Asthma is a lung condition in which breathing becomes difficult because of inflammation of th air passages.

The airways become narrowed by muscle spasm, swelling and increased mucus production, often causing a wheeze to be heard. Air is trapped in the lungs by the swollen airways and the victim has most difficulty breathing out. A cold, influenze or other infection may trigger an asthma attack. The other most common triggers are an allergic reaction to a pollen, dust or animal product, or to exercise, especially in cold weather. The victim of asthma should be taking presecribed medication to avoid an asthma attack. These drugs are called preventers and are colour-coded in shades of red, brown and gold. During an asthma attack, the victim can take a prescribed reliever medication, preferably through a spacer device, which helps to hold the medication and overcome the difficulty of inhaling it during an attack. Reliever containers are colour-coded in shades of grey or bluw and the medication quickly relaxes airway spasm. Symptoms and signs Breathlessness and difficulty speaking more than a few words without a gasp of air Wheezing sometimes, but not always [ersistaent cough, ogten moist and rattling Poor skin colour, especially blueness of lips and fingertips Obvious breathing effort with pulling-in of the rip spaces Rising pulse rate What to do 1. Help the victim to rest Helt the victim into a sitting position, but with support Ideally allow the arms to rest on a table to increase the rib spaces Do not allow any physical activity 2. Assist with prescribed medication Help the victim take any prescribed reliever medication as soon as possiblt. If a spacer is available, the victim should use it to take the medication, one putt at a time. Give four puffs of the medication then repeat this dose after four minutes if no imporvment has occurred Call 000 or mobile 112 for an ambulance Contine to assist the victim with four puffs every four minutes until an ambulance arrives In hot weather, the victim may be offered sips of water to overcome dehydration from prolonged breathlessness If a spacer is not available a disposablepolustyrene foam cup could be used, with a whole cut in the base to insert the puffer. 3. Follow-up care

If improvement occurs, keep the victim at rest until the skin colour is norma. If the victim is a child, ensure that the parents are informed of the attack and adcise a medical check wiwth the family doctor