Understanding Bronchial Asthma

Bronchial asthma is a common disease both in children as well as in grown ups.



Not all breathing difficulties are called asthma. The reason for the word “Bronchial” is owing to the fact that the fundamental problem lies in the bronchi. In Bronchial asthma is characterized the patient suffers repeated attacks of difficulty exhaling.



This is because of narrowing of the airways in the lungs. This narrowing varies in severity over a period of time. In Bronchial Asthma is that it is only a temporary functional narrowing.



Fortunately, and with the help of Yoga therapy this is wholly reversible.

Another crucial feature in Bronchial asthma is that the air passages start to exhibit unwarranted response by spasm and inflammation to all sorts of stimuli. These are not just antigens or chemical like histamines. They could also be cold air, atmospheric irritants such as dust, kitchen fumes, sprays, gases, extreme exercise, so on and so forth.

The three cardinal symptoms of Bronchial asthma are sneezing, runny nose and blocked or stuffy nose. This could happen seasonally – as in Hay fever – or, otherwise almost all year round. Sufferers could also complain of itching of nose, ears, eyes, throat and post nasal discharge. Sometimes, the inner lining of the sinuses could become involved in this allergic inflammation. This could lead to pain and discomfort in the forehead and cheeks. Even though it is not a fatal condition, it could be cause for a lot of discomfort, lack of interest in life’s activities and mental depression.

In Bronchial asthma, the narrowing of the airways is the result of:

1. Constriction of the circular strip of muscle which surrounds the bronchus. When this gets irritated it causes narrowing.
2. Inflammation of the mucous membrane that gets inflamed and enlarged and also adds to the constriction in the airways.
3. Nasal secretions from the swollen mucosa into the bronchi further reduce the effective lumen. In Bronchial asthma this secretion is sticky and is expectorated with a lot of difficulty. This is particularly towards the end of an attack.