One thing I do not miss from my childhood growing up was watching my brother go through asthma attack after asthma attack. It is the most helpless feeling a person can have.Back when we grew up there was not much info on what caused asthma and what triggered the attacks. My parents being big smokers who both paid for it with their lives, were constantly smoking around him, and so triggered many attacks without even knowing they were doing it.I ended up being the lucky one when younger as it never seemed to bother me, or so I thought. I now know better as I myself have developed a bit of lung damage from being exposed to cigarette smoke.But smoking is only one cause for this disease.

What other causes are there?

Many things can trigger asthma attacks, including but not limited to mold, dirt, dust, cold weather, smoking which we covered, exercise, animals, and the list can go on and on. What happens is the airways swell up and start constricting and the person feels they can not breathe, which is a horrible feeling.He/she will start wheezing, coughing, and their chest will feel all tightened up, and they can even pass out.

How do you combat the attacks?

This is the magic question. Most people do everything they can think of to illuminate the triggers that cause the attacks. This can be as simple as stopping smoking, staying indoors on the really cold days, keeping the house clean, to ripping out carpet and installing hard wood floors and filtration systems, even mold removal, which is very expensive.One can take it to any extreme if they are trying to help a family member who suffers.

Is there any medicine for this?

Short acting beta2-adrenoceptor agonists like salbutamol, are used to get through an attack.They are called rescuers and they sometimes can be the difference maker. Longer term treatments usually involve inhaling Glucocorticoids, or in chronic cases steroids must be used. The good news is that more and more people are using alternative treatments for asthma, and the numbers are rising. Over 50 % of people with asthma are turning to alternative treatment, and natural home remedies.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. More and more people are aware of how damaging smoking can be, and this is leading to less and less smokers and less and less cases of Asthma.

I know my brother found his solution right out of high school. He moved to Denver, Colorado, and within a year of his move all symptoms of Asthma disappeared. Oh if it were only that easy every time for everyone.

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