Causes of asthma

introduction

Bronchial asthma is a chronic disease associated with hypersensitivity of the airways. Various triggers lead to attack-like symptoms such as shortness of breath and coughing. There are numerous possible triggers that vary from patient to patient.

In asthma, a rough distinction is made between allergic asthma and non-allergic asthma. In many patients, however, there is a mixed form of both types.

These are the typical causes of an asthma attack

With bronchial asthma there is recurrent inflammation of the bronchi, i.e. part of the airways. This inflammation makes the bronchial mucosa overly sensitive and even small triggers can lead to an asthma attack. In such an asthma attack, a stimulus caused by the damage to the bronchial mucous membrane causes swelling and narrowing of the airways and increased mucus production.

The result is sudden shortness of breath and coughing with thick mucus. Numerous triggers can be the cause of such an acute asthma attack.

Typical triggers of allergic asthma are pollen, excrement from house dust mites, fungal spores or animal hair. Typical triggers for non-allergic asthma are exertion, infections and certain medications.

Here are the most common causes:

• Allergens / allergy

• effort

• cold

• Medication

• Chemical irritants

• Air pollutants such as exhaust gases

• Tobacco smoke

• Infections

• Gastroesophageal reflux

• stress

Allergens as the cause

Various allergens can trigger asthma attacks. Allergens are substances that are not dangerous in themselves, but to which the body reacts very sensitively with an excessive reaction of the immune system.

A typical example of an allergen that can trigger allergic asthma is pollen, for example. These can not only trigger the typical hay fever, but are also the cause of asthma attacks in some people.

Other allergens can, for example, occur particularly in certain work environments. These include allergens such as flour dust, wood dust, dyes and solvents. Animal hair and bird feathers can also be potential allergens.

Furthermore, allergens such as dust mite feces, mold spores and certain foods can trigger an asthma attack.

Read more on the subject here hay fever

Medicines as the cause

Various drugs can trigger what is known as drug-induced or drug-induced asthma. Most often, certain active ingredients from the group of painkillers are the cause. This is not an allergic reaction but an intolerance reaction.

The most common triggers of drug-induced asthma are drugs that contain acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as indomethacin, ibuprofen or diclofenac. Paracetamol, on the other hand, is usually well tolerated. Since certain painkillers (analgesics) in particular can trigger an asthma attack, it is also known as analgesic asthma.

In addition to this analgesic asthma, drugs from the group of beta blockers can also provoke an asthma attack. However, this has nothing to do with a hypersensitivity reaction. Rather, some beta blockers also act on receptors in the area of ​​the bronchi, where they narrow and can trigger an asthma attack.

Beta blockers should therefore not be used at all or only with caution in patients with known bronchial asthma.

Find out more about the topic here: Effect of beta blockers.

Stress as a cause

Basically, bronchial asthma cannot be triggered by stress alone. Rather, various non-psychological causes play a role in asthma. Which of these triggers an asthma attack in the end varies greatly from person to person.

However, it has been shown that in patients with known bronchial asthma, an increased level of stress can lead to faster asthma attacks.
A balanced psyche and the reduction of stress may therefore also play a role in coping with illness.
Whether and how much stress plays a role in the increased sensitivity to asthma attacks varies from person to person.

Find out more about this topic here: How can you reduce stress?

Cold / bronchitis as the cause

An upper respiratory tract infection, such as a cold or bronchitis, is one of the typical possible triggers of asthma attacks. Both infections caused by viruses and bacterial infections can trigger an asthma attack. Most frequently, however, viral pathogens trigger infections of the upper respiratory tract.

Under certain circumstances, an infection can even be the first trigger for an asthma attack so that the asthma manifests itself for the first time as part of an infection.

With asthma there is a chronic hypersensitivity of the airways. They are particularly sensitive to various stimuli. An infection that attacks the airways is exactly such a stimulus. This can lead to an excessive reaction with narrowing of the airways. This leads to the typical asthma attack with shortness of breath, coughing with increased mucus production and shortness of breath.

Find out more about the topic here bronchitis

Dust mites as the cause

The excrement of house dust mites is a typical trigger of the so-called house dust allergy. This shows up with symptoms such as watery, itchy eyes, runny nose, cough, increased sneezing and non-specific headaches.

In addition to the house dust allergy, the excrement of the house dust mites can also trigger asthma attacks. Bronchial asthma caused by house dust mites belongs to the subgroup of allergic asthma. The dust mite feces are therefore the allergen. It is not uncommon for an initially relatively harmless house dust allergy to develop into an allergic asthma.

More information on the topic House dust allergy you'll find here.

Mold as the cause

Mold spores are potential allergens and can trigger a mold allergy. This shows up with the typical allergy symptoms such as runny nose, tears and itchy eyes, increased sneezing and coughing. However, as allergens, the fungal spores can also trigger asthma attacks. This form of asthma then belongs to the subgroup of allergic asthma.

Find out more about the topic here Mold allergy

Mental and psychosomatic causes

As already mentioned above in the “Stress” chapter, stress or psychological stress alone is not a cause of bronchial asthma. Asthma is primarily a somatic, i.e. a physical and not psychological disease.

However, it is known that in known asthma, the body can react more quickly with an asthma attack when exposed to increased psychological stress.
There are still competing views as to whether bronchial asthma should be classified as a purely somatic or a psychosomatic illness. The most likely cause is a somatic (physically triggered) illness, which can be influenced both positively and negatively by psychosocial factors.

What happens if an acute attack of asthma occurs? Read the article on this Asthma attack