| Asthma Information | What Is Asthma? |

The common symptoms are cough and wheeze. You may also become breathless, and develop a feeling of chest tightness. Symptoms can range from mild to severe between different people, and at different times in the same person. Each episode of symptoms may last just an hour or so, or persist for days or weeks unless treated.

What are the typical symptoms if you have mild (untreated) asthma?  :  You tend to develop mild symptoms from time to time. For example, you may develop a mild wheeze and a cough if you have: a cold, a chest infection, in the hay fever season, or when you exercise. For most of the time you have no symptoms. A child with mild asthma may have an irritating cough each night, but is often fine during the day.

What are the typical symptoms if you have moderate (untreated) asthma?  :  Without treatment: you typically have episodes of wheezing and coughing from time to time. Sometimes you become breathless. You may have spells, sometimes long spells, without symptoms. However, you tend to be wheezy for some of the time on most days. Symptoms are typically worse at night, or first thing in the morning. You may wake up some nights coughing or with a tight chest. Young children may not have typical symptoms. It may be difficult to tell the difference between asthma and recurring viral chest infections in young children.

What are the typical symptoms of a severe attack of asthma?  :  You become very wheezy, have a 'tight' chest, and have difficulty in breathing. You may find it difficult to talk because you are so breathless. Severe symptoms may develop from time to time if you normally have moderate symptoms. Occasionally, severe symptoms develop 'out of the blue' in some people who normally have just mild symptoms.

Asthma is a condition that affects the airways (bronchi) of the lungs. From time to time the airways constrict (become narrow) in people who have asthma. This causes the typical symptoms. The extent of the narrowing, and how long each episode lasts, can vary greatly.

Asthma can start at any age, but it most commonly starts in childhood. At least 1 in 10 children, and 1 in 20 adults, have asthma. Asthma runs in some families, but many people with asthma have no other family members affected.

· Shortness of breath,

. Wheezing,

· Tightness in the chest, and

· Cough lasting more than a week.

Not all people with asthma wheeze. For some, coughing may be the only symptom of asthma. Coughing often occurs during the night or after exercise. It's important to know that treatment can reverse asthma symptoms. And it's important to treat even mild symptoms of asthma so that you can keep the symptoms from getting worse.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease. Currently, here is no cure, but it can be controlled.

· Airway linings become inflamed; that is, hey get swollen and secrete extra mucus.

· Airways narrow and breathing becomes ifficult. Sometimes the narrowing gets better by itself; often medicine is needed to get the airways open again.

· Airways are super sensitive. They react to any things, such as cigarette smoke, pollen, or cold air. Coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and difficulty breathing may result.