WHAT IS ASTHMA

What is Asthma :- There are hundreds of small and big tubes in the lungs, which carry the breath inside along with the inhaled air.Oxygen enters the body through these tubes and carbon-dioxide comes out of the body through them. The bigger tubes are bronchi and the smaller  ones are bronchioles. These bronchioles and bronchi are surrounded by thin muscles which make them open and close during the process of respiration. At the end of these bronchioles, there are millions of alveoli which are tiny balloon-like sacs spreading out in periphery of the lungs. These alveoli have very thin walls and they allow oxygen from the freshly inhaled air to pass into the blood. Similarly, at the same time, the waste product of the body, namely carbon-dioxide, comes out of the blood stream through these sacs which are breathed out.

During an attack of Asthma, there is a contraction of these tubes when the patient wants to breath out the polluted air from the body. Because of this contraction or spasm, the patient finds it very difficult and looks for fresh air spots such as windows or outside the house under the wrong impression that the feeling of suffocation is because of lack of air inside the room. A sleeping position makes the condition worse and the patient spends night after night sitting up in bed. When the air passes out through these contracted or spasmed tubes,there is a characteristic wheezing sound. This condition worse when large amounts of mucus, produced in the tubes, obstruct the passage of air.