6 Surprising Asthma Triggers

Chances are, you know someone with asthma — after all, about one in 12 people in the U.S. has the condition. Having asthma means to have airways that are inflamed, which makes them particularly sensitive to substances ranging from pollution to dust. Exposure to an asthma trigger can cause the narrowing and swelling of the airways, as well as increased production of mucus, making it very difficult to breathe. When these asthma symptoms are particularly intense, that’s called an asthma attack — and knowing what exactly triggers these attacks is vital for people with the respiratory condition.

Some asthma triggers are more commonly known than others. Secondhand smoke is an obvious one, as is mold.

Mice
While it is common knowledge in the asthma world that pets can trigger an asthma attack, other animals can be culprits, too — such as mice. It is a rather common allergen, especially in the cities.

Stinkbugs
It’s hard to say many people find stinkbugs to be generally appealing to begin with. They really penetrate homes when the weather cools down.  Stinkbugs can be found in most states, including New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the Carolinas, Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio. Plus, dead stinkbugs in the home could even attract mice, a distressing double-whammy for people with asthma.

Ladybugs
Ladybugs are certainly cuter than stinkbugs, but they can be just as harmful to people with asthma. Asian lady beetles in particular, penetrate homes in the fall and their body parts decompose. That allergen, the dust from their body parts, is pretty strong.

The Highway
Sure, cars and highways are pretty hard to avoid in this day and age. But unfortunately for people with asthma, close proximity to a highway can spell trouble. The emissions of cars can not only increase the risk of asthma, but also increase the severity of asthma. Running along a highway is a bad idea too.  It is probably not a good idea for anybody, but that’s especially true for people with asthma.

Rhinovirus
Getting a cold is an annoyance for anyone, but for people with asthma, it can be life-threatening. That’s because rhinoviruses — the main cause of the common cold — can also induce asthma attacks.  Allergens can trigger asthma attacks, but usually it is not as severe as that associated with the rhinovirus.

The flu can also pose a danger to people with asthma, which is why people with asthma should make sure they get their flu vaccine because the flu can also trigger asthma attacks. People with asthma — and all people, really — should avoid the cold and the flu by practicing proper hand-washing hygiene.

Obesity
Overweight and obesity is known to be linked to a plethora of other health issues, and one of those is asthma. For middle-aged women and, increasingly, kids, obesity may predispose them to increased risk of allergic diseases as well as increased risks of asthma and severe asthma. This is troubling particularly at a time when 17% of children are obese according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Help teach your patients to avoid these and many other asthma triggers to help them control their asthma. Incorporating spirometry into your practice can only help your patients to be even healthier asthmatics.  Join us in creating a better diagnosed and treated patient today.

For more information about our Gold Standard Pulmonary Function Test—Spirometry, visit us at www.mdspiro.com.

References:
https://mdspiro.com/spirometry
https://mdspiro.com/for-your-practice 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/13/asthma-triggers_n_5537568.html
http://www.aaaai.org/about-the-aaaai/newsroom/asthma-statistics.aspx
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/asthma/ 
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/stinkbug/faq.asp 
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/common_cold_causes
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html