About Lung Conditions
Asthma is a condition that affects a person's airways, which are also called breathing tubes or bronchial tubes. These tubes lead from the windpipe, or trachea, into the lungs.
For most kids, breathing is simple: They breathe in through their noses or mouths and the air goes into the windpipe. From there, it travels through the airways and into the lungs. But for children with asthma, breathing can be a lot more difficult because their airways are very sensitive.
An asthma flare-up, which some people call an asthma attack or episode, happens when a person's airways get swollen and narrower and it becomes a lot harder for air to get in and out of the lungs. Sometimes the swollen airways produce extra mucus, which makes things pretty sticky, so it's easy to see why it's hard to breathe.
In between flare-ups, a chilss breathing can be totally normal or seem that way. But during a flare-up, it can feel like the person is breathing through a straw. A kid with asthma may wheeze (a whistling sound when he or she breathes), cough, and feel tightness in the chest.
An asthma flare-up can get worse and worse if a child doesn't use asthma medicine. After an asthma flare-up, the airways almost always return to the way they were before, although it can take several days
Information from – www.kidshealth.org
Personal & Parental Experiences
Hayley - CCAM, BPS & NYTAGMUS: read more...
Charity Links
Asthma UK - www.asthma.org.uk
Asthma UK is the charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the 5.4 million people in the UK whose lives are affected by asthma.
