Which condition is characterized by episodes of severe breathing difficulty and coughing?

The condition characterized by episodes of severe breathing difficulty and coughing is asthma. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that leads to recurrent breathing problems. During an asthma attack, the airways become narrowed due to inflammation and tightening of the muscles around the airways, resulting in difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing. These attacks can be triggered by various factors such as allergens, exercise, cold air, or respiratory infections.

Other conditions like pneumonia, bronchitis, and emphysema may involve coughing and breathing issues, but they typically present differently. Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs, which can cause symptoms like fever and productive cough rather than episodic attacks typically seen in asthma. Bronchitis involves inflammation of the bronchial tubes and often results in a persistent cough with mucus but is not characterized by the episodic breathing difficulties seen in asthma. Emphysema, which is a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), leads to progressive damage to lung tissue and is more associated with chronic rather than episodic symptoms. Hence, asthma is the condition most accurately described by the specified breathing difficulties and coughing episodes.