Common Asthma Triggers
Till a few decades ago, asthma only inflicted adults. Now, with increasing air pollution, children are also falling prey to this breathing ailment. Why asthma occurs is a difficult question to answer as there are numerous triggers. Various things can react in a person’s body and lead to wheezing attacks. The causes for asthma differ from person to person and cannot be generalized for all. An asthma attack is largely an allergic reaction to something, which causes the bronchial tubes to swell up.
The only way to figure out asthma triggers for a person is to identify possible causes by a process of elimination. Whenever an asthma attack happens, a list of food eaten, activities done or places visited should be noted down so that a comparison can be done during the next asthma attack. Over the course of time, it will be easy to identify the asthma trigger, and that particular food item, activity, or environment can be avoided. Some of the popular triggers are:
Air-conditioned Confinement
Many people are allergic to air-conditioning as this process of cooling circulates ‘used air’. Further, going in and out of an air-conditioned room leads to allergic sneezing that aggravates the wheezing.
Pollen
Asthma can be triggered off by pollen. Certain types of pollen or wild plants can cause breathing problems.
Dust Mites
Dust mites are a form of bacteria that are minuscule and not really visible to the naked eye. Dust settles on mattresses and pillows and the mites enter this bedding. These mites then cause wheezing in a person.
Food Allergies
Certain food items like milk, eggs, seafood and nuts can cause allergies in people. The allergies may be manifest through allergic rashes or obstructive breathing.
Dampness
Excessive moisture and dampness indoors can also trigger breathing issues. Rooms that have been closed for a long time can have a certain level of dampness that can cause wheezing.
