80% of a best peak flow may be a sign of an asthma attack.

When to see a doctor

An asthma action plan tells you when to call your health care professional and when to get emergency care. A plan consists of three parts, with color codes:

  • Green. The green area of the plan times that you feel well and have no asthma symptoms. The plan tells you what is the dose of long-term control medicine to take every day. It also tells you how many puffs of your quick-relief inhaler to take before you exercise. If you use a peak flow meter, the readings should be 80% or more of the best.
  • Yellow. The yellow area indicates what to do if you have symptoms of asthma. It explains when to use a quick-relief inhaler and how many puffs to take. It also describes what to do if your symptoms do not improve, and when to call your health care team. Peak flow readings are 50% to 79% of your best.
  • Red. The red zone indicates that you get emergency care when symptoms are severe, or if symptoms worsen or do not improve after using a quick-relief inhaler. Peak flow readings are below 50% of their personal best.

If you do not have an asthma action plan, get emergency medical care if your quick-relief medicine is not helping your symptoms.

Routine monitoring for the control of asthma

It is important to keep regular appointments with your health care professional. If your asthma is under control, you may be able to take lower doses of the medicine. If you are using a rescue inhaler very often for treating asthma attacks, you may need to make changes to your asthma action plan. These may include taking a new medication or more doses of a drug.

Causes

Asthma is usually a lifelong disease of inflammation in the lungs caused by an overactive immune system. The inflammation in the lungs includes the tightening of the muscles around the airways, inflammation of the tissues of the respiratory tract and the release of mucus that can block the airway. When this happens, it is difficult to breathe.

Asthma attacks occur when something triggers the immune system to take action. Triggers may include:

  • Allergic reaction to pollen, pets, mold, cockroaches and dust mites.
  • Colds, flu, or other illnesses that affect the nose, mouth and throat.
  • The smoke of the tobacco.
  • The cold, dry air.
  • Exercise.
  • A condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) that results from stomach acids to enter the tube between the mouth and the stomach.
  • Pollution or chemical irritants in the air.
  • Pain relievers, such as aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs anti-inflammatory drugs and certain other drugs.
  • Depression or anxiety.

Risk factors

Any person who have asthma are at risk of an asthma attack. Factors that may increase the risk include:

  • The evil control of allergies.
  • Exposure to triggers in the environment.
  • Do not take daily medications for asthma.
  • Incorrect use of inhaler.
  • Long-term depression or anxiety.
  • Other long-term illnesses, such as heart disease or diabetes.

Complications

Asthma attacks affect both a person's health and quality of life. The problems may include:

  • Days lost from work or school.
  • Frequent emergency or urgent care visits.
  • The interruption of sleep.
  • The limits on regular exercise or recreational activities.

Severe asthma attacks can be fatal. Life-threatening asthma attacks are more likely for people who frequently use the quick-relief medications, have had emergency room visits or hospital stays to treat asthma or other long-lasting diseases.

Prevention

An important step to prevent an allergy attack is to follow your asthma action plan:

  • Take your long-term asthma control medicine every day.
  • Take peak flow readings as indicated.
  • Take your quick-relief medicine before exercising, as indicated.
  • The use of quick-relief medication as outlined in your plan.
  • Keep track of the frequency of use of quick-relief medication.

Your input on how well the work plan helps your health care professional to adjust the treatment to prevent asthma attacks.

Other measures to prevent attacks of asthma include the following:

  • Avoid triggers as much as possible.
  • Stay inside when there is bad air quality warnings.
  • Get tested for allergies, and take allergy medication as directed.
  • Wash your hands frequently to reduce the risk of catching a cold or the flu.
  • Keep current on vaccinations, including annual influenza and COVID-19 shooting, and others as recommended by your health care professional.
  • Receiving treatment for depression, anxiety or related conditions.
  • If you smoke, stop smoking.
  • Wear a mask while cleaning.
  • Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or mask on cold days.

Diagnosis

If your symptoms do not improve with home treatment, you need to see your healthcare provider or get emergency care. Even if the symptoms improve with treatment at home, your healthcare provider may want to see you soon for a test, depending on the severity of the symptoms.

If you go to the clinic or to the emergency room to receive treatment, it is likely that you will receive the treatments and tests at the same time. The goal is to improve your breathing, to judge how severe an attack of asthma is and to see if treatment is working.

Tests to measure how well your lungs are working can include:

  • Peak flow meter. This device measures the speed with which it can force the air out of the lungs. Peak flow readings are typically a percentage of how the lungs are working at their best.
  • A spirometer. A spirometer measures the amount of air that the lungs can hold and how quickly you can breathe. This measurement is called forced expiratory volume (FEV-1). Your FEV-1 measurement is compared with the typical FEV-1 for people who do not have asthma. As with its peak flow of the reading, this comparison is often given as a percentage.
  • A pulse oximeter. This small device clipped on the end of a finger measures the amount of oxygen in your blood. This shows how the lungs of the delivery of oxygen to the blood.
  • The nitric oxide measurement. This test measures the amount of nitric oxide gas you have in your breath when you exhale. High nitric oxide readings are present when there is inflammation or other activity of the immune system in the lungs. This test would likely not be used in emergency care.

Treatment

The objective of management is to treat an asthma attack at home by following your asthma action plan. Home treatment may be sufficient to improve symptoms and make breathing easier.

The instructions in the plan will also tell you when to see your healthcare provider or get emergency care.

Yellow zone

The yellow zone of an asthma action plan is to moderate symptoms of asthma and a peak flow reading of 50% to 79% of your personal best. If you are in the yellow zone, the plan will tell you how many puffs of your quick-relief medicine to take and how often you can repeat the dose. Young children or people who have difficulty with an inhaler for the use of a device called a nebulizer to inhale the medication into a mist.

The quick-relief medications include:

  • Albuterol (ProAir HFA, Proventil-HFA, Ventolin HFA, others).
  • Levalbuterol (Xopenex, Xopenex HFA).

The yellow area of the plan also will tell you:

  • When to take another dose of the medication quick relief.
  • When you take a pill called oral corticosteroids for the treatment of inflammation.
  • Either call your health care professional.

Your health care professional can tell you whether to take additional doses, or change the dose of any medicine. What is more likely is to obtain instructions on the control of their symptoms. You may be instructed to go to the clinic or emergency room.

Red zone

The red zone in action for asthma tells him to get emergency medical care if:

  • "You're very short of breath.
  • The symptoms get worse.
  • You are still in the yellow zone after 24 hours.
  • You can't do the typical activities.
  • Has a peak flux below 50%.
  • Your health care professional tells you to go.

Emergency treatment

If you go to the emergency room for an asthma attack in progress, it is likely to get a number of treatments to restore normal breathing. Treatments may include:

  • Oxygen. Oxygen can be given through a tube connected to the nose if there are signs of too little oxygen in the blood.
  • Quick-relief medicines. Inhaled quick-relief medications, such as albuterol and levalbuterol, either with an inhaler or nebulizer to open the airway.
  • Ipratropium (Atrovent HFA). Albuterol is a medication is also used to open the airways that is inhaled using an inhaler or nebulizer.
  • Corticosteroids. Corticosteroids are administered as a pill or injection to treat the inflammation.
  • Mechanical ventilation. If an asthma attack, potentially fatal, one machine can be used to help you breathe and get an additional supply of oxygen. This can be done with a breathing mask. But in some cases, a tube is placed down the throat and the trachea. This is a procedure called intubation.

It will be in the emergency room or to the hospital for observation or treatment until the breathing regularly for some time.

You will be instructed to:

  • What is the dose of long-term asthma medicine that you should take daily.
  • What is the dose of your quick-relief medicine to take and when to take it.
  • To continue with the health care professional who is usually administered the treatment of asthma.
  • When to get emergency or urgent care.

Preparing for your appointment

If you receive emergency care, take your asthma action plan and of the medicine with you if possible. If you are seeing your primary healthcare professional for treatment or a follow-up appointment, you can prepare the following form:

  • Take your asthma action plan with you. If you do not have one, make one.
  • Take your peak flow meter results and all of its medicines.
  • Be prepared to talk about their symptoms, and how much of your asthma has been bothering you.
  • Be prepared to demonstrate the use of peak flow meter and the inhaler.

Your time with your doctor is limited, so preparing a list of questions will help you to make the most of your time together. Some good questions to ask your doctor include:

  • Do my medications or treatment plan needs to be changed?
  • What are the signs that I may be on the verge of having an asthma attack?
  • What can I take to prevent an asthma attack when my symptoms get worse, or when I'm exposed to my triggers?
  • What steps should I take to stop an asthma attack in progress?
  • When do I have to go to the emergency room or seek emergency treatment?
  • I'm having more acidity. What can I do to prevent this?
  • It is time for my flu or COVID-19 shooting? I am a pneumonia vaccine?
  • What else can I do to protect my health during the cold and flu season?

In addition to the questions that you've prepared to ask your doctor, do not hesitate to ask questions during your appointment.

What to expect from your doctor

Your healthcare provider will likely ask you a series of questions. Be ready to answer them may reserve time to go over any points you want to spend more time on. Your doctor may ask:

  • Have you noticed anything that makes your asthma worse?
  • What medications are you taking?
  • How often do you use your quick-relief medicine?
  • Can you show Me how to use your peak flow meter?
  • Can you show Me how to use your inhaler?
  • Are you having any problems with your medicine?
  • Can you explain how the asthma action plan works?
  • Do you know when I call or go to the hospital?
  • Do you have any questions about your asthma action plan?
  • Are you having any problems with your asthma action plan?
  • Is there something that you want to be able to do that you can't because of your asthma?
Symptoms and treatment of Asthma attack