Asthma is a medical condition where the airways that are used to pass air in and out of the lungs become inflamed causing difficulty in breathing, shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. People suffering from asthma may experience periods of normal breathing which are followed by periods when the airways become inflamed. The period of inflammation is known as an asthma attack. Depending on the severity of the condition, it is possible for an asthma attack to be a serious medical emergency as the patient may suffer from a lack of oxygen in the body if the attack lasts long enough. This is why an asthma patient who has a diagnosed condition is likely to carry a nebulizer. Portable nebulizers allow medication to be sprayed in the form of a mist into the airways. When an asthma attack is taking place, the sprayed mist is likely to calm the inflammation down almost immediately, resulting in a return to normal breathing. Some people get treated for asthma with the use of electric nebulizers which are prescribed for a certain amount of time each day. These nebulizers calm the airways down before an attack so that the attack is avoided completely.
An asthma attack is an immune system defense mechanism against some substance that is breathed into the body. Therefore, during an asthma attack, the immune system is both active and aggressive. This link between asthma and allergy is important because it can help reduce the chances of an attack taking place. When a patient has asthma, he or she is tested for many other allergies. An allergy test for asthma may use the skin prick method or the blood test method. While the blood test method is more accurate, it takes longer for result to be produced in this test. In many cases, asthma sufferers will be diagnosed with other allergies as well. This is useful for them because avoiding the allergens associated with those conditions will be helpful in reducing the chances of an asthma attack from occurring. An asthma attack is almost always a combination of different allergens that causes the immune system to become active. When this happens, any allergen that affects the respiratory system is likely to lead to an attack. An allergy test for asthma patients is thus mandatory in order to understand the various situations where the person is likely to be more vulnerable to an attack.