Symptoms
Asthma symptoms vary in severity from occasional mild bouts of breathlessness to daily wheezing that lasts even when a patient takes large doses of medication. After exposure to asthma triggers, symptoms rarely develop abruptly but progress over a period of hours or days. Occasionally, the airways have become seriously obstructed by the time the patient calls the doctor.
The classic symptoms of an asthma attack include:
- Wheezing when breathing out is nearly always present during an attack. Wheezing is a whistling sound caused by narrowed airways.
- Shortness of breath (dyspnea). Shortness of breath is a major source of distress in patients with asthma. Breathing may be shallower and more rapid. Use of the muscles at the base of the neck and between the ribs may be more exaggerated than normal.
- However, some patients may not feel as short of breath or uncomfortable as would be expected from measurements of their lung function or oxygen levels. These patients are at particular risk for very serious and even life-threatening asthma attacks, as they may be less likely to seek care when their oxygen levels are dangerously low
- Coughing. In some people, the first (or only) symptom of asthma is a dry cough. Some patients find this cough even more distressing than wheezing or sleep disturbances.
- Chest tightness or pain. Initial chest tightness without any other symptoms may be an early indicator of a serious attack.
- Rapid heart rate
- Sweating
The end of an attack is often marked by a cough that produces thick, stringy mucus. After an initial acute attack, inflammation lasts for days to weeks, often without symptoms. (The inflammation itself must still be treated, however, because it usually causes relapse.)
Symptoms of a Life-Threatening Attack
The following signs and symptoms may indicate a life-threatening situation:
Previous Section
Review Date: 05/03/2011
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M.,
Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
