What Is Asthma? Asthma (say: az-muh) is a condition that affects a person's airways, which are also sometimes called the bronchial (say: brong-kee-ul) tubes. These tubes lead from the windpipe, or trachea (say: tray-kee-uh), into the lungs. For most kids, breathing is simple: they breathe in through their nose or mouth and the air goes into the windpipe. From there it travels through the airways and into the lungs. But for kids with asthma, breathing can be a dog asthma asthma foundation lot more difficult because their airways are very sensitive. An asthma flare, which some people call an asthma attack, happens when a person's airways get narrower and it becomes a lot harder for air to get in and out of the lungs. Sometimes the swollen airways produce extra mucus, which makes things pretty sticky - so it's easy to see why it's hard to breathe! In between flares, a kid's breathing can be totally normal or seem that way. tuscon study asthma asthma foundation But during a flare, it can feel like the person is breathing through a straw. A kid with asthma may wheeze (a whistling sound when she breathes), cough, and feel tightness in the chest. An asthma flare can get worse and worse if a kid doesn't use asthma medicine. After an asthma flare, the airways almost always return to the way they were before, although it can take several days. Who Gets Asthma? Asthma is more common than you asthma foundation asthma foundation might think: as many as 5 million kids in the United States have it. Asthma affects about one or two kids out of 10. That means if you have 20 kids in your class, two to four of them might have asthma. Asthma can start at any age - even in a little baby or an adult - but it's most common in school-age kids. No one really knows why one person's airways are more sensitive than another natural cures for asthma asthma foundation person's, but we
