Asthma Exacerbation: Why Inhalers Work Best

By Jamie Sue Tan

Asthma is the long-lasting respiratory condition where the lungs become inflamed, and the airways narrowed. The airway constriction causes shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, coughing, and wheezing. There is a misconception, though, that wheezing is always present during asthma attacks. That is false. Wheezing is present in mild to acute asthma, but absent in more severe cases due to the little amount of airflow.

Asthma has a steady state. In this steady state, the asthmatic can continue living a normal life. Occasional nighttime coughing may occur, but nothing that an inhaler cannot take care of. But asthma, when left unchecked, gets worse without being known. The asthmatic may feel perfectly fine without realizing that the airways are starting to constrict; inhaling airborne irritants speeds up the process of asthma exacerbation.

Asthma triggers include smoke, dust, pollen, strong odors, fumes, and molds. Most of these can be avoided. But there is always a time where exposure to these triggers is unavoidable. This brings about an asthma attack. Symptoms of an asthma attack are more severe than those in its steady state. Wheezing is most likely to be present in this state as well as in other more severe states.

The exacerbation of asthma is where the narrowing of airways occurs. Asthma attacks happen anywhere. To relieve the asthma episodes, inhalers are frequently used. These inhalers contain and deliver fast-acting bronchodilators. Bronchodilators are substances which relax the airways; widening them as the words bronchi and dilate imply. This brings breathing back to normal for the asthmatic.

Fast-acting bronchodilators are often delivered as aerosol, powder, or mist. They are more popular in those forms than pills. This is because inhaling the medication allows it to target the lungs directly. Even hospitals use bronchodilator-based nebulizers to ease the symptoms of severe asthma attacks. For this reason, inhalers are often referred to as the asthmatics best friend. - 30286

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