"Asthma" comes from the ancient Greek word meaning "panting"and,
if you've experienced an asthma attack, you'll understand why.
For some, an asthma attack feels as though an elephant is
sitting on their chest, while for others breathing becomes so
laboured that it’s like trying to suck peanut butter through a
straw. So, what is asthma? Asthma is a long-term (chronic)
disease of the respiratory system that affects the tubes
carrying air to the lungs. When we breathe in, air passes
through the voice box and down the windpipe (trachea). The
windpipe branches into the two main bronchi that take air into
the two lungs. These bronchi then divide further becoming
smaller and smaller as they take air deeper into the lungs to
the point where oxygen passes into the blood stream and carbon
dioxide is released and breathed out. The walls of the bronchi
can be divided into four layers: The very thin smooth inner
lining called the mucosa; The layer below this contains mucus-
secreting glands; The third layer is cartilage wh