How To Cope With An Asthma Attack: Non Sufferer

If you, as a non-sufferer, have ever witnessed an asthma suffering enduring an asthma attack, you will know how terrifying an experience it can be. If you have never experienced an attack yourself, it is only natural for you to imagine the worst and panic. So, if you have a friend or family member who is prone to asthma attacks, read through this quick guide on to how best to help them when an attack sets in:

-- Keep Calm.

This may sound obvious, but it is important. Asthma attacks are often distressing for the sufferer, and any anxiety or panic can actually make an attack worse. Therefore, if you are with someone when they suffer an attack, it is essential that you keep calm and don't panic.

-- Look For Their Inhalers.

Most asthmatics have the very tools they need to quell an attack close at hand: their inhalers. Asthmatics tend to keep these handy, so if you are going to the home of an asthmatic or going out in public with them, ask them where their inhalers are located - so you can grab them at short notice.

-- Monitor The Situation

In rare instances, you may need to call for medical assistance if someone you know is suffering from an asthma attack. Call for emergency help if any of the following occur:

- Inhalers and other medications do not seem to be helping.
- The sufferer loses consciousness.
- The sufferer cannot use their medication and thus the attack is continuing for longer than it should.

Just be alert, aware and calm - and the vast majority of situations will need no outside help.

Asthma: It Isn't Always A Wheeze

If a television or movie producer wishes to portray that a character suffers from asthma, they have one go-to trick that tends to get the message across without fail: have the character "wheeze". Wheezing is one of the most recognizable symptoms of asthma, and one that has become synonymous with the illness for non-sufferers. The raspy, noisy breaths have become a common identifying tool to alert non-sufferers should an asthmatic suffer an attack, and it is a well-used and quick way to alert viewers of a television show that a character has asthma.

Unfortunately, over time this quick-usage has resulted in the misconception that all asthma sufferers wheeze when they breathe - particularly if suffering an attack. This, however, is not the case. The exact figures are difficult to be certain of, but up to 40% of asthmatics do not report wheezing as a common issue with their illness. It is far more likely for sufferers to have a persistent cough rather than a wheeze; and wheezing is more likely to indicate more serious lung problems than asthma.

Of course, if you hear someone wheezing it is well and good to assume they have asthma. This issue only becomes important when one considers that people may be suffering asthma symptoms, but believe that because they do not wheeze, they cannot possibly have asthma - and they thus leave their symptoms unchecked by a doctor. Any kind of shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing or general lung discomfort is worth alerting a physician over - don't assume that just because there is no wheeze, there is no asthma.