Asthma and Allergy
Read about Asthma and
Allergy presented in simple easy to understand
language
Asthma is one of the most common forms of
chronic diseases among the human species. The worst part is that an
asthma attack can occur at any time with the least amount of pre
attacks symptoms. Asthma attacks are one of the major problems with
people suffering from asthma. In most