Breathe free

How you should deal with severe asthma

- DR ROHIT KUMAR

Our bodies are finely tuned machines and need oxygen to produce energy. Atmospheric air enters our body through the airways. Upon reaching the lungs, the inhaled oxygen diffuses into the blood and is exchanged for carbon dioxide, which is thrown out of the body. The smooth running of the airways and other parts of the respiratory system is crucial for the process.

Patients with asthma, however, suffer from hypersensitive airways, which become inflamed and narrow when they encounter allergens like smoke, tobacco and pollen. Asthma-related inflammation results in symptoms, which vary from person to person, from one season to another, and at any time of the day. Some of the key symptoms that make it difficult for the patient to breathe include:

Wheezing—a high-pitched sound while breathing.

Coughing can be accompanied by mucus and worsens at night, disturbing sleep.

Tightness in the chest—a feeling that something is squeezing or sitting on one’s chest.

Breathlessness—inability to catch one’s breath or feeling out of breath.