The common symptoms are cough and wheeze. You may also become breathless, and develop a feeling of chest tightness. Symptoms can range from mild to severe between different people, and at different times in the same person. Each episode of symptoms may last just an hour or so, or persist for days or weeks unless treated.

What are the typical symptoms if you have mild (untreated) asthma?

You tend to develop mild symptoms from time to time. For example, you may develop a mild wheeze and a cough if you have: a cold, a chest infection, in the hay fever season, or when you exercise. For most of the time you have no symptoms. A child with mild asthma may have an irritating cough each night, but is often fine during the day.

What are the typical symptoms if you have moderate (untreated) asthma?

Without treatment: you typically have episodes of wheezing and coughing from time to time. Sometimes you become breathless. You may have spells, sometimes long spells, without symptoms. However, you tend to be wheezy for some of the time on most days. Symptoms are typically worse at night, or first thing in the morning. You may wake up some nights coughing or with a tight chest. Young children may not have typical symptoms. It may be difficult to tell the difference between asthma and recurring viral chest infections in young children.

What are the typical symptoms of a severe attack of asthma?

You become very wheezy, have a 'tight' chest, and have difficulty in breathing. You may find it difficult to talk because you are so breathless. Severe symptoms may develop from time to time if you normally have moderate symptoms. Occasionally, severe symptoms develop 'out of the blue' in some people who normally have just mild symptoms.

What causes asthma?

Asthma is caused by inflammation in the airways. It is not known why the inflammation occurs. The inflammation irritates the muscles around the airways, and causes them to squeeze (constrict). This causes narrowing of the airways. It is then more difficult for air to get in and out of the lungs. This leads to wheezing and breathlessness. The inflammation also causes the lining of the airways to make extra mucus which causes cough and further obstruction to airflow.

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