Anyone can experience asthma. It is one of the most chronic illnesses in the United States, affecting 1 in every 13 individuals. It affects people in different ways. Some people may have asthma symptoms constantly while others may get symptoms every few weeks but one thing is certain – having asthma can be very uncomfortable. During an asthma attack, your airway gets narrow making it hard for you to breathe. As a result, you get spasms of your muscles around the airways as well as inflammation and swelling of the mucosal membrane which leads to shortness of breath and/or coughing as your body tries to get rid of the mucus.
Causes of Asthma
If you have asthma or someone close to you has asthma, it is important that you know what triggers or causes asthma in order for you to avoid it. In doing so, you will experience fewer asthma attacks. So, what are these? Here is a list of common asthma triggers:
- Allergies
About 90% of children and about 50% of adults with asthma have allergies too. These people start experiencing symptoms of asthma when they inhale substances that they are allergic to. Allergens can be pollen, dust mites, molds, and animal dander.
- Exercise
Exercise is good for everyone, even for people with asthma. There are some individuals who experience asthma episodes when they exercise — this is called exercise-induced asthma. When we exercise, we run out of breath; thus, we tend to breathe deeper and faster to meet the oxygen demands of our body. Sometimes, we even breathe through our mouth, making the air we take in to be dryer and cooler. This dry and cool air causes bronchoconstriction or the narrowing of the airway passage, resulting in asthma attacks.
- Respiratory infection
Common colds, flu, pneumonia, and other respiratory conditions affect your lungs and may trigger your asthma. These respiratory infections cause inflammation and narrowing of the airway passages and trigger your asthma.
- Weather
Weather conditions, especially when it suddenly changes, definitely triggers asthma. Extreme weather conditions such as high humidity, cold temperature due to rain and thunderstorms, and high heat irritate the airways and increase the possibility of bad asthma flare-ups.
