Fainting - A Serious Symptom of Asthma
Living with asthma can be a challenge, and the various issues that affect the body when you're an asthma sufferer can be very profound. Learning what you can about the disease will help you to understand the different symptoms that you may experience because of it which will in turn help you expect them, avoid them, and overcome them. The severity of the different symptoms will vary widely, and one of the most serious is certainly fainting. This symptom of asthma is one of the more extreme issues you may experience from the condition and taking steps to understand it and prevent it are very important and could even save your life.
Asthma is basically a disease that causes the respiratory system to not work as well as it should. It does so by inflaming the airways within the lungs and chest and making it far more difficult for you to get the right levels of air through your breaths. The inflammations essentially cause the air passageways to narrow, limiting the amount of air that can pass through them. Inflammations are usually chronic, but serious flare ups may occur as well and cause an asthma attack wherein little to no breathing is possible. Left unchecked, this issue can cause fainting to occur.
Fainting from asthma occurs when your brain doesn't receive enough oxygen. Simply put, your brain needs oxygen in order to function properly. When it doesn't get that level of oxygen, it will begin to shut down. Unconsciousness will occur first, and if oxygen levels still don't rise you could experience brain damage or even death. Fainting is basically the first stage of this issue, but it's an extremely serious sign and after it occurs you should probably visit a physician quickly to ensure that no other issues are present and to reassess your asthma management plan.
In most cases fainting because of your asthma will only really occur during a serious asthma attack, but these can occur at any time. Knowing your emergency asthma plan is important if you want to ensure that it doesn't occur. Asthma is a serious medical condition that will affect your body in many different ways, and few are as major as losing consciousness because of it. If you're serious about your health then you owe it to yourself to take the time to ensure you understand what causes fainting and how you can go about preventing it. It's easier than you think, and very important.