Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCauses and TriggersDiagnosisTreatmentAsthma AttacksComplicationsPreventing Asthma AttacksLiving With AsthmaOutlookNext in Asthma GuideDifferent Types of Asthma: Which One Do You Have?
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes and Triggers
Diagnosis
Treatment
Asthma Attacks
Complications
Preventing Asthma Attacks
Living With Asthma
Outlook
Next in Asthma Guide
Asthmais a chroniclung diseasethat makes it hard to breathe. The problem can cause symptoms that range from mild to severe. In some severe cases, symptoms can threaten your life.
Asthma symptoms trigger swelling in the airways that carry air in and out of your lungs. This causes them to become smaller and tighter. Inflamed airways make it hard for air to flow through these tubes. When the airflow to your lungs is blocked, it is hard to breathe normally.
While there is no cure for asthma, you can control the disease with proper treatment and medication. Most people can live a normal life when they manage their asthma symptoms.
This article describes asthma symptoms and its causes, diagnosis, and treatment. It also discusses how to handle an asthma attack with and without an inhaler and how to prevent these episodes.
Asthma Symptoms: What Does It Feel Like?
Asthma doesn’t produce the same symptoms in everyone. Some people have just one symptom, while others have more than one.Common asthma symptomsinclude the following:
In a more severe asthma attack, a person may experience:
Asthma Symptoms in Adults vs. Kids
Children with asthma commonly have coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath, just as in adults. The following symptoms may also be seen inpediatric asthma:
Symptoms during a severe asthma attack may include:
Managing Asthma Flare-Ups
Asthma Attack vs. Panic Attack
Asthma Causes and Triggers
While it may be hard to define the exact cause of your asthma, the following factors are known to contribute to the onset of asthma:
Some of the mostcommon asthma triggersinclude the following:
While males are more likely to have asthma in childhood, the condition is more common among females in adulthood.
Asthma Risk in People of Color
How is Asthma Diagnosed?
Asthma Diagnosis Barriers for People of Color
What Is Allergic Asthma?
If you are sensitive to a substance, your body reacts with symptoms that involve airway inflammation and common symptoms of other types of asthma. Allergic asthma is the most common form of asthma.
Asthma Medication and Treatment
While asthma is incurable, acombination of medication and treatmentcan help you control your symptoms. Asthma medication and treatment include several types of therapies. Together, they comprise an asthma action plan, which is an individualized treatment plan for asthma.
Factors such as your age, the severity of your asthma, and the way your body responds to medicines determine the elements of your asthma action plan. An asthma action plan can be adjusted as your asthma symptoms become controlled.
An asthma action plan includes the following information that is updated annually:
Quick relief orrescue medicationshelp prevent or relieve symptoms during an asthma attack within minutes. They are usually taken at the first sign of symptoms on an as-needed basis to relax the muscles around your airways and help you breathe easier. These medicines are usually administered via an inhaler or tablets.
Common quick-relief medicines for asthma include the following:
Short-acting beta-agonists(SABAs):
Airsupra (albuterol and budesonide) was approved in January 2023 as the first combination of a SABA and an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS). It is approved for both the treatment of acute asthma symptoms and the prevention of future asthma attacks.
Oral corticosteroids:
Asthma controller medicinesinclude asthma control drugs taken daily for the long term to prevent asthma attacks, control swelling, and decrease mucus production. Some are taken alone, while others are combined with other drugs.
Common asthma controller medicines include the following:
Anticholinergic drugs:
Inhaledcorticosteroids:
Long-acting beta-agonists(LABAs):
Leukotriene modifiers:
Add-on controller medications:
Long-acting muscarinic antagonists: Spiriva (tiotropium)
Biologics:
If you have a severe asthma attack, your healthcare provider may recommend a procedure calledbronchial thermoplastyuses heat to soften the airways that constrict during an asthma attack.
Asthma Control Obstacles In People of Color
What to Do During an Asthma Attack
The most important step you can take during an asthma attack is to follow your asthma action plan. However, what you do depends on whether you have an inhaler with you.
If you don’t have an inhaler, follow these steps during an asthma attack:
If you have an inhaler, follow these steps during an asthma attack:
How Do Inhalers Work?
Complications of Asthma
Over the long term, you may experiencecomplications of asthmathat can affect your health in different ways. Working with your healthcare provider to manage asthma and its symptoms can help reduce your risk of the following potential complications:
How to Prevent Asthma Attacks
The Pathopysiology of Asthma
You can live a normal life with asthma if you work to manage your condition well. Being proactive about your condition can help you reduce your risk of asthma attacks and avoid hospital visits. This means doing your best to control your exposure to triggers in every environment and circumstance.
In the Workplace
About 21.5% of working adults with asthma report that exposures at work make their asthma worse. Control your asthma in the workplace with these steps:
At School
Asthma is a leading cause of illness-related reasons that children miss school days. Take these steps to help your child remain in school safely:
At Play
Asthma shouldn’t interfere with your ability to play at any age. Regular exercise or participation in sports-related activities supports lung health and overall well-being. Take these steps to ensure asthma doesn’t interfere with your ability to be physically active:
Outlook for Asthma
Asthma is achronic, incurable disease. It requires ongoing medical management throughout your lifetime. However, symptoms can usually be controlled with treatment. With proper care and symptom management, you can participate in sports and live a normal, productive life with asthma.
