Asthma is a common disease and a recognized medical problem worldwide. The World Health Organization has ranked it as one of the four most persistent diseases, and it is the second most deadly and disabling disease in the world after cancer. According to statistics, the number of people suffering from asthma is about 300 million worldwide, and the number of asthma patients in China has reached 30 million. Nevertheless, as long as we fully understand the nature of asthma and master the means of asthma prevention and treatment, asthma is not so terrible. So, what is asthma? According to the definition of the Global Asthma Control Strategy revised by the World Health Organization and the US National Institutes of Health, asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways involving many inflammatory cells and cellular components, which can cause airway hyperresponsiveness and lead to recurrent episodes of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and/or coughing. asthma. So, how does asthma occur? The pathogenesis of asthma is more complex. It is currently believed that after certain environmental factors act on people with a genetic predisposition to asthma, they cause airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness through the release of inflammatory mediators and cytokines by the body’s immune system; at the same time, the interaction of some airway inherent structural cells and immune cells that constitute the airway tissue, together with abnormal airway neuroregulation, etc., aggravate airway hyperresponsiveness and airway inflammation. Thus, the effect of environmental excitatory factors causes increased airway inflammation and smooth muscle contraction, leading to the development of asthma symptoms in patients. The external factors causing asthma are diverse and complex, and the common ones include house mites, animal allergens, cockroach allergens, fungi, molds, yeasts, pollen, fungi, molds, and yeasts. Certain occupational allergens as well as smoking (either actively or passively), indoor and outdoor air pollution, and respiratory infections are also common external factors that trigger asthma attacks. In addition, a number of social factors, diet and medications, climate change, and mood changes are also frequent triggers of asthma attacks. Patients with asthma can mostly describe their experience of attacks as recurrent episodes of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and/or coughing, which are particularly likely to occur at night or in the morning. Patients with asthma who are having an attack are more likely to have croup heard by the physician during the examination. One of the characteristics of asthma is that it is episodic, especially during the attack season, while it can be without any signs and symptoms during remission. There are some asthma patients who do not show the typical symptoms mentioned above, but have episodes of coughing as the only symptom, which is called cough variant asthma. Therefore, people with chronic recurrent cough should not simply mistake it for bronchitis or bronchiectasis and need to visit a specialist clinic to confirm or exclude asthma. Although there is no drug that can cure asthma, as long as regular treatment is carefully followed by the doctor, asthma attacks can be well controlled without affecting the patient’s study, work and life. There are many drugs for asthma treatment, which are summarized in the following two categories, namely, controlling drugs and relieving drugs. These drugs are mainly used to obtain clinical control of asthma through anti-inflammatory effects, such as inhaled glucocorticoids, leukotriene modulators, long-acting b2 agonists, slow-release theophylline, sodium cromoglycate, anti-IgE antibodies, etc. Relieving drugs are drugs used as needed to relieve symptoms by rapidly relieving bronchospasm. Specific drugs include fast-acting inhaled b2 agonists, inhaled anticholinergic drugs, short-acting theophylline and oral b2 agonists. When using specific medications, it is important to first determine which stage of asthma is in. In general, asthma can be divided into clinical remission, chronic persistent phase and acute exacerbation phase, and the therapeutic drugs used within the different phases are different. During the non-acute exacerbation period, all asthma patients, regardless of severity, should receive inhaled beta2 agonists as needed, while the treatment plan should be developed by the physician and adjusted according to the response to treatment, depending on the level of asthma control. In contrast, during acute exacerbations, the appropriate medication may be given according to different levels. For example, in mild patients, β2 agonists are used as needed, and oral β2 agonist controlled-release tablets are used when the effect is not good; oral small doses of theophylline are given; hormones are inhaled regularly on a daily basis; long-acting inhaled β2 agonists or anticholinergics can be added for nocturnal asthma; in patients with moderate acute exacerbations, β2 agonists are inhaled regularly or oral β2 agonist controlled-release tablets are given, and continuous nebulized inhalation is used continuously when necessary; oral Theophylline or intravenous aminophylline; application of anticholinergics; daily inhalation of high-dose hormones; for severe to critical patients, they need to be treated in the hospital emergency department, and the doctor can give continuous use of continuous nebulized inhalation of beta2 agonists or additional anticholinergics according to the patient’s general condition; with hypoxia, inhalation of oxygen; intravenous application of aminophylline; application of systemic hormones, gradually transitioning to daily inhalation of high-dose If necessary, mechanical ventilation should be performed; if there are signs of infection, use sensitive antimicrobial agents. Here it is necessary to say a few words about the application of hormones in asthma treatment. Many asthma patients have concerns about the use of hormones in asthma treatment, thinking that hormones have large side effects, dependence, etc. In fact, this is not true. Hormones are currently the most effective drugs for controlling airway inflammation. We advocate that the inhalation route should be used for the treatment of asthma. When inhaled, the drug acts directly on the airway to obtain better control of inflammation, which can effectively improve asthma symptoms, enhance life therapy, improve lung function, reduce airway hyperresponsiveness and reduce asthma attacks. Since the drug is administered by inhalation, the required dose is not large, so the systemic side effects are small. Relevant experiments have been conducted both at home and abroad, and after inhaling therapeutic doses of hormones, the effects on growth and development of children and osteoporosis of women are minimal. Asthma is a chronic disease and there is no cure for it yet. However, through regular and effective prevention and treatment measures, asthma can be better controlled, lung function can be reduced, and asthma patients can live, work and study normally. Therefore, asthma is not terrible.