Most of us have probably heard of asthma, right? Some of us may have seen asthma attacks in real life while others may have seen it only in the movies, portrayed by some actors who seem to be having difficulty breathing, with their chests heaving up and down violently.

Well, scientifically and medically speaking, asthma is a chronic disease that greatly affects the airways of humans. Airways are the tubes that carry air in and out of our lungs. Once the airways are compromised, breathing becomes difficult and may even cause more serious complications.

When an individual has asthma, his or her airways are swollen which makes it difficult for them to breathe. In addition to that, the inflammation of the airways makes it more sensitive to allergens and other irritating substances existing in the air. When the already inflamed airways are triggered by certain allergens, it reacts adversely by becoming narrower resulting in less air flowing to the lungs.

Breathing becomes very difficult and is characterized by wheezing (a sort of whistling sound), a terrible dry cough (others coin it as "dog cough"), and tightness in the chest.

Even with all the new medicines and technology today, it is sad to say that asthma cannot be cured by any kind of medicine or treatment currently known to science.

However, it can be controlled so that people can experience less symptoms and can normal, healthy and active lives, without having to worry much about their asthma attacks.

Having an asthma attack is "relative" because one person may breathe easier or harder than another person who is also having an asthma attack. The intensity of the asthma attack and the difficulty in breathing may greatly differ from one person to another. That's why whenever someone experiences an asthma attack it is highly advisable to seek for medical assistance immediately since no asthma attack is the same from previous ones.

Although there are some asthma attacks that are minor enough to be treated with just the "breathing in a brown paper bag" method, there are also asthma attacks that are so severe that they can damage the vital organs in the body.

How could this happen? Well, the organs need oxygen to function, right? If the asthma attack is just taken for granted, the body's intake of oxygen becomes lesser and lesser and eventually, the organs may fail to function due to the lack of oxygen. Severe asthma attacks that are just taken for granted or left untreated usually result in death.

Once a person is diagnosed with asthma, it is highly advisable that he or she visits the doctor regularly for close monitoring. With close monitoring less complications are experienced making people with asthma less prone to other respiratory illnesses.

Different individuals have different triggering factors and allergens that's why a visit to a doctor is necessary. The doctor will specifically assess and trace down the triggering and underlying factors for an individual's asthma attacks. The asthmatic can then successfully avoid these triggers in the future.