While it can go into long periods of remission, the disease remains, and symptoms can resume anytime. About 50% of children with asthma outgrow the condition during adolescence, though symptoms may recur later in life.
Summary
Asthma is a chronic disease that causes swelling in the airways that carry air in and out of the lungs. When an asthma attack occurs, it becomes hard to breathe. Without proper care, severe symptoms can threaten your life.
While some children with asthma may outgrow the disease in their teens, the problem remains a lifelong issue for most adults who have it. Controlling asthma requires working with a healthcare provider to set up an asthma action plan to manage the onset of symptoms.
Reducing your risk of asthma symptoms requires knowing triggers and working to avoid them at home and in other places like work and school. Doing so can allow you to live a normal life with asthma.
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Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Asthma attack.Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Asthma symptoms.Nemours KidsHealth.Asthma flare-ups.American Academy of Allergy Asthma and immunology.Childhood asthma.American Lung Association.Asthma causes and risk factors.American Lung Association.Reduce asthma triggers.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Asthma causes and triggers.American Lung Association.How is asthma diagnosed?Nasreen S, Nessa A, Islam F, et al.Changes of peak expiratory flow rate in adult asthmatic patient.Mymensingh Med J.2018;27(2):245-250.Cloutier MM, Baptist AP, Blake KV, et al.2020 focused updates to the asthma management guidelines: A report from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee expert panel working group.Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2020;146(6):1217-1270. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2020.10.003Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Provocation (trigger) tests.Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Asthma diagnosis.American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.Is your asthma allergic?American Lung Association.Create an asthma action plan.American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.Short-acting beta-agonists (SABAs).American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.Oral corticosteroid medications.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Is bronchial thermoplasty right for you?Revere Health.Asthma attacks: what to do when you don’t have your inhaler.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How to use your asthma inhaler.Fehrenbach H, Wagner C, Wegmann M.Airway remodeling in asthma: what really matters.Cell Tissue Res. 2017;367(3):551-569. doi:10.1007/s00441-016-2566-8Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Flu & people with asthma.American Lung Association.Severe asthma.UTSouthwestern Medical Center.How parents can help kids avoid asthma attacks and control symptoms.American Lung Association.Asthma at work.American Lung Association.Asthma in schools: the basics for parents.American Lung Association.Being active with asthma.Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.Your child’s asthma.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Asthma attack.Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Asthma symptoms.Nemours KidsHealth.Asthma flare-ups.American Academy of Allergy Asthma and immunology.Childhood asthma.American Lung Association.Asthma causes and risk factors.American Lung Association.Reduce asthma triggers.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Asthma causes and triggers.American Lung Association.How is asthma diagnosed?Nasreen S, Nessa A, Islam F, et al.Changes of peak expiratory flow rate in adult asthmatic patient.Mymensingh Med J.2018;27(2):245-250.Cloutier MM, Baptist AP, Blake KV, et al.2020 focused updates to the asthma management guidelines: A report from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee expert panel working group.Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2020;146(6):1217-1270. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2020.10.003Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Provocation (trigger) tests.Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Asthma diagnosis.American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.Is your asthma allergic?American Lung Association.Create an asthma action plan.American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.Short-acting beta-agonists (SABAs).American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.Oral corticosteroid medications.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Is bronchial thermoplasty right for you?Revere Health.Asthma attacks: what to do when you don’t have your inhaler.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How to use your asthma inhaler.Fehrenbach H, Wagner C, Wegmann M.Airway remodeling in asthma: what really matters.Cell Tissue Res. 2017;367(3):551-569. doi:10.1007/s00441-016-2566-8Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Flu & people with asthma.American Lung Association.Severe asthma.UTSouthwestern Medical Center.How parents can help kids avoid asthma attacks and control symptoms.American Lung Association.Asthma at work.American Lung Association.Asthma in schools: the basics for parents.American Lung Association.Being active with asthma.Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.Your child’s asthma.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Asthma attack.
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Asthma symptoms.
Nemours KidsHealth.Asthma flare-ups.
American Academy of Allergy Asthma and immunology.Childhood asthma.
American Lung Association.Asthma causes and risk factors.
American Lung Association.Reduce asthma triggers.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Asthma causes and triggers.
American Lung Association.How is asthma diagnosed?
Nasreen S, Nessa A, Islam F, et al.Changes of peak expiratory flow rate in adult asthmatic patient.Mymensingh Med J.2018;27(2):245-250.
Cloutier MM, Baptist AP, Blake KV, et al.2020 focused updates to the asthma management guidelines: A report from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee expert panel working group.Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2020;146(6):1217-1270. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2020.10.003
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Provocation (trigger) tests.
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Asthma diagnosis.
American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.Is your asthma allergic?
American Lung Association.Create an asthma action plan.
American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.Short-acting beta-agonists (SABAs).
American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.Oral corticosteroid medications.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Is bronchial thermoplasty right for you?
Revere Health.Asthma attacks: what to do when you don’t have your inhaler.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How to use your asthma inhaler.
Fehrenbach H, Wagner C, Wegmann M.Airway remodeling in asthma: what really matters.Cell Tissue Res. 2017;367(3):551-569. doi:10.1007/s00441-016-2566-8
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Flu & people with asthma.
American Lung Association.Severe asthma.
UTSouthwestern Medical Center.How parents can help kids avoid asthma attacks and control symptoms.
American Lung Association.Asthma at work.
American Lung Association.Asthma in schools: the basics for parents.
American Lung Association.Being active with asthma.
Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.Your child’s asthma.
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