Question
Here are some excellent articles and information on asthma, the triggers, how to care for it, etc.
Asthma Library
Erik.
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Answer
Just another two cents. Asthma is sometimes confused with one of the symptoms of diabetes, called Kusmal respirations. I will probably hear "waitaminute" from runningsolate, but Kusmal respirations can take several forms, and they aren't always the classical kind shown in the books. When sugar is too high and the insulin used up an alternate form of metabolism attempts to stabilize the sugar levels. This makes the blood acidic. The so-called "Kusmal respirations" are a breathing pattern that blows off Carbon dioxide, lowering the acidity. Supposedly this kind of an error never happens in good hospitals.
Asthmatic attacks can also be induced by conditioning, under certain circumstances. Let's say a trigger substance is paired with a special toy for example, time and time again. Now remove the substance from the toy, but the asthmatic attack can still be induced. The attack may not be as severe, and a lot depends upon the number of pairings. It's Pavlovian conditioning.
Incidentally a can of coca-cola or a cup of coffee is helpful as first aid during an asthmatic attack. The caffeine dilates the tiny alveoli.