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What is the cause of asthma?

The Difference Between Causes And Triggers

It’s very important not to get confused between the two as they are very different.

A cause is the original underlying reason. A trigger is simply an environmental factor that can activate asthmatic symptoms. Now that we know this, let’s take a closer look.

Cause Of Asthma

The simple truth is that nobody knows exactly what causes asthma in the first place or why cases are rising all the time. But if we look around us and look at the data then we can see some trends.

First of all, cases have shot up in recent years. 30 years ago when I was at school, perhaps 10% of kids had asthma at most. Those kids who carried inhalers were a bit of a novelty.

Today, we see in some schools that nearly 50% of kids have asthma. Why is this? What has changed over the last 30 years?

One possible reason is the increase in hygiene. Standards of hygiene and cleanliness have increased even in the last 30 years. Kids are no longer exposed to the same variety of germs in childhood that they once were. They may be missing key parts of immunity that older and non-asthmatic people take for granted.

There are also genetic reasons – asthma can be passed on to your children but this is not guaranteed. Clearly, genetics have not changed recently but standards of hygiene may be responsible for ensuring asthma in some kids who might otherwise not have gotten it.

Triggers Of Asthma

The other reason for more asthma cases are the high levels of pollution. Although in the western world there is less exposure to factory emmissions due to legislation, other forms of pollution, particularly from vehicles, have continued to increase.

Also, the types of emmissions have changed. Pollution was once always of the black, sooty variety but these days much pollution is invisible to the naked eye and particles can measure less than one thousandth of an inch.

These environmental factors do not in themselves cause the condition of asthma but they seem to have helped to activate it in those people who are predisposed to asthma.

Other Unknowns

There are also many other unknowns. Not only have we seen an increase in asthma but there has also been an increase in other allergy related conditions such as hayfever.

It is so difficult to isolate and test any one particular thing in our diets or our environment that it is simply impossible to know currently what is causing all these increased cases.

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Asthma treatments have come a long way in the past few decades that most people can manage this respiratory condition safely and effectively whereas in the old days it used to be a life threatening disease for many.

There are a variety of drug medications that someone with asthma can take. For instance, inhaled corticosteroids or ICSs are used to reduce the inflammation associated with long term asthma. These are also called controllers. Drugs are being developed all the time and trialled to decide whether they are improvements to current medications or not.

These ICSs come in two different forms: either a spray (aerosol) or in dry powder form. Some people also use a spacer device on their inhaler which can help with getting the full dose of the drug. Eventually this is not needed once the inhaling procedure has been mastered.

By reducing the inflammation in the bronchi (airways) they prevent them from narrowing which gives rise to the wheezing of an asthma attack. When trialled against a placebo, there is no better drug that ICS at this present time.

Beta antagonists are used to treat short term symptoms and asthma attacks and bring them quickly under control. These are also known as relievers. These types of asthma treatments are not long term cures and are intended for emergency use. They will act instantly to relieve the airways but will not reduce the long term inflammation which is the cause of asthma. Example relievers include Asmol, Airomir, Cricanyl, Epaq and Ventolin.

A natural remedy for asthma is turmeric. It is advised to take a teaspoon of this two or three times daily mixed with a liquid for easy consumption.

Prevention is also better than cure and it is advised that people with asthma should stay away from tobacco smoke and air pollution.