Causes and Triggers Associated with Asthma - What causes asthma and asthma trigger factors

It is important to understand the difference between a cause and a trigger. A cause is something that an effect requires. So the cause is the underlying reason that anyone ever gets asthma.

A trigger is a less pertinent detail that will spark the beginning of an asthma attack. Triggers include allergens. Irritants among asthma patients include pet dander, dust, chemicals in the food they eat, air pollutants and dust mites. 

An asthma patient has particularly sensitive air passages, or airways, resulting in difficult breathing for the patient when these air passages are irritated from an introduced substance or atmospheric change.

Because asthma is considered a chronic illness, treatment regimens for patients must be followed accordingly in order to reduce the affects and ongoing health problems that can result from mismanagement of the condition.

A trigger is nothing more than a small scale cause. If an asthma patient is allergic to dog, and they have an allergy attack that starts an asthma attack, the allergy is said to have triggered the asthma attack. However, if a cure was discovered for dog allergies the patient would still be asthmatic. Thus, removing the dog allergy does not remove the asthma. Therefore the dog allergy did not cause the asthma, it merely triggered the attack.

Another common trigger besides for allergies in asthma sufferers is rapid changes in the temperature that an asthmatic is breathing – or extreme temperature exposure in general whether the exposure happened rapidly or not.  This is therefore another trigger of asthma attacks.

The cause of asthma is believed to be genetic. Thus, regardless of what you are to exposed to or not exposed to, if you have the genes for asthma you may begin having attacks at any point. If you do not have the correct genetics for asthma, generally no amount of exposure to any sorts of irritants is going to cause you to develop asthma.

The recommendation to patients suffering from asthma is that they avoid exposure to those things that irritate or trigger their asthma. There is no true way to avoid genetics, otherwise it would surely be recommended as well.

Long-term preventative medications are given to a patient in the hopes that they will minimize the susceptibility to irritants, one of the leading causes of asthma attacks. In addition to these medications, asthma patients must avoid exposure to those irritants that tend to start their flare-ups.

Causes of Asthma

A person with asthma has likely inherited genetics which increase the likelihood of a person getting asthma.  An asthma patient has very sensitive airways, resulting in difficult breathing for the patient when these air passages are irritated from an introduced substance or atmospheric change. Thus a combination of genetics and allergens in the atmosphere can be named as causes for asthma.

Another suspected cause associated with asthma is maternal-smoking during pregnancy. Studies have proven that there seems to be a link between the action of a pregnant mother smoking and the development of asthma within their baby, either as a infant or an older child. This is becoming less common as women are making serious efforts to stop smoking when they become pregnant.

Asthma symptoms result from one or more of the following: extra mucous in the patient’s airway, swelling in the tissue of the airways as a result of introduced irritants and muscle spasms in the air passages as a result or one or both of the first causes listed. However, these causes are different than the overall cause of asthma. These causes are mini-causes, or triggers.

Asthma Trigger Factors - List of Asthma Triggers

A newly diagnosed asthma patient should review this list in order to determine if they are sensitive to or have been exposed to any of the following common asthma triggers:

Allergens

1. Pet dander – this comes from the skin, hair, or feathers of domestic and other animals, such as cats, dogs, etc.
2. Dust mites (present in house dust)
3. Trees, flower or grass Pollen
4. Mold
5. Cockroaches

Irritants

1. Extreme temperatures
2. Air pollution
3. Weather Changes
4. Strong painting odors or cooking odors
5. Scented air fresheners or strong perfume scents
6. Irritants or allergens in the workplace

Other Known Triggers

Irritants in asthma inhalers - This is commonly overlooked as an irritant to asthma sufferers. But, some powder inhalers will result in chest tightness.  Pressurized inhalers require some type of lubricant and this can cause irritation of air passages, and may trigger an asthma attack.

Rapid Breathing – if an asthma patient is in a situation where they are breathing heavily, it may trigger the start of an asthma attack. Common instances of heavy breathing include not only exercising, but also the breathing tests required for the diagnosis of asthma.

Histamine or Methacholine aerosols - These substances are frequently used by physicians when performing testing in order to diagnose asthma or even to diagnose the severity of asthma in a patient. The aerosols are delivered via a very fine inhaled mist, and   are used to analyze the irritability of patient’s lungs. In asthma they are more irritable than normal.  The release of histamine from the cells in the lungs occurs when a patient experiences either an allergic or asthmatic reaction. The reason that Methacholine is used is that it is very similar to and provides the same effects as a substance (acetylcholine) released by the lung during an asthma attack.  Either substance can possibly result in asthma attack when a patient inhales a specific quantity of the chemical. Patients with asthma will experience an attack when exposed to a smaller amount than that required to induce an attack in a non-asthma patient. Testing of this type enables the physician to obtain measurements of the amount of irritation present in a person’s airway. This information, when known for a patient can prove very useful.

Beta blockers - commonly used in the treatment of high blood pressure and heart disease.

Painkillers - including aspirin.

Acid Reflux – see the section on Acid Reflux for additional information on the effects of Acid Reflux, or GERD when present in an asthma patient.

Influenza or other viral infections in the upper respiratory tract.

Highly charged emotions or large amounts of stress.

Asthma Guide

• Asthma Information
• Symptoms of Asthma
• Asthma Treatment
• Controlling an Asthma Attack
• Asthma and Allergy
• Vocal Cord Dysfunction
• Acid Reflux and Asthma
• Asthma Causes and Triggers
• Asthma and Pregnancy

• Asthma Medications and Pregnancy
• Exercise Induced Asthma
• Asthma and Exercise
• Occupational Asthma
• Peak Flow Meters
• Asthma Diagnosis
• Asthma Statistics
• Asthma and Altitude
• Living with Asthma