An asthma attack can come on slowly. It is frightening for both the person having it and for anyone nearby. Asthma is a long-term condition, and even someone whose asthma is mild can have an attack that turns serious. Knowing the right way to respond in those first few minutes can keep an asthma attack from becoming an emergency.
Symptoms of an Asthma Attack
During an asthma attack, the muscles around your airways tighten, the lining inside them swells, and less air moves in and out. Common signs are a wheeze, a cough, shortness of breath, and tightness in your chest. Chest tightness can feel like something pressing down on you. Signs of a severe attack include struggling to speak more than a few words between breaths, lips turning blue, breathing that gets worse very quickly, and little or no relief from a reliever.
Common Asthma Triggers
A trigger is anything that brings on or worsens asthma symptoms. Colds and the flu are common triggers, along with cigarette smoke and air pollution. Pollen, dust mites, animal fur, and mould are allergens that can set off symptoms in people who react to them. Exercise can also bring on an asthma attack.
Asthma First Aid: The Four Steps to Follow
If the person having an asthma attack has an asthma action plan, follow the instructions on it. Without a plan, or if you are not sure what to do, use the four steps of asthma first aid set out by the National Asthma Council Australia.
- Sit the person upright, stay calm, and reassure them. Do not leave them on their own.
- Give them four separate puffs of a reliever. Shake the inhaler, put one puff into a spacer, and have the person take four breaths from the spacer before the next puff.
- Wait four minutes. If their breathing has not improved, give them four more puffs the same way.
- If there is still no improvement, call triple zero (000) for an ambulance. Keep giving them four puffs every four minutes until help arrives.
Some situations need an ambulance straight away. Call triple zero immediately if the person is not breathing, if there is no reliever to give them, or if you are unsure whether their problem is asthma. If the person has a severe allergy and suddenly cannot breathe, give them their adrenaline injector first, then the reliever.
Lowering the Chance of Another Asthma Flare-Up
An asthma action plan is a written set of instructions from your doctor covering which medicines to take each day and what to do when symptoms worsen. Following it lowers your chance of another asthma attack.
Use your preventer inhaler every day, even when you feel well. It contains a corticosteroid, a medicine that reduces the inflammation inside your airways and makes them less likely to react to a trigger. Used as prescribed, a preventer keeps your asthma better controlled and helps keep your lung function steady.
See your doctor every six to twelve months to review your asthma and check that your medicines still suit you. Book another review soon after any asthma attack, to see whether your treatment still fits. Once you know the triggers that affect you, staying away from them reduces how often symptoms flare.
Be Ready to Act During an Asthma Attack
A calm head and a simple response are enough to help someone through an asthma attack. The difference between a scare and a trip to the emergency department can come down to how calmly someone steps in. A first aid course gives you the hands-on practice to stay calm and act correctly when someone near you suddenly cannot breathe. Your choice to enrol in first aid training now could be what keeps someone breathing during their next asthma attack.
FAQs
What is Thunderstorm Asthma?
Thunderstorm asthma is a sudden burst of severe asthma symptoms that happens when a thunderstorm occurs during high grass pollen season. The storm breaks pollen grains into tiny pieces that travel deep into the lungs and can affect even people who have never had asthma.
Can You Have an Asthma Attack Without Wheezing?
Yes. Not everyone wheezes or coughs during an attack. For some people breathlessness is the only clear sign.
Can You Grow Out of Asthma?
There is no cure for asthma, but it can be controlled well enough that many people have few symptoms day to day.
