Aetherius Rimor said:
The fungus generates a lot of phlegm which exacerbates existing asthma.
Airway mucus plugging has long been recognized as a principal cause of death in asthma. However, molecular mechanisms of mucin overproduction and secretion have not been understood until recently. These mechanisms are reviewed together with ongoing investigations ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
^^Heres a good article on the pathophysiology of mucus hypersecretion in the respiratory tract.It mentions fungi briefly but the implication is that their mucogenic effect is related to exposure of the respiratory epithelium to inhaled fungal constituents.Im not aware that oral ingestion of psilocybes does this in all who take them; amanitas, IIRC, are more able to induce mucus production, hypersalivation and increased lacrimation.
Aspiration of vomit can certainly induce acute asthma attacks due to irritation of the airways causing the bronchoconstriction which is a haalmark of the asthmatic process.A fair indicator of how severely any one asthmatic would suffer as a result of aspiration can be gleaned by a history of labile or severe asthma before, a requirement for multiple agents (B2 agonists, anticholinergics, inhaled steroids, theophyllines, oral steroids, immunosuppressants, immunomodulators) to keep their asthma 'controlled' (the greater the number of these used often equals more severe attacks), smoking, inadvertent use of certain meds (eg NSAIDs) etc.
In severe asthma attacks giving mouth to mouth would be inadequate to overcome the airways resistance and invariably hospital input will be required where supplemental oxygen (usually by mask or nasal cannulae), nebulised bronchodilators , steroids (oral if less severe, IV if life-threatening) will be given.Salbutamol can also be given IV if necessary , and so can theophyllines and Ive also seen nebulised epinephrine used when respiratory arrest appears imminent.Very occasionally these treatments dont work as hoped in which case mechanical ventilation and a spell in ICU with continuation of the bronchodilator and steroid therapy IV is the last hope for resolution.
Asthma attacks do unfortunately continue to kill some individuals.The severity of the attack governs which ROA of the treatment meds is the most appropriate in any one case;if the attack is of moderate severity (or worse) then oral bronchodilators (including amphetamine-related compounds) would be wholly inadequate and too slow in effect to be of use.The physiological sympathetic-mediated stress of a severe attack would mean the diversion of blood flow away from the gut would retard absorption of meds across the gut significantly.