Long Term Breathing Trouble - A Major Indicator of Asthma

There are many illnesses that can cause a serious drop in the overall quality of life of patients, but few are as common or as significant as asthma. Asthma carries with it a wide range of different symptoms. Some will only flare up on occasion while others will happen on a near constant basis. Knowing the symptoms will help you recognize that you could have asthma and lead you to get a diagnosis from your physician, which will in turn provide you with some methods of helping control the issue. Long term breathing trouble is one of the most common symptoms of asthma, and one that needs to be taken very seriously.

Asthma is a condition affecting the lungs, so it makes sense that long term breathing trouble is a key indicator of its existence. Unlike rapid onset shortness of breath, long term breathing trouble caused by asthma will always be present or at least be present during the majority of your days. Some things could cause it to increase in severity, but you will constantly find that you are struggling to take breaths and to get enough air into your lungs. When this happens to you, the odds are very high that you are one of the nearly three hundred million who suffer from asthma.

The reason that long term breathing trouble occurs in asthma sufferers is that asthma narrows the passages in your lungs that air enters through. The narrower these airways the harder it will be to breath. In mild cases of asthma the passages are only slightly narrower while during severe cases or during major asthma attacks they close up almost completely. If your day to day routine is marred by trouble taking breaths and by the feeling that you are slowly suffocating, you owe it to yourself to get a professional diagnosis concerning your problem.

Long term breathing trouble caused by asthma can begin in childhood, at birth, or later in life. Asthma is thought to be caused by genetics, environmental factors, or a combination of the two. In other words, some people may be more predisposed to developing it than others. Regardless of your family history or your overall environment, if you're having trouble breathing on a regular basis then you need to set up an appointment and get help. Ignoring the problem will only cause your long term breathing trouble to grow worse, so take the time to see someone as soon as you can.