Do you or a roommate find yourselves waking up in the middle of the night feeling the need to cough or sit up and take a deep breath?

Or maybe you find that walking outside in the cold causes a tight feeling in your chest?

You could be one of the more than 26 million Americans with asthma.

It's not just a disease of childhood -- more adults have it than kids do. People die from it every day.

In fact, a greater percentage die than in the past.

What is asthma? It's a chronic problem involving sensitivity of the bronchial tubes in the lungs.

This sensitivity results in three responses - tightening of the muscles that line the bronchial tubes, swelling of the mucosal lining of the airways, and cells in the lining producing a more than normal amount of mucus that's also abnormally thick and sticky.

Many things can be asthma triggers: allergic reactions, vigorous exercise, infection, cold air, household products like cleaning agents, dusts and vapors, air pollution, smoking, certain drugs in sensitive people and stress.

The first step in controlling asthma is identifying it. See your medical provider and describe what you're experiencing.

Then they can do the right evaluation to diagnose the problem.

If it is asthma, you and they will work out a treatment plan that identifies your triggers, limits acute attacks and controls the underlying process.

Asthma control medicines fall into two basic groups:

Bronchodilators help to stop the tightening of the airway muscles that narrow the tubes. They are for acute relief. Anti-inflammatories control the inflammation and prevent the attacks from happening.

People don't all have the same degree of asthma involvement. Proper assessment of the extent and timing of symptoms allows your clinician to tailor your treatment to your needs. Asthma cannot be controlled in most patients without the regular use of an anti-inflammatory drug.

Working with your medical provider can enable you to do activities you may have given up in the past due to shortness of breath or cough.

Good asthma control involves regular checkups, taking your medications as instructed and knowing and avoiding your triggers.

People with allergies need to keep these triggers under good control because they can be especially responsible for asthma flares.

Some particularly helpful sources of asthma information are:

American Lung Association www.lungusa.org

Centers for Disease Control Asthma Homepage www.cdc.gov/nceh/asthma

John Hopkins Asthma and Allergy www.hopkins-allergy.org

National Jewish Medical and Research Center Lung Line 1-800-222-5864