What is Asthma?
{{Infobox disease | Name = Asthma | Image = Asthma attack-illustration NIH.jpg | Alt = | Caption = An asthma attack causes the airways to tighten and causes too much mucus to be made. This makes it hard to breathe. | DiseasesDB = 1006 | ICD10 = {{ICD10|J|45||j|40}} | ICD9 = {{ICD9|493}} | ICDO = | OMIM = 600807 | MedlinePlus = 000141 | eMedicineSubj = article | eMedicineTopic = 806890 | MeshID = D001249 | GeneReviewsID = | GeneReviewsName = }} '''Asthma''' (or '''Asthma bronchiale''') is an obstructive lung disease which affect the airways inside the [[lung]]s. It has generally been accepted as an [[Inflammation|inflammatory]] disease{{Verify source}}. ''Asthmatics are affected'' in three ways by asthma, explained in this section. It causes the [[tissue]] inside the airways to [[inflammation|swell]]. Asthma also causes the bands of [[muscle]] around the airways to become narrow. This makes it hard for enough air to pass through and for the person to breathe normally. The third is that it also causes [[mucus]]-making [[cell]]s inside the airways to make more mucus than normal. This blocks the airways, which are already very narrow during an asthma attack, and makes it even more [[Dyspnea|difficult to breathe]]. A person having an asthma attack often makes [[Breath sounds#Wheezing|wheezing]] sounds when trying to breathe. This is the sound of air trying to pass through the very narrow airway. They also have [[dyspnea|shortness of breath]], which means they cannot take a full, deep breath. Chest tightness may happen which feels like their chest is being squeezed. They may also [[cough]] a lot. All asthma attacks can be a [[medical emergency]] because they can be ''fatal'' (cause a person to die). There is no cure for asthma. Especially dangerous attacks are called severe. There are also more severe attacks than that, the most severe, called life-threatening attacks. There are treatments, such as different