Skip to main content

Asthma flare

 Flare-Up?

An asthma flare-up is when asthma symptoms get worse, making someone wheeze, cough, or be short of breath. An asthma flare-up can happen even when asthma is controlled.

Asthma flare-ups are also called asthma attacks or exacerbations.

Triggers like allergies, respiratory infections (like a cold), cigarette smoke, exercise, or even cold air can cause a flare-up and make asthma symptoms worse.

What Happens During an Asthma Flare-Up?

During a flare-up, you might have:

  • trouble breathing
  • a tight chest
  • a whistling sound when you breathe (wheezing)
  • a cough

Flare-ups happen when the airways in the lungs get more irritated and swollen than usual. Your lungs might make a sticky mucus, which clogs the airways. The muscles around the airways will also tighten up, making them really narrow. This clogging and narrowing make it tough to pull air in and push air out.

Some flare-ups are mild, but others are serious. If the flare-up is severe, a person might:

  • struggle to breathe or have fast breathing even when sitting still
  • not be able to speak more than a few words at a time without pausing
  • have retractions (sucking in of muscles in the neck and chest) while breathing in

Flare-ups can happen suddenly. They also can build up over time, especially if you haven't been taking your asthma medicine.

How Can I Spot an Asthma Flare-Up?

After you've had a few flare-ups, you may notice that you feel a certain way when one is coming on. Do you have a tight chest or an itchy throat? Are you feeling tired? Do you have a cough, even though you don't have a cold?

How Do I Handle an Asthma Flare-Up?

If you feel like a flare-up is about to happen, stay calm. Let people around you know what's going on. Then remember your asthma action plan. That's the written plan that tells you what to do next.

Stay calm and focus on what your asthma action plan says. Your doctor probably told you to use your quick-relief medicine, so do that first.

If you can figure out what triggered your symptoms (like a pet or someone who is smoking), remove the trigger — or yourself — from the area. Sometimes that's all you need to get your asthma under control again.

If a flare-up is more severe, you might need to get help.

When Should I Go to the ER?

Don't be embarrassed to get medical help if you think you need it. These situations call for emergency care:

  • You take your asthma medicine and your flare-up doesn't get any better.
  • You feel a little better after taking your medicine, but your symptoms come back quickly.
  • You have frequent wheezing, a lasting cough, or chest pain.
  • Your lips and fingernails are bluish or grayish.
  • You have trouble breathing, talking, or walking.

How Can I Prevent Asthma Flare-Ups?

Asthma flare-ups can be handled, but it's even better if you can prevent them from happening. To do that:

  • Take asthma medicines as directed. If your doctor prescribed a long-term control medicine, take it each day, even when you feel fine. It needs to be taken exactly as your doctor tells you to keep protecting you against flare-ups.
  • Get a flu shot each year before flu season starts.
  • Avoid triggers. By knowing and avoiding your triggers, you might be able to prevent some flare-ups.

It's important to plan ahead and know what to do. Work with your doctor to build and update your asthma action plan. That way, you know what to do if a flare-up happens and you're in control if things get 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHAT TRIGGERS YOUR ASTHMA ATTACK?

How to deal with asthma triggers What is an asthma trigger? An asthma trigger is anything that can set off your asthma symptoms. Triggers can make your airways more inflamed and can cause asthma attacks. A few things happen when you come into contact with a trigger: Muscles around the airways tighten. The lining of the airways become swollen and inflamed. Sticky mucus can build up in the airways. This is what causes your asthma symptoms, such as coughing, breathlessness, chest tightness or wheezing. Triggers can change over time, and some will depend on the time of year, or the environment you’re in.  Cold air  can affect people in winter, and  pollen  can affect people in spring and summer. Other common triggers include: cigarette smoke exercise colds and viruses pollution pet hair dust mites. Find out what else can trigger asthma   You might have one or two triggers, or you may have several. Everyone with asthma has their ow...
Post a Comment
Read more

STEPS TO HANDLE AN EMERGENCY ASTHMA ATTACK

What Do I Do If I Have An Asthma Attack? If you or a loved one is having an asthma attack and the symptoms don’t get better quickly after following the  asthma action plan , follow the "red zone" or emergency instructions and contact your doctor right away. You need urgent medical attention. 1. Give asthma first aid. If the person doesn't have an  asthma  plan: Sit them upright comfortably and loosen tight clothing. If the person has asthma medication, such as an inhaler, help them take it. If the person doesn’t have an inhaler, use one from a  first aid  kit. Do not borrow someone else’s. The medicine in it may be different than the needed rescue medicine. Also, using someone else's inhaler has a slight risk of passing on an infection. 2. Use an inhaler with a spacer, if possible. Remove the cap and shake the inhaler well. Insert the inhaler into the spacer. Have the person breathe out completely and put their mouth tightly around the spacer mouthpi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Understanding Various Types of Asthma

Types of asthma Everyone with asthma experiences the condition differently. Difficult to control asthma   Severe asthma   Occupational asthma Allergic asthma ‘Seasonal’ asthma Occupational asthma Non-allergic asthma ‘Exercise induced’ asthma Difficult asthma Severe asthma ‘Brittle’ asthma Adult onset asthma Childhood asthma If you’ve been diagnosed with asthma, understanding which type you have can help you feel better informed about how to manage it. But it can be difficult to know which type of asthma you have. This is because everyone experiences asthma differently, which makes it hard to put it into exact categories. Don’t worry if you don’t know which type you have: most are managed in the same way, with: A  preventer inhaler  to use every day A  reliever inhaler  to use when you have asthma symptoms A  written asthma action plan  that includes information about how your asthma affects you and how to manage it Regular  asthma...
Post a Comment
Read more