Golden Box Book Publishing Asthma Relief with Grandmas Remedies | Page 9

Good to Know About Asthma When I asked my grandmother what it felt like when she had an asthma attack, she handed me a straw. “Put it in your mouth and breathe in and out through the straw. Don’t open your mouth,” she said, and pinched my nose closed. I obeyed and struggled to draw air in and blow the air out. After a minute or so I gave up because I felt as if I was suffocating, and I said, still gasping for air, “Grandma, I can’t breathe enough air in, and I can’t blow enough air out.” “That’s exactly how I feel,” she said. “That’s why I’m so careful. I’m trying to prevent things that could trigger an asthma attack.” Later I learned that asthma is a chronic lung disease that causes episodes of difficult breathing. Asthma symptoms are caused primarily due to constriction and tightening of the muscles surrounding the airways, as well as inflammation, soreness, swelling, and irritation of the airways in the lungs. Asthma is a serious and sometimes life-threatening chronic respiratory disease that affects the quality of life for almost 25 million Americans, including an estimated 7 million children. Although there is no cure for asthma, the symptoms can be managed with medications, dietary changes, and prevention with alternative methods and the elimination of environmental triggers. 10