wondering again...

This mayy sound like the stupidest of stupid questions...but what is an asthma 'attack' or what do people class as an '

attack'...is it like needing to use your inhalers/nebs etc or is it when nebs etc dont work

confused

Emma

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Hi Emma,

I don't think this is a stupid question at all - it's something I've often wondered myself! I don't think (although I am prepared to be corrected) that there is a universally accepted *medical* definition of an asthma attack. It seems to be something that varies vastly from person to person, and I suppose depends a little on the severity of your 'usual' symptoms - I have noticed that some of my friends with milder asthma would class as an attack symptoms that I would class as being 'a bit wheezy'. As well, a lot of us have symptoms that don't really come in the form of discrete individual 'attacks', but that develop and continue over hours or days.

In general, I suppose it would be reasonable to define an asthma attack as an attack of your usual symptoms (whether that be wheeze, breathlessness, cough, etc) that fails to respond immediately to your usual reliever treatment (whether that be a couple of puffs of salbutamol inhaler or a couple of nebs).

The British Thoracic Society guidelines do define a 'moderate asthma exacerbation', 'acute severe asthma' and 'life-threatening asthma', but these definitions are for use in hospital by doctors and are based on peak flows, heart rate, blood gases and other physiological parameters as well as symptoms.

Hope this helps, it would be interesting to hear other people's viewpoints on this one too!

Take care

Em H

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Hi Emma

For me, an 'attack' would be when I can't stop coughing long enough to have a conversation. This doesn't often happen, as I tend to use my blue inhaler if I get a feeling of tightness or breathlessness.

Kathyx

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ooo thats quite interesting. For me an attack means needing an ambulance/hospital stay wheras using my inhaler/neb would be a symptomtic 'moment'...

What about everbody else?

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for me an attack is when the reliever has little or no effect! I asked my cons the exact same question a while back,but i forgot what he said!

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I never knew what an asthma attack was! I think because whenever you see someone having one on tv, it comes on suddenly and sees them gasping for breath which goes when they take their inhaler. I'm still not really sure - I have been admitted to hospital many times due to my asthma but wouldn't say I'd had an attack per say!

Sarah

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I have NEVER had a sudden, unexpected ""attack"" of asthma (which I see as a great blessing). The severity of my asthma can vary depending on the time of day / time of year, exposure to triggers etc., but it never just gets suddenly and dramatically worse.

My main problem is that I have exacerbations of my asthma which develop over the course of days, sometimes hours, where nebs become increasingly ineffective. If I don't start taking steroids and anti-biotics as soon as the exacerbation starts, it will end in a hospital stay. Sometimes it ends in a hospital stay even when when I do take steroids and anti-biotics. I don't classify these things as ""attacks"" - they are more like ""episodes"".

It is true what EmH says - there are so many variations of this condition, with everyone's asthma being unique to them.

Maz

xx

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Just goes to prove what Emily H has said many times, we are all at different stages in our asthma 'journey'. I have never been hospitalised, thank goodness, and though my condition is mild, I still need to monitor it and be aware when my treatment needs a bit of a boost. In my case, I know there are many treatments left to try, which I guess is very different from other board users.

Happy Monday everyone.

Kathy

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For me its when i have gone down hill(normally over a day or so but sometimes very quickly) and im nebbing to my protocol but they either arent lasting or have little or no effect this will then result in an admission.

I also have episodes when i get very tight and wheezy but they resolve with a neb or too my friends refer to them as attacks but for me they arent in comparison to what i think is.

But this is a very personal view i know friends who are asthmatic who refer to themselves having attacks are as EmH for me would be a bit wheezy.