Asthma is a chronic obstructive respiratory disease in which affected patients experience episodes of wheezing, coughing or difficulty breathing. This is due to the contraction of muscle around small airways in the lungs, constricting airways and impeding air flow. While asthma is typically managed with long-acting drugs such as steroids to reduce inflammation, acute asthma attacks are medical emergencies, for which different treatment strategies are available.
Identification
The chronic disease asthma is identified in a variety of ways, largely through lung function tests, explains MayoClinic.com. Individuals who have chronically reduced lung function compared to what is considered normal for their age and gender, who experience acute exacerbation of symptoms from time to time and who find their symptoms worsened by the presence of one or more common triggers are diagnosed with asthma. While the disease itself is chronic, attacks or exacerbations are acute events in which breathing becomes nearly impossible. Such acute attacks are medical emergencies.
Home Treatments
There are several types of treatments available for acute attacks. Most commonly, short-acting beta agonist inhalers can help reduce airway inflammation nearly immediately, providing almost instantaneous relief. Nebulizers, which provide the same medication as supplied by an inhaler but in a larger dose delivered over a longer period of time, are sometimes advisable, notes National Jewish Health. The benefit of a nebulizer is that it can be difficult for patients to inhale enough medication to really do any good during a severe asthma attack. A nebulizer allows gradual accumulation of medication in the lungs.
Hospital Treatments
In very severe cases, acute asthma attacks require hospitalization. If a patient is experiencing symptoms so severe that the lungs lose function entirely, mechanical ventilators are options for maintaining oxygenation of the blood until the patient regains lung function. AsthmaSymptom.org notes that typically, hospitalizations for asthma in which mechanical ventilation is used to treat symptoms last for several days, so that doctors can be certain that the lungs have returned to normal function prior to discharging a patient.
Prevention/Solution
There are many mechanisms for preventing acute bronchial asthma attacks, which can be very effective. Long-acting beta agonists, notes MayoClinic.com, help prevent airways from constricting, while steroids reduce inflammation and prevent formation of mucus in airways. Most patients diagnosed with asthma are prescribed medication to prevent acute attacks, though emergency inhalers for managing attacks that do occur are also important. There is no cure for asthma as a chronic disease process, but management can prevent symptoms from developing into emergency situations.
Warning
While the classic symptom of an asthma attack is wheezing or difficulty breathing, experts note that other symptoms can indicate the onset of an attack as well. MayoClinic.com notes, for instance, that chest pain may be a sign of an asthma attack, as can coughing. Some individuals also experience an itching sensation of the throat or chest. Further, asthmatics who are familiar with their triggers, like cold air or exercise, can often anticipate attacks. Treating attacks early, before they develop to the point that breathing is truly impaired, helps inhaled medication reach the deep airways and is more successful at stalling attacks.
