Patients of asthma suffer from a host of problems, including but not limited to shortage of breath, severe fits of coughing, hyperventilation and chest cramps. Asthma causes the bronchial tubes in the respiratory system to swell and become saturated with excessive quantity of mucus thus making breathing very difficult.

Asthma attacks are caused when the body involuntarily responds to the presence of allergens. Allergens are substances which react with an asthmatic person's physical immune system in a certain way, causing a 'humoral response' to take place. In turn, this leads to the release of antibodies to battle the invasive allergen. The antibodies cause the respiratory passages to contract and results in increased production of mucus, both of which make breathing extremely difficult.

The best way to treat bronchial asthma is to discover what allergen(s) can cause a humoral response in the patient in question, and prevent those particular allergen(s) from coming in contact with the patient. Allergens come in many different forms, and not all asthmatic people are affected by all allergens. Pets, certain medications and dust mites are a few examples of allergens. Certain patients can be treated to lower their sensitivity to allergens. Many asthmatics use inhalers and nebulizers to dilate their bronchial tubes in order to overcome the asthmatic symptoms.