Asthma, a respiratory disease characterized by narrowing of the airways happens as the body response to exposure to cold air, allergens in the air, emotional stress or heavy exercise. With the narrowing of the airways, symptoms such as tightness of the chest, wheezing noise while breathing, coughing and shortness of breath appear in the patients

The narrowing of airways happens due to the blockage caused by accumulation of Kapha in the airways resulting in the interruption of the flow of air to the lungs and difficulty in breathing.

The causes of Asthma are, excessive intake of vata (cold), consuming kapha aggravating food items, weakening of the lung tissues, problems caused by lung diseases and Environmental and lifestyle factors. Consuming cold or stale foods, not easy to digest lead to the formation of ama (mucus) causing blockage in the respiratory channel and difficulty in breathing.

Living in cold and damp environment is also a contributory factor for asthma. Ayurvedic management of Shwasa includes Abhyanga, Swedhana, Vamana or Virechana, Rasayana measures for non reccurence of the condition etc.