Causes of Asthma

1. Allergy

Asthma is prominently an allergic disorder. Allergy is an abnormal reaction of the body to a normally harmless substance. Substances like pollens of flowers, spores of fungi, house dust, eggs, fish, wheat, nickel, chromium or milk are harmless to most people, except those who are allergic to them. These are called allergens. The body opposes such an allergen or antigen by producing antibodies.

When the offending allergen and antibodies react, substances like histamine and serotonin are released into the blood stream. These released substances give rise to various manifestations of allergy like spasm (involuntary contraction) of the muscles of lung airways in case of asthma and other types of symptoms in other cases.

2. Heredity

The hereditary factor in Asthma is well recongnized for the disease frequently appears to be passed on from one generation to another within a family. Even where no positive family history of asthma is detected, there is often a family tendency to some other allergic disorder. Infact what is inherited is allergy and not a particular manifestation of allergy. Aparent may have asthma and amongst his sons, one may have eczema and the other sneezing. Similarly a person may have eczema in childhood, develop sneezing when he grows up and then may contract asthma. Asthma, seasonal or perennial sneezing, urticaria (swelling and redness of skin) and eczema are many and different manifestations of one condition called allergy. About 50% of asthma patients give a family history of either asthma or some other from of allergy.

3. Psychological Causes

Psychological factors are well recognized in the onset of Asthma. At the psychological levels, suppression of negative emotions such as jealousy, anger, resentment and hatred is often a precipitating cause, as are loneliness, longing for affection, emotional hypersensitivity, fear of rejection and hesitation in life.

Generally the asthmatic is one who has undergone some from of painful rejection or loss early in life which he has been unable to accept subconsciously, even if his conscious mind has come to terms with it.The sufferer feels he is all alone without anyone to depend on, fighting for his very existence as symbolized by his elusive breath.

4. Infection

Infection makes an allergy prone individual getting symptoms of allergy. A preexisting sensitivity to specific allergen may become manifest in the presence of infection.

5.Climate

Asthma can also arise during changing climatic condition and incidence of attacks is higher in the winter and rainy season in the tropics. The reason is that when cold air strikes yours lungs. it constricts the tiny blood vessels which must extract oxygen from the air you breath. The result is reduced oxygen . This is taxing on your bronchial respiratory tubes and your heart, too

Similarly in humid atmosphere, the amount of water vapour in the air is greatly increased. It lowers the pressure of oxygen in the air which reduces the diffusion of oxygen in the blood for more respiratory effort to bring in the same oxygen in the body.

6. High Altitude

Going to higher altitudes also becomes the problem for Asthmatic patients. At high altitudes, the atomospheric pressure decreases and concentration of oxygen in the air also reduces resulting in reduced diffusion of oxygen in the body and calling for more respiratory efforts.

7. Diet and Life Style

Unhealthy diet and lifestyle also play a role in the genesis of asthma. A low residue, mucus producing diet consisting of excessive refined carbohydrate products like bread and cakes, ghee and oily preparations, milk and milk products is the common culprit. Besides producing mucous, this diet is excessively taxing on the asthmatic ' s preweakened digestive processes.

Asthma problem can aggravate in those types of occupation and places which are full of pollution, dirt and those allergens which a person is allergic to.

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