You may hear that asthma is incurable, that no one knows what causes asthma to occur. You may hear this and feel a little hopeless, a little lost. After all, how are you supposed to live with something that won t ever go away? You have to learn how to live with it because it won t ever go away. Living with asthma means learning how to breathe in a whole new way but it s not quite as daunting as it sounds. Doctors define asthma as chronic inflammatory disease of the airway that causes many symptoms including: - Shortness of breath - Chronic cough - Wheezing - Tightness in the chest With these symptoms or their early onset a doctor is able to conduct lung-function tests. Your doctor may also prescribe medications to assist in the conclusive determination as to whether the disease is present or not. Which in turn causes breathlessness, wheezing, and coughing. Asthma can also appear as various other illnesses, namely pneumonia, bronchitis, allergies, and of course the common cold. Any of these can bring on an attack and if your teen is still coughing a lot after the illness has gone then it will probably be asthma. Sometimes, it helps people who are living with asthma to talk to other asthma sufferers. This kind of support is often invaluable, and means really being able to connect with others who share the same illness. There is a huge world of support out there for those living with asthma, and much of it can be found through the online community. The problem for many people who have asthma is often not first-person smoking, but the second-hand smoke to which they are exposed. For someone who has asthma, being around a smoker is the worst. It's very important to know that living with asthma means living smoke-free - completely. No one who has asthma should be exposed to smoke, at least not on a regular basis. Asthma Triggers Smoke should be banned from the home of an asthmatic as it can bring on an attack. Dust mites, you can by protective mattress covers and pillow covers that will block the dust mites from you. Pollution from car and industry emission in built up areas, air pollution when air quality is low asthma attacks go up.