The causes of Asthma are many, vary from person to person and each person's experience is unique. The various triggers or stimuli can be one of the following or a combination of:
• Allergy to house dust mites (thought to affect around 75 percent of asthma sufferers)
• Exposure to smoke, fumes and/or chemicals
• Stress, Anxiety or Emotions (even laughter or excitement)
Asthma affects people of all ages, but is particularly common in children. In children under the age of ten it affects twice as many boys as girls.
Asthma is considered to be a lung disease or a disease of the air tubes and is the most serious and most complex of all the allergic disorders which can be life-threatening. During an attack the bronchial tubes get narrower because the smooth muscles get tight, the inside wall of the tubes swell up and the glands under the lining of the tubes produce more mucus than usual which clogs the breathing tubes and further interferes with the flow or air in and out of the lungs. The symptoms are basically sudden attacks of shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing, audible wheezing, coughing and the chest feels tight.
The right general approach will need to be taken into consideration to control ones asthma, identifying and eliminating triggers and drawing up a Management Plan.
• Sleeping through the night without being awakened by coughing or wheezing
• Being able to exercise as much as a person without asthma
• Not missing school or work days due to asthma
• Not having to go into hospital
• Being able to do the things you want to do without asthma getting in the way
In the past it was thought that Asthma was psychosomatic but is now looked on as a real medical problem, however, too much stress can make a person suffering with Asthma worse. Psychological factors do not cause Asthma, but rather can induce symptoms for person who already has the predisposit...