Millions of Americans (many of them children and young adults) suffer from debilitating asthma symptoms every day: coughing, wheezing, inability to sleep through the night, and shortness of breath sometimes so severe as to be life-threatening. The incidence of allergic asthma is especially high in certain parts of the country, such as Georgia and Tennessee; in Chattanooga, RUSH immunology is often considered for some patients. But what exactly causes asthma? What triggers the attacks?

hereditary atopy

Atopy is a predisposition to the development of allergic sensitivities and is believed to have a genetic component. Similarly, there is an allergic component to asthma that is believed to be genetically transmitted. In other words, if one or both of your parents suffered from asthma, the chances that you are susceptible to it are increased.

Allergic reactions

An allergic sensitivity obviously does not have to be inherited. These are just a few of the airborne allergens known to trigger asthma attacks: animal dander, dust mites, cockroach particles, mold, grasses, and pollens. There are also ingested allergens that are often linked to asthma attacks, including: ASA, nuts, shrimp, and some food and beverage preservatives. A patient’s susceptibility to various allergic triggers can often be suppressed by the use of allergy injections (effectiveness is not universal for all allergens, but can be quite effective for some).

Respiratory Infections in Childhood

Respiratory infections in early childhood, as well as childhood exposure to airborne allergens, are thought to increase a person’s predisposition to developing asthma later in life. On the other hand, some have proposed what is known as the hygiene hypothesis, which suggests that our overly hygienic environments in which our children grow up fail to expose them enough to some infectious agents and allergens to promote the development of robust immune responses . . It is suggested that these underdeveloped immune systems are less able to mount appropriate responses to these infectious agents and allergens later on.

Some physical stimuli

For some asthma sufferers, their attacks can be triggered by purely physical stimuli such as laughing, crying, yelling, vigorous exercise, or even exposure to cold air.

What’s crucial if you or someone you know is suffering from asthma symptoms is to get checked out by a certified allergy/asthma clinic. The experts there should be able to get to the root cause of your symptoms and recommend an appropriate course of treatment.