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Some women describe asthma as feeling like they're trying to breathe through a straw.
The description fits perfectly, because during an attack, airways in the lungs squeeze shut, making it difficult to draw in air. At the same time, the narrowed airways become inflamed and filled with mucus, stifling the airways still further. A family history of asthma and exposure to viruses or allergens set the stage for asthma, says Sally Wenzel, M.D., associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a pulmonary specialist at the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine, both in Denver. Experts speculate that the people who succumb to asthma tend to smoke cigarettes, abuse drugs and misuse their asthma medications. But if you take care of yourself, asthma isn't cause for alarm.