Asthma is a chronic condition that affects the airways of your lungs. Nearly 20 million people in the United States have this disease. The onset of your symptoms may be slow or rapid, and may happen occasionally or every day. Asthma occurs when an allergen triggers a hyper-reactive response, causing the muscles around the airways to tighten, followed by an inflammatory response that causes mucus production and swelling of the airway's lining. Your asthma can't be cured, but it can be managed.

Asthma Triggers  |  Symptoms  |  Treatment  |  When to Call a Doctor  |  Videos  |  More Health Information

Asthma Triggers

Many different things can trigger your asthma symptoms. Each person with asthma has her own set of inducers. These triggers may include:

• Allergens such as dust mites, molds, pollen or animal dander.
• Irritants such as smoke from cigarettes or wood, and air pollution.
• Bacterial and viral infections - Viral infections, such as a flu or cold trigger symptoms more often than bacterial infections, such as strep throat or sinus infections.
• Sulfites - This preservative is found in many foods and beverages, including dried fruit and wine.
• Exercise - Aerobic exercise can cause episodes, especially those that involve continuous movement over a long period in cold, dry air.
• Beta-blockers, aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) act as triggers in a small percentage of people with asthma.
• Emotions such as stress, fear and excitement may trigger asthma in some people.

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Symptoms

Severity of asthma symptoms varies from person to person. While most that have asthma develop their first symptoms while still young, anyone can develop asthma at any time. Asthma symptoms can include:

• Wheezing
• Rapid breathing
• Shortness of breath
• Coughing
• A feeling of tightness in the chest
• Rapid heart rate and sweating

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Treatment

Asthma treatment may include avoiding triggers, taking medications to control symptoms and monitoring air flow by a peak flow meter. Treatment is tailored to the severity of your asthma. A good management plan should be able to reduce the severity and frequency of your asthma symptoms and prevent unscheduled visits to a clinic or emergency room.
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When to Call a Doctor

Call the doctor if you have symptoms such as:

• Trouble breathing, even after you've taken your medications or you have shortness of breath combined with tightness in the chest and wheezing
• Persistent, dry hacking cough
• Yellow, green, gray or bloody sputum, or thick sputum that you can't cough up
• Itching, swelling, rash or difficulty breathing, which may be caused by a reaction to your medication

Call 911 for symptoms such as sweating and severe difficulty breathing, which may be combined with pale or blue lips and fast heart rate and anxiety.


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Videos

• Hear from two Sutter Health experts about asthma triggers and managing children's asthma
• Hidden allergy triggers in your home
• Video Libary

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More Health Information

Health Library | All about asthma
Health Library | Asthma in children

kids.sutterhealth.org | Parents guide to asthma
kids.sutterhealth.org | Download and print an asthma action plan




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