Underlying Cause Of Asthma
Asthma is considered a type of auto-immune disorder which affects the respiratory system. In most people, asthma begins in early childhood, though there are cases where it begins later in life. Though there are many theories as to the cause, there is not one thing in particular that will definitely give a person asthma.
It is not contagious, and cannot be transmitted from one person to another through casual contact. Rather, the roots of asthma seem to be based a lot on heredity. When there is a tendency towards asthma in a particular family, certain environmental factors can trigger signs of asthma.
Asthma in children under the age of two is usually diagnosed as reactive airway disease. Essentially, the signs of asthma are present, but doctors don’t like to diagnose children under two with asthma as they frequently outgrow the illness. If the signs of asthma persist past the age of two, a diagnosis of asthma will most likely be made.
Heredity is a key role in what causes asthma. People who have a history of asthma are more likely to have children with asthma than those who don’t. Merely having a gene for asthma doesn’t necessarily mean a child will have asthma, either. There are a lot of environmental factors to consider as well.
A child who has the gene for asthma and who is in a home with somebody who smokes is more likely to develop asthma. 11% of the children diagnosed with asthma under the age of 6 are exposed to second-hand smoke on a regular basis. Allergies also play a large role in developing asthma. Asthma and allergies seem to go hand in hand. It is very common, then, for a younger child with different types of seasonal allergies or pet allergies to develop signs of asthma when they are exposed regularly to the allergens.
Signs of asthma include a frequent, dry, non-productive cough, tightness in the chest, and wheezing. It can be caused by a variety of factors. In many people, exercise induces signs of asthma. In exercise-induced asthma, the airways constrict as increased blood flow reaches the lungs from physical activity.
People suffering from exercise-induced asthma may start off coughing, and then end up feeling as if there is a squeezing in their chest and they can’t breathe. People who suffer from exercise-induced asthma frequently need to take preventive medications daily in order to keep the signs of asthma under control. They will also often have a rescue inhaler for emergency situations in which the asthma symptoms flare up anyways. In most cases, a person with exercise induced asthma will begin to feel better fairly quickly once the heart rate returns to normal and they receive a dose of medication from a rescue inhaler.
For people who show signs of asthma due to environmental factors, they are often treated with allergy medications, as well as a regular controller medication and a rescue inhaler. People who suffer from environmental triggers of asthma will also exhibit a dry, unproductive cough, as well as a tightness in the chest and difficulty breathing. People who have signs of asthma from environmental triggers often will not get better after removing the allergen.
Frequently, the allergen causes a reaction in the immune system, which makes the signs of asthma persist. These cases will often lead to severe lung infections. These patients also frequently require breathing treatments and oral steroids, as well as strong antibiotics to recover. The environmental induced asthma can often lead to more serious infections, and regular colds, flus, or seasonal allergies can have severe consequences.
The signs of asthma are often outgrown. People who are diagnosed with asthma as young children will often grow out of their symptoms and require little to no treatment after they reach puberty. For others, the signs of asthma end up being a lifelong battle to keep their illness under control.
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