Asthma attack

Inside an asthma attack

Asthma interferes with the flow of oxygen to the body by constricting key passageways, called bronchioles. Oxygen normally passes from the lungs into the bloodstream by way of increasingly smaller structures.

It flows through the trachea to branches called the bronchi to the even smaller bronchioles, and eventually across thin membranes into the blood.

In a mild asthma attack, the muscles around the bronchiole airway tighten, narrowing the breathing passage. In a more severe attack, cells lining the airway produce mucus, further narrowing the passage, and in the most severe, the bronchiole walls themselves swell.

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Acupressure for asthma
Here are lists of acupressure points for Asthma, Breath control, Shortness of breath, Chest pain, Lungs, Cough, and Hay fever on PointFinder.org.
If this is your first time, please read the instructions. Don’t use acupressure to replace standard emergency procedures or licensed medical treatment. If you are seriously injured or have acute symptoms seek urgent medical treatment.

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LABELS:
Trachea
Bronchi
Bronchioles
Normal bronchiole
Asthmatic bronchiole
Air
Passage narrowed by muscle contraction
Mucus blocks airway
Bronchiole walls swell

Text and illustrations by Kevin T. Boyd