Take a deep breath, sit back and relax.

Breath easy. Take a deep breath. Inhale deeply. Breath in and out. All commands we hear daily (especially if you're a yoga fan) that are meant to illicit peace and calmness. But what if you can't? What if the simple act of breathing, one we do millions of times during our lifespan, causes wheezing, chest tightness, and ultimately stress and panic? Someone with asthma, like myself, knows this feeling all too well. We want to take effortless breaths, but can't. But why? Let's take a deeper look into what's going on in the body when someone's experiencing the signs and symptoms of asthma.

As we discussed previously, asthma is characterized by inflammation and narrowing of the airways. In addition to the swelling, increased mucus is secreted that furthers the blockage of air into the lungs. This reaction is usually caused by a trigger or allergen such as pet dander, exercising, or temperature change just to name a few. 

Here's a video that gives a good visual of what's going in your lungs when you're experiencing asthma: 

At the end of the video they give an example of a form of management: a fast acting bronchodilator that helps the swelling to decrease and allows one to take that much needed deep breath. In future blogs we will go into other examples of management and medication options. 

In a publication posted in 2007 about asthma, they discuss airway remodeling. Airway remodeling is a relatively new finding involving asthma in which one's airways actually structurally change. "These structural changes can include thickening of the sub-basement membrane, subepithelial fibrosis, airway smooth muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia, blood vessel proliferation and dilation, and mucous gland hyperplasia and hypersecretion. Regulation of the repair and remodeling process is not well established, but both the process of repair and its regulation are likely to be key events in explaining the persistent nature of the disease and limitations to a therapeutic response." The publication continues to give information on various studies that have been conducted around determining when and if this permanent change in lung function occurs and what treatment can be administered to prevent it. There was some evidence that showed treating asthma within the first two years of symptom onset can increase long term lung function, although nothing was conclusive and further studies need to be conducted. The full publication which gives details about the pathophysiology of asthma and various studies can be found at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7223/

So, no matter what we know management of asthma is important for quality of life- to breath without even thinking about it. But now there is some evidence that shows management of asthma may also improve long-term lung function and even overall health. 

National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, Third Expert Panel on the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma. Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma. Bethesda (MD): National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (US); 2007 Aug. Section 2, Definition, Pathophysiology and Pathogenesis of Asthma, and Natural History of Asthma.