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Asthma is a chronic disease of the airways. Chronic means the asthma is always there, at least a little bit. Some days, breathing feels completely normal and it feels like the asthma is gone! But if you looked inside the airways, you would see that there is a little bit of redness and swelling. This is called inflammation. 
Asthma affects the airways of the lungs. Normally airways are wide open, pink and a little bit wet. Every breath you take should be easy. But this is different when you have asthma. Three important things happen in the airways during an asthma episode: - The inside of the airways get swollen and red. That means the airways are less open and it is a bit harder for air to get through.
- The inside of the airways produce mucous. The mucous plugs up the airways making it harder for air to get through.
- The muscles around the outside of the airways tighten up and squeeze the airway making it even harder for air to get through…that means trouble breathing
This all leads to signs of asthma (some people call them symptoms) like: - Coughing,
- wheezing,
- being short of breath or
- having a tight feeling in the chest.
Many people have asthma but not everyone’s asthma feels the same. Your own asthma can feel different from one day to the next. |
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What is Asthma?