Symptoms of an anaphylactic reaction can include sneezing, watery nasal discharge, itchy eyes, swelling in the throat, wheezing or a sensation of tightness in the chest, nausea, dizziness or other symptoms. The asthma symptoms of wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness come from bronchoconstriction, or bronchospasm the tightening of the smooth muscles surrounding the airways, making them narrower. Bronchoconstriction used to be seen as the cause of asthma, and therefore treatment relied on drugs to open up the airways with bronchodilators. This sensitivity leads to inflammation and swelling of the airway. Bronchoconstriction is a result of the inflammation.
Inflammation can be present without symptoms, but with exposure to the trigger, the symptoms begin.
Seeing the underlying cause as inflammation rather than bronchoconstriction, has turned treatment in a new direction. The object is to decrease inflammation to prevent constriction. Current asthma treatment utilizes anti-inflammatory medications as a first line of preventive care. There are some long-acting bronchodilators that are also used for prevention, such as in minimizing nocturnal asthma. Anti-inflammatory medicines do not stop an attack once it has started.