An allergy is a condition in which your body’s immune system responds to a foreign substance like food, pollen, dust, chemicals, and other allergens in an abnormal way. The body responds this way only to items to which it has become hypersensitive. There are several types of allergies, and the reactions of your body can be mild to life-threatening.
Asthma is a condition of your airways in which they become narrow or swollen, blocking your breathing. This could sometimes act as a mild nuisance but, at other times, lead to life-threatening situations. Asthma can be managed and controlled using inhalers.
Here are some of the causes of asthma and allergies.
Asthma
Causes
There are different factors that contribute to this condition. They are:
- Genetics -You can inherit this condition and you’re more likely to get it if your parent or sibling already has it.
- Past viral infections – If you’ve had a serious viral infection as a child, there are chances for you to develop asthma.
- Hygiene hypothesis is a theory that states that when a person wasn’t exposed to enough bacteria as a child, their immune system doesn’t develop as much as it should. This allows the body to contract different diseases, allergies, and conditions which include asthma.
- Smoking during pregnancy can cause the baby to develop asthma after birth.
Triggers
Unlike the main cause of the condition, triggers are a set of substances or factors that activate the condition. You can manage these attacks by keeping the triggers under control.
The common triggers of asthma are:
- Obesity can worsen symptoms of asthma and the severity of the attacks.
- Allergies can cause adverse reactions in the body but can be worsened if a person already has asthma.
- Asthma weakens the lungs during every attack. Smoking cigarettes can trigger asthma symptoms and cause further damage to the lungs.
- Environmental factors like air pollution, animal hair, and dust particles can affect the development of asthma.
- Heavily felt emotions and their resulting actions such as happiness, sadness, laughter, crying, excitement, anger, etc., can trigger asthma attacks.
Allergy
Causes
- When an allergic reaction occurs, particles of the allergens bind themselves to the antibodies called immunoglobin E.
- Once this happens, the body releases chemicals that can trigger an allergic reaction.
- One of these chemicals is called histamine. This chemical causes the airways and blood vessels to tighten.
Triggers
Triggers of allergies depend on which substance a person is allergic to. Common allergens are:
- Food items like eggs, dairy products, peanuts, seafood, wheat, sounds, and tree nuts.
- Animal allergens like pet hair, dander, animal saliva, slim flakes, etc.
- Medication such as aspirin and penicillin
- Bites and stings from insects
- Insects such as cockroaches, moths, and midges
- Pollen
- Chemicals and irritants with a strong odor
- Certain metals such as cobalt, zinc, and chromium
- Latex and products made from it, such as gloves and condoms
