What is asthma?

"Asthma" comes from the ancient Greek word meaning "panting" and, if you've experienced an asthma attack, you'll understand why. For some, an asthma attack feels as though an elephant is sitting on their chest, while for others breathing becomes so laboured that it’s like trying to suck peanut butter through a straw.

Asthma makes your chest feel tight. However, the real problem is not that you can’t breathe in properly, but that you can’t breathe out. You’re in effect being suffocated by your own carbon dioxide-saturated breath. If you can’t breathe out, no fresh air can get in.

The reason why you struggle to breathe is because asthma affects the breathing pipes or tubes, called airways or bronchi. When you breathe in, oxygen-rich air flows through the airways into the alveoli, where the oxygen is passed from to the blood vessels, and carbon dioxide moves from the blood vessels to the alveoli. Carbon dioxide is breathed out. Asthma is a condition where the airways become narrow, restricting the amount of air that can flow from the alveoli.

Although asthma is a lung disease, and usually a long-term (chronic) disease, in which the flow of air out of the lungs is limited by obstruction, this obstruction may be reversed – unlike chronic bronchitis and emphysema – as it initially doesn't affect the actual anatomical structure of the airways.

Asthma often develops in childhood or during the teens. It’s the most common long-term childhood disease. People with other lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), can also develop asthma. Although it’s not clear exactly what causes asthma, it’s thought to be triggered by an allergy, or when the lungs are irritated by something in the air. Taking cough medicine doesn’t help relieve asthma symptoms.

Asthmatics should be able to lead completely normal lives. This means that they should be able to eat, drink, play and sleep normally. If this isn't the case, the diagnosis, treatment and medication should be re-evaluated.

Unfortunately, this condition often goes undiagnosed and untreated, as many people don't even know they're asthma sufferers. And in many cases the condition isn't managed adequately by doctor and patient.