What should you know about prolonged expiration asthma?

During an asthma flare, airway muscles can tighten and the lining can swell, making it harder to move air out. You may notice wheezing, cough, chest tightness or a longer breathing-out phase. Allergic rhinitis and house dust mite allergy can aggravate airway symptoms, while a chronic cough needs its own assessment. A prolonged expiration is a sign to interpret with the full picture, not a diagnosis by itself.

Sit upright, stay as calm as possible, and follow your personal asthma action plan. Use your prescribed reliever exactly as instructed and do not borrow another person's inhaler. Move away from smoke, dust or a known trigger if you can do so safely. If symptoms are recurring or your reliever is needed more often than directed, arrange a review so inhaler technique, triggers and preventer treatment can be checked. A nebuliser treatment may be used by clinicians in selected situations.

Call emergency services if breathing is rapidly worsening, you cannot speak comfortably, lips look blue or grey, you become drowsy or confused, or prescribed reliever treatment is not helping. Severe chest tightness or obvious struggle to breathe also needs urgent assessment. Do not drive yourself if you are seriously breathless.

Ask whether your breathing pattern suggests an asthma flare, how to use your inhaler with the correct technique, which triggers to reduce, and when your action plan says to seek urgent care. Mention night symptoms, exercise symptoms and recent allergy or respiratory symptoms.