Bronchial asthma is a medical condition which causes the airway path of the lungs to swell and narrow. Due to this swelling, the air path produces excess mucus making it hard to breathe, which results in coughing, short breath, and wheezing. The disease is chronic and interferes with daily working. The disease is curable and inhalers help overcome asthma attacks. Bronchial Asthma can affect any age or gender and depends upon environmental and hereditary factors at large. When ignored, disease proves fatal claiming lives in many cases. As per a recent survey, more than 1 million cases are reported every year in India.

Symptoms
The symptoms may vary from individual to individual and depends on environmental factors. A person may show regular symptoms of the disease or periodic symptoms that may prompt at a certain time. The most common signs of asthma that can help diagnose the disease are:

• Breathlessness or short breath while talking, laughing, or running.
• Chest Pain or tightness.
• Sleep apnea or trouble while sleeping caused by breathlessness.
• Coughing or wheezing (whistling sound from chest while sleeping or lying down).
• Cold and flu due to viral infection.

Causes
Though the root cause of bronchial asthma is unclear, it occurs largely due to environmental or genetic factors. The factors that trigger an asthma reaction are:

• Exposure to substances such as pollen, dust, animal fur, sand, and bacteria, which triggers allergic reactions.
• Viral Infection like cold and flu, or pneumonia.
• Air Pollution, smoke, fumes from vehicles, etc.
• Stress and anxiety.
• Physical activity or exercise induced asthma.
• Medications like aspirin, Ibuprofen, beta-blockers, etc.
• Acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
• Perfumes and fragrances.
• Weather, especially extreme changes in temperature.
• Food additives (such as MSG).

Prevention
In order to prevent the occurrence of the disease, one should take care of the following:

• Avoid doing any vigorous exercise.
• Take adequate diet.
• Use an asthma inhaler prescribed only by the doctor.