Asthma Effects - Four Major Effects and How to Deal with Them

Asthma is caused by the bronchial tubes constricting (closing) and also by mucus building up and blocking out air passages. The effects of asthma can be relatively mild or they can be very dangerous. There are actually four major effects to asthma. These four effects are coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.

Coughing

The first effect is coughing.

Asthma sufferers often develop a cough that will last for about a week at a time. The cough usually produces mucus. Sometimes the cough may lead to more severe symptoms.

Wheezing

Wheezing is the second of the four main asthma effects.

Whenever an asthma sufferer breathes in and out they make a wheezing sound. Often this happens when the asthma sufferer has something going on as well as their asthma such as the common cold.

Chest Tightness

Feeling tightness in the chest is the third of the major effects of asthma.

Chest tightness is when the chest feels like there’s something pressing against it and making it harder to breathe. Often this happens in cold weather and/or when the asthma sufferer is exercising.

Chest tightness may also be a sign that the asthma is getting worse.

Shortness of Breath

The last, and probably biggest of the asthma effects, is shortness of breath.

Often the shortness of breath is part of an asthma attack, which can either be mild or severe. Shortness of breathe is not being able to draw in a full breath of air. The air is stopped from fully getting deep into the lungs.

Often when shortness of breath begins, the asthma sufferer will begin to be aware of the breathing problem and will begin to get nervous. This will in turn lead the body to react and produce chemicals that will actually make the breathing problem worse. In fact, it can actually trigger an asthma attack.

That is why it’s important for asthma sufferers to be prepared and know what they’ll do and how they’ll react when they’re faced with shortness of breath.

Dealing with Asthma Effects

Asthma sufferers really do need to realize that they’ll be faced with all of the above asthma effects. Then they need to prepare for what they’ll do when the effects begin. It is also necessary to prepare both physically and mentally to deal with these effects so that they don’t make their asthma worse by reacting the wrong way.