By LEADNG | Health Education Writer
Last updated: 15 October 2026
A cough that keeps returning at night. A tight feeling in the chest when climbing stairs. Wheezing after exercise or struggling to breathe when exposed to smoke.
These symptoms are easy to dismiss, especially when they disappear after a while. Someone might assume they have a lingering cold, are out of shape or simply need to rest.
But recurring breathing problems deserve attention. One possible explanation is asthma, a long-term condition that affects the airways and can make breathing difficult.
Asthma can often be controlled with appropriate treatment. The important thing is recognising the symptoms, understanding possible triggers and knowing when breathing difficulties require urgent medical attention.
What happens inside the airways during asthma?
Asthma affects the airways that carry air into and out of the lungs. In people with asthma, these airways can become inflamed, narrow and more sensitive to certain triggers.
The muscles around the airways may tighten, while swelling and mucus can further restrict airflow. This can cause coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or shortness of breath.
Symptoms may come and go. A person might feel well for days or weeks before experiencing another episode.
Asthma can begin during childhood, but adults can develop it too. It is not simply a childhood illness, and a person should not assume that recurring breathing difficulties are harmless because they started later in life.
The World Health Organization estimates that asthma affected 363 million people in 2023. Effective treatments are available, although access to diagnosis and treatment remains a challenge in many settings.
Source: WHO — Asthma.
Five asthma symptoms to recognise
1. Wheezing
Wheezing is a whistling sound that may occur when breathing, often more noticeable when breathing out.
It can happen when air moves through narrowed airways. However, wheezing is not exclusive to asthma, and not everyone with asthma wheezes during every episode.
2. A persistent or recurring cough
An asthma-related cough may be worse at night, early in the morning, during exercise or after exposure to a trigger.
Sometimes, coughing is the main symptom. A person may not realise that asthma could be involved, particularly if there is little obvious wheezing.
A cough can have many other causes, including respiratory infections, allergies and other lung conditions. A healthcare professional can help determine what is responsible.
3. Shortness of breath
You may feel that you cannot draw enough air into your lungs or that ordinary activities require more effort than usual.
Breathlessness during exercise does not automatically mean asthma. If it happens repeatedly, becomes worse or occurs alongside wheezing or chest tightness, arrange a medical assessment.
Sudden or severe breathlessness requires urgent attention.
4. Chest tightness
Some people describe asthma-related chest tightness as pressure, squeezing or a feeling that a band is wrapped around their chest.
Chest tightness should not automatically be attributed to asthma. New or severe chest discomfort, especially with sweating, faintness, nausea or pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back, may indicate another emergency, including a heart problem.
Seek urgent medical care rather than trying to diagnose the cause yourself.
5. Symptoms that interrupt sleep or daily activities
Waking at night because of coughing or breathing difficulties, struggling during routine activities, or needing a prescribed reliever more often than usual can indicate that asthma is not adequately controlled.
These patterns should be discussed with your healthcare professional. Do not wait for a severe attack before arranging a review.
Source: NHS — Asthma.
A realistic example: When the symptoms keep returning
Imagine a market trader in Ibadan who begins coughing whenever she sweeps her shop or spends time near heavy traffic.
The cough often settles when she leaves the area, so she assumes dust is the only problem. Later, she begins waking at night with coughing and occasionally notices a whistling sound when she breathes.
Rather than repeatedly treating the symptoms without investigating them, she arranges a medical assessment and explains when the episodes occur.
A healthcare professional can then consider asthma and other possible causes, using the person's history and appropriate tests.
This is an illustrative example, not a report of a real patient. It does not mean that dust exposure or a cough alone proves someone has asthma.
The lesson is that repeated symptoms linked to particular situations are useful information to share with a healthcare professional.
What can trigger asthma symptoms?
Triggers vary between individuals. Something that affects one person may cause no symptoms in another.
Common triggers include:
Dust, smoke and air pollution: These can irritate sensitive airways. Dust may also contain allergens that affect some people.
Respiratory infections: Colds, influenza and other respiratory viruses can worsen asthma symptoms.
Exercise: Physical activity can trigger symptoms in some people, although people whose asthma is well controlled can often exercise safely.
Allergens: Pollen, mould, dust mites and animal allergens may trigger symptoms in susceptible people.
Workplace exposures: Certain fumes, chemicals, powders and other substances can contribute to asthma symptoms, including work-related asthma.
Weather changes: Cold air or other environmental conditions may trigger symptoms for some people.
You do not need to avoid every possible trigger. Instead, notice which exposures appear to affect you and discuss practical ways to reduce them.
For example, if sweeping reliably triggers coughing or wheezing, reducing airborne dust and discussing the symptoms with a clinician may be useful. Do not assume that avoiding dust alone will adequately treat asthma if you have the condition.
Are you using your inhaler correctly?
An inhaler delivers medicine into the airways, but the medicine may not work as intended if the device is used incorrectly.
Different inhalers have different techniques. Some require the user to coordinate pressing the device with breathing in; others require a different inhalation method.
If you have been prescribed an inhaler:
Ask your doctor, nurse or pharmacist to demonstrate the correct technique for your particular device.
Practise using it while the healthcare professional checks your technique.
Follow the prescribed instructions, including whether a spacer is recommended for your inhaler.
Know which medicine is intended for symptom relief and which is intended to prevent or control inflammation.
Ask what to do if symptoms worsen, your inhaler is empty or your usual treatment stops helping.
Do not assume that all inhalers are interchangeable. Do not stop a prescribed preventer medicine simply because you feel well, and do not change your treatment without professional advice.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides practical guidance on using asthma inhalers.
What should you do during an asthma attack?
An asthma attack is a sudden worsening of asthma symptoms that can become life-threatening.
If you have asthma and symptoms are worsening, follow your personal asthma action plan and use your prescribed reliever medicine according to the instructions you have been given.
Sit upright and try to get help. Do not delay emergency care if breathing is severely difficult, you are struggling to speak, your condition is worsening rapidly or your prescribed reliever is not helping as expected.
Call your local emergency service or get urgent medical assistance. Do not drive yourself while experiencing a severe breathing emergency.
If you do not have a diagnosis of asthma but suddenly develop serious breathing difficulty, seek emergency medical assessment rather than assuming it is an asthma attack.
Even after an attack improves, arrange medical follow-up as advised by your healthcare professional. Treatment may need to be reviewed to reduce the risk of another episode.
A practical checklist: What to tell your doctor
Before your appointment, consider recording:
Bring your inhalers or a list of their names to the appointment if possible.
Your clinician may examine you and recommend breathing tests, such as spirometry, depending on your symptoms and circumstances. A diagnosis should not be based on a symptom checklist alone.
Can asthma be controlled?
Asthma is a long-term condition, and there is currently no general cure. However, appropriate treatment helps many people control their symptoms and maintain normal daily activities.
Treatment may include inhaled medicines that reduce airway inflammation and medicines that relieve narrowed airways. The right combination depends on the individual's condition and the clinical guidance available.
A personalised asthma action plan can help you recognise when your symptoms are stable, when they are getting worse and when you need urgent help.
If symptoms continue despite treatment, you need your reliever more often than advised, or you regularly wake at night with breathing problems, arrange a review. Your healthcare professional may need to check your inhaler technique, treatment plan, triggers or whether another condition is contributing.
For additional guidance, see the CDC's asthma management information.
Final thoughts
Recurring coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and breathlessness should not simply be accepted as part of everyday life.
These symptoms can have several causes, but asthma is one possibility worth investigating when the pattern fits. Recognising triggers, using prescribed inhalers correctly and following a personalised action plan can make a meaningful difference.
Have you noticed coughing, wheezing or breathing difficulties that repeatedly occur in particular situations? Consider recording the pattern and discussing it with a qualified healthcare professional.
Medical disclaimer
This article is for general health education only. It does not diagnose asthma or replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Do not start, stop or change prescribed medication based solely on this article. Severe or rapidly worsening breathing difficulty requires emergency medical attention.
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