Asthma attack during happens

Asthma & more

What exactly happens during an asthma attack?

Anyone familiar with asthma knows the typical symptoms of an attack...shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, wheezing, coughing and so on.

So what happens within the body to bring about these symptoms?

Changes take place in the lungs of an asthmatic in response to many different kinds of stimuli or triggers. Normal healthy lungs don't react this way.

These changes affect the bronchi or the airways and make them react abnormally to various asthma triggers or allergens.

During an attack, spasms occur in the muscles within the bronchi walls. The airways narrow because of the mucus secretion thrown up by the cells lining it and also because the cells become enlarged.

This causes the phenomenon called bronchoconstriction, or narrowing of the airways. In this state, the asthma patient finds breathing difficult and has to make a huge effort to get air into and out of the lungs.

Mast cells is the name given to cells in the walls of the bronchi. Mast cells release chemicals called leukotrienes as well as histamines. These substances lead to mucus formation and constriction of the airways.

Mast cells also bring extra white blood cells into the area, which is part of the process of inflammation associated with asthma.

Asthma patients may find their symptoms triggered by any number of substances including animal dander, dust mites, pollen, smoke, specific foods, fungi and far too many other things to list here.

Many asthmatics are not obviously allergic to any of these substances, but nevertheless exhibit symptoms of the disease.

That's a quick overview of what happens during an asthma attack.

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