What Is Asthma?
No one really knows what causes asthma. What we do know is that asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. The causes can vary from person to person. Still, one thing is consistent: When airways come into contact with a trigger, they become inflamed, narrow, and fill with mucus.
How Asthma Attacks Happen
When you have an asthma attack, your airways narrow and it gets hard to breathe. This can result from spasms of the muscles around the airways, inflammation and swelling of the mucosal membrane that lines them, or high amounts of mucus inside them. You might have shortness of breath, wheeze or cough as your body tries to get rid of mucus.
Why do you have asthma and your friend doesn't? No one knows for sure. Allergies play a role for many people, as do genetics.
If you or a loved one has asthma, it's important to understand what your triggers are. Once you figure that out, you can take steps to avoid them. As a result, you'll have fewer and less severe asthma attacks.
Common Asthma Triggers
Some known triggers of asthma attacks include:
- Allergies
- Food and food additives
- Exercise
- Heartburn (GERD)
- Smoking
- Sinusitis and respiratory infections
- Medications
- Weather conditions
Allergies and Asthma
Allergies play a significant role in triggering asthma attacks. When exposed to allergens like pollen, dust mites, pet dander, or mold, your airways may become inflamed and narrow. Identifying and avoiding your specific allergens is an important part of managing asthma.
Food and Food Additives
Food allergies can cause mild to severe reactions. While they rarely cause asthma without other symptoms, if you have food allergies, asthma can be part of a severe, life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis.
The most common foods associated with allergic symptoms are:
- Eggs
- Cow's milk
- Peanuts
- Tree nuts
- Soy
- Wheat
- Fish
- Shrimp and other shellfish
Food preservatives can also trigger isolated asthma, especially sulfite additives like sodium bisulfite and potassium metabisulfite, which are commonly used in food processing.
Exercise-Induced Asthma
For about 80% of people with asthma, a heavy workout can cause airways to narrow. Exercise is often the main asthma trigger. If you have exercise-induced asthma, you will feel chest tightness, cough, and have trouble breathing within the first 5 to 15 minutes of an aerobic workout.
For most people, these symptoms go away in the next 30 to 60 minutes of exercise. But up to 50% of people with exercise-induced asthma may have another attack 6 to 10 hours later. A slow warm-up may help prevent this.
If you have severe asthma and you're not active now, talk to your doctor first about how to track your breathing and choose the right activities. When it's winter, avoid exercising outdoors in very cold weather because the exposure could trigger asthma.
Heartburn and Asthma
Severe heartburn and asthma often go hand-in-hand. Up to 89% of people with asthma also have severe heartburn, known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). It usually happens at night when you're lying down.
Normally, a valve prevents stomach acids from backing up into your esophagus. When you have GERD, this valve doesn't work like it should. Your stomach acids reflux, or back up, into the esophagus. If the acids reach your throat or airways, the irritation and inflammation they cause could trigger an asthma attack.
Clues that suggest reflux as the cause of asthma include the start of asthma in adulthood, no family history of asthma, no history of allergies or bronchitis, difficult-to-control asthma, or coughing while lying down.
Smoking and Asthma
People who smoke cigarettes are more likely to get asthma. If you smoke with asthma, it may make symptoms like coughing and wheezing worse. Women who smoke during pregnancy raise the risk of wheezing in their babies.
Babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy also have worse lung function. If you have asthma and you're a smoker, quitting is the most important step you can take to protect your lungs.
Sinusitis and Respiratory Infections
Much like asthma causes inflammation in the lining of your airways, sinusitis causes inflammation in the mucus membranes that line your sinuses. This makes the membranes put out more mucus. If you have asthma and your sinuses get inflamed, your airways may too.
Cold, flu, bronchitis, and sinus infections can cause an asthma attack. These respiratory infections that trigger asthma can be viral or bacterial. They're a common cause of asthma, especially in children under age 10. You may be more likely to have an attack for up to 2 months after an upper respiratory infection.
Medications and Asthma
Many people with asthma are sensitive to certain medications that can trigger an asthma attack. If you have asthma, you need to be aware of what other medications may be triggers.
Aspirin and NSAIDs: About 10% to 20% of people with asthma have sensitivity to aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen. Asthma attacks caused by these medications can be severe and even fatal. Products with acetaminophen are generally considered safer, but always discuss with your doctor.
Beta-blockers: These medications used to treat heart conditions, high blood pressure, and migraines can trigger asthma symptoms. Inform all your healthcare providers that you have asthma.
ACE Inhibitors: These medications used to treat heart disease and high blood pressure can cause coughs in about 10% of patients who use them. This can be confused with asthma or trigger wheeze and chest tightness in people with unstable airways.
Managing Your Asthma
The best approach to managing asthma is identifying your specific triggers and taking steps to avoid them. Work with your doctor to:
- Create an asthma action plan
- Identify your personal triggers
- Use prescribed medications correctly
- Monitor your symptoms regularly
- Avoid known triggers when possible
- Keep emergency medications on hand
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.