Causes Of Asthma: Know Asthma Causes To Alleviate Symptoms
It is estimated that 25 million Americans have asthma. But what are the causes of asthma because if we can figure that out, hopefully we can cure it, or prevent passing it on to our children?
| The good news is that asthma isn't contagious - it isn't like the current scare over the Bird Flu that you might catch in a subway, movie theater or restaurant. It's not surprising to learn that the single biggest "cause" of asthma is exposure to smoking. Smokers are more likely to develop it as well as their children, who inhale the second-hand smoke and are equally high risk. Obviously, the first thing to do is to quit smoking. No news bulletin there. The good news is that asthma isn't contagious - |
it isn't like the current scare over the Bird Flu that you might catch in a subway, movie theater or restaurant.
It's not surprising to learn that the single biggest "cause" of asthma is exposure to smoking. Smokers are more likely to develop it as well as their children, who inhale the second-hand smoke and are equally high risk. Obviously, the first thing to do is to quit smoking. No news bulletin there.
Inhaling vapors, dusts, chemical clouds, some smells - even chalk dust in schools - and other kinds of noxious fumes may or may not cause asthma, but they certainly aggravate it. People who might live their entire lives with asthma dormant in their bodies will have their first outbreak due to causes like these.
In children, allergies are almost always the cause of asthma. Here are some causes of asthma outbreaks:
1. Cats
2. Dogs
3. Molds
4. Spores
5. Dust mites
Citizens of third world countries don't suffer from allergies nearly as much as those who live in the richer countries or those who live in rural areas. Nor are there as many allergies. And allergy and asthma is on the increase worldwide.
This seems to suggest that asthma is caused by our environments, and most likely chemicals and other sophisticated elements that don't exist in cultures that are closer to nature. This also raises the intriguing possibility that allergies and asthma can be eliminated or at least reduced in severity if we exert more control over our environments. In fact, there is more and more evidence that these are environmental diseases, although some people apparently inherit a genetic tendency toward this weakness.
Sometimes it's easy to eliminate the allergic-asthmatic cause. For instance, if the sufferer works in a particular factory, changing jobs may relieve or eliminate the problem entirely.
Or even though it can be heart-rending, giving away a pet might smooth out the breathing of a child or even an adult.
The single biggest cause of allergies, however, are dust mites and that isn't as easily conquered. However, even there, some strategies can be employed. For instance:
* Use air filters, fresheners and ionizers
* Keep the air ducts in your home very clean
* Eliminate some chemicals entirely from the household
* Some substances are breeding ground for germs, mites and the like. For instance, some sufferers are relieved when carpet is removed from the house and tile and wood floors are left uncovered.
Unearthing the causes of asthma for a particular person or family is much like playing Sherlock Holmes. By eliminating causes one by one, each patient just may be able to uncover the sources, or at least triggers, that bring on the miserable attacks.
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