What Are Symptoms of Asthma Attacks?

There is currently no reliable way to diagnose someone with asthma. Instead, doctors often look at the symptoms of asthma attack to decide if the person has the condition.

While there may be other causes of these symptoms, recurrent experiences and responsiveness to treatment are often signs that you have an asthma problem.

Asthma attacks are often triggered by health issues such as air quality and generally poor health or hygiene. Triggers include smoking, dust, allergens, and hyperventilation due to stress and fear. Avoiding these environmental triggers may reduce your likelihood of an attack.

What Does An Attack Feel Like?

Asthma attacks are essentially an exacerbation of regular asthma symptoms. It is possible to have asthma and not experience an asthma attack for an extended period of time. Most asthma attacks are mild and tend to go away within a few minutes to a few hours with medicine. Severe asthma attacks, though rare, can be frightening and possibly even dangerous.

Some of the symptoms of asthma attack include:

• Severe Shortness of Breath

The most common symptom of asthma attack is shortness of breath. The feeling may be fairly severe and cause loud wheezing. In the event of a severe asthma attack, there may not be enough “breath” to wheeze. Breathing often feels labored, and the effects may make it hard to focus.

• Coughing

Another common symptom of an asthma attack is coughing. During light asthma attacks the coughing may be mild. During severe asthma attacks the coughing may feel uncontrollable.

• Chest Tightness

When you experience an asthma attack – either mild or severe – you may experience feelings of chest tightness. In some cases this tightness may lead to chest pain.

• Low Peak Respiratory Rate

One of the ways that asthma attacks are diagnosed is through a measurement of your “peak expiratory flow.” This refers to the reading from a device that measures the air flow when you breathe out. The lower your respiratory flow the weaker your breathing. This is often how doctors decide on the severity of your asthma attack.

Other Symptoms of Asthma Attack

The likelihood of each of these symptoms is related to the severity of the asthma attack. The more severe the attack, the more likely some of these symptoms are to occur. Other symptoms include:
• Paleness or weak appearance
• Fingertips or lips turning blue
• Feelings of panic and rapid heartbeat
• Tightening of the neck
• Increased severity of any mild asthma attack symptoms

Asthma attacks can get worse if left untreated. As a result some symptoms occur gradually and get worse over time. If the attack continues to worsen even with treatment, you may need to call your doctor.

Dealing with Asthma Attacks

Symptoms of asthma attacks can be very serious and result in considerable disruption in your daily routine. Treating your asthma is important, and if you are concerned that your symptoms are getting out of control, it’s important that you call 911 or visit your doctor immediately.