Asthma is a chronic condition that affects the respiratory system. During an asthma attack, airways, which carry oxygen to and out of the lungs, tend to tighten and hence decrease the flow of air coming to the lungs. The airways are also swollen and lined up with mucus. Those symptoms might occur several times in a day or week, or much less often. The gravity of the attacks also changes.

Several triggers may cause asthma attacks and the breathlessness which comes with it. Asthma may also cause chest pain and loss of consciousness. It is a very serious disease that can sometimes be deadly: while 300 million folks are affected by asthma around the world, asthma attacks are responsible for the death of around 250,000 folks yearly.

People who suffer from asthma also have to endure its side effects in their everyday life. Sleep disturbances are a regular experience that may cause fatigue during the daytime, and may affect one's personal and professional life. The World Health Organization even acknowledges the fact that "reduced activity levels" and "school and work absenteeism" are common side effects of asthma. Exercising will often be harder for asthmatic people, which may for example be a factor of social isolation for a child.

Even though asthma cannot be definitively cured, there are different ways to relieve and prevent the symptoms, making it possible for everybody that has asthma to exercise, stay in shape and lead a normal life. With the appropriate treatments, there is no reason why somebody with asthma should not be able to enjoy an active life.

Many factors are able to trigger an asthma attack. Some are very simple things like the temperature and humidity of the air. However, the most common ones are natural indoor and outdoor allergens, like pollen, spores, house dust mites or cockroaches as well as pollution from cars, tobacco smoke or chemical compounds, like the ones found in perfumes and perfumed products. Medications like penicillin or aspirin as well as certain foods, like milk or peanuts, in case of food allergies, can also trigger asthma. Asthma attack might also occur after exercising.

Your emotional state could also be a contributing factor in causing an asthmatic attack. Tension, anxiety and emotional stress can all trigger it. Several patients experiencing an asthmatic attack also make their condition worse by falling prey to state of panic, a very normal reaction to the dreadful experience they have to endure.

To better prevent asthmatic attacks, these triggers should be avoided as much as possible. Allergies also play an important role in the triggering of asthma attacks and allergy treatment may be used as a way to prevent them. There are however various kinds of asthma treatment. In the short-run, asthma attack treatment will give relief in case of an asthmatic attack. Asthma attack treatment will quickly provide asthma relief, but individuals with moderate to severe asthma must take a long-run asthma treatment.

There are many sorts of bronchial asthma treatment available out there, but not all of them will work out for you. Bronchial asthma treatment and allergy treatment also have numerous side effects if taken regularly and in the long run, particularly drugs containing corticosteroids or Beta2-adrenergic receptor agonists, the latter having cardiac side effects and increasing the risk of respiratory death. Such issues might explain why approximately fifty percent of the people with asthma use some form of alternative treatment, like natural asthma treatment.

Even though almost no evidence supports the effectiveness of treatments like air ionizers or chiropractic, other sorts of natural asthma treatments like homeopathy, yoga practices and hypnosis have shown significant results as asthma treatment. Hypnotherapy, just like yoga or meditation, but in a much faster and easier way, provides asthma relief because it is able to help control the psychological side of asthma thanks to relaxation. With hypnotherapy you will be a lot more relaxed, which can help prevent asthmatic attacks. It will also make you able to better control the fear and panic during an attack, hence greatly reducing the symptoms. Most asthmatics are aware when they are about to have an attack, and specific hypnotheraputic techniques exist which enable the asthmatic to completely abort an impending attack.

Asthma is a serious respiratory condition, which can prove very handicapping and sometimes even deadly. Drugs can help you with the physiological symptoms and might give quick relief in the case of an attack. However such drugs have a lot of undesirable side effects, especially if taken too often. Hypnotherapy and NLP can in many cases reduce your need for drugs. It is also an effective asthma treatment and asthma attack treatment and can help you prevent the occurrences of asthmatic symptoms.