Asthma is a chronic disease affecting the respiratory system. During an asthma attack, bronchial tubes, which carry oxygen in and out of the lungs, tend to constrict and thus reduce the flow of air coming to the lungs. The airways also become inflamed and lined up with mucus. Those symptoms may occur many times a day or week, or much less often. The gravity of the attacks also varies.

Different triggers can cause asthma attacks and the breathlessness that is corollary. Asthma can also cause loss of consciousness and chest pain. It is a very serious condition which can at times be lethal: indeed, while 300 million folks are affected by asthma worldwide, asthma attacks kill an estimated 250,000 folks yearly.

People who have asthma also have to go through its side effects in their everyday life. Insomnia is a regular experience which can lead to fatigue during the daytime, and can affect one's professional and personal life. The World Health Organization even recognizes the fact that "reduced activity levels" along with "school and work absenteeism" are often associated with asthma. Exercising will usually be harder for people with asthma, which may for instance be a factor of social isolation for children.

Even though it is impossible to totally cure asthma, there are several ways to prevent and relieve the symptoms, making it possible for everybody with asthma to exercise, stay in shape and lead a normal life. With the proper treatments, there are no reasons why somebody that has asthma should not be able to enjoy an active life.

A lot of factors can cause an asthma attack. Some are very basic things like the temperature and humidity of the air. However, the most common ones are natural environmental allergens, like house dust mites, cockroaches, spore and pollen 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 some foods, like milk or peanuts, in case of food allergies, are also able to trigger asthma. Asthma attack can also occur after exercising.

Your emotional state can also be an important factor in causing an asthmatic attack. Tension, anxiety and emotional stress are all able to cause it. Many people suffering from an asthmatic attack also worsen their condition by falling prey to panic, a totally normal response to the scary experience they must live through.

To better prevent asthmatic attacks, those triggers should be avoided as much as possible. Allergies are also responsible for triggering asthma attacks and allergy treatment can be taken in order to prevent them. There are however many types of asthma treatment. In the short-run, asthma attack treatment will provide relief in the case of an asthmatic attack. Asthma attack treatment is able to quickly provide asthma relief, however individuals suffering from mild or severe asthma must use a long-run asthma treatment.

There are various types of bronchial asthma treatment available out there, however not all of them will work out for you. Bronchial asthma treatment as well as allergy treatment also have many side effects when taken regularly and in the long run, particularly drugs containing corticosteroids or Beta2-adrenergic receptor agonists, with the latter having cardiac side effects and increasing the risk of respiratory death. Such issues might explain why around 50% of the people who suffer from asthma use some type of alternative treatment, like natural asthma treatment.

Even if little evidence proves the effectiveness of therapies 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 meditation or yoga, albeit in a much easier and faster fashion, provides asthma relief because it is able to help handle the psychological side of asthma thanks to relaxation. Through hypnotherapy you will be much more relaxed, which will help prevent asthmatic attacks. It will also allow you to better handle the fear and panic during an attack, thus significantly reducing the symptoms. Most asthmatics are completely aware when an attack is imminent, and specific hypnosis techniques exist which enable the asthmatic to completely abort an impending attack.

Asthma is a grave respiratory disease, which can be very handicapping and at times even lethal. Medication will help you with the physiological symptoms and may provide quick relief in the case of an attack. However such drugs have several negative side effects, especially when taken too often. Hypnotherapy and NLP can in many cases decrease your need for drugs. It is also an efficient asthma treatment and asthma attack treatment and may help you prevent the occurrences of asthmatic symptoms.