During an asthma attack the bronchioles, where oxygen enters the blood stream, become swollen, spasm and fill with mucus. Asthmatics feel as if they're being strangled. After gasping for air they struggle to exhale as the air is trapped behind the mucus. Attacks can last minutes or hours and vary in severity.
Chronic bronchitis is a condition where there is increased mucous secretion in the trachea and bronchial tubes, causing a mucous or "smoker's" cough. Bronchitis is rare in nonsmokers and much more prevalent in children of smokers than of nonsmokers.
Emphysema is usually associated with long term smoking. The lung itself is destroyed with the breathing surface reduced to less than a quarter of its normal size. Because the blood gets less oxygen, high blood pressure can result, causing undo strain on the heart.
Though there is no cure for any of these conditions, chiropractic adjustments have proven effective in lessening, and sometimes alleviating, severity of symptoms and frequency of episodes.
