Signs and Treatment - Asthma Attack

Asthma is the most common long-term condition for children, young and adult people in all over the world and millions of people are suffering from it.

However, with the right asthma treatment, health care management and family support, schools, group activities and other communities, the Asthma life including a majority of children and young people with asthma can live full and active lives.

ASTHMA ATTACK

Common signs of an asthma attack

• Coughing - is a first signal that you can hear from afar.
• Wheezing - sometimes the wheezing is quit and some times its loud
• Being unusually quiet - happen most times with children
• Shortness of breath - like wheezing, do not get anxious if you hear it
• Feeling tight in the chest - because of a huge efforts to breath
• Difficulty speaking in full sentences - again, because of huge efforts to breath
• Tummy ache (in most of the cases it happen in younger children)

What to do

• Keep calm - The last thing person under Asthma attack needs is pressure
• Encourage the person to sit up and slightly forward - do not hug or lie them down
• Make sure the person takes two puffs of his reliever inhaler immediately
• Loosen tight clothing - it will give him extra place for breath
• Reassure the person - talk calm, put a relax expression on your face

If there is no immediate improvement

Continue to make sure the person takes one puff of reliever inhaler every minute for five minutes or until their symptoms improve (written from personal experience and not from doctor or specialist)

Call emergency or a doctor urgently if:

• The person's symptoms do not improve in 5-10 minutes
• The person is too breathless or exhausted to talk
• The person's lips are blue
• Or if you are in doubt

Continue to give the person one puff of his reliever inhaler every minute until the ambulance or doctor arrives (written from personal experience and not from doctor or specialist)

After a minor asthma attack

Minor attacks should not interrupt the involvement of a person with asthma in his life. When the person feels better he can return to his activities.

Important things to remember in an asthma attack

Asthma Treatment - Never leave a person having an asthma attack

If the person does not have his inhaler and/or spacer with him, send someone else to get his spare inhaler and/or spacer

Reliever medicine is very safe. During an asthma attack do not worry about a person overdosing (written from personal experience and not from doctor or specialist)

Contact the person's acquaintance (use his cellular list for example) immediately after calling the ambulance/doctor

The person's acquaintance should always accompany his friend taken to hospital by ambulance and stay with him until someone else from his family arrives

Generally you should not take the asthma attack's person to hospital in his own car. However in some situations it may be the best course of action. Another one should always accompany anyone driving the person having an asthma attack to emergency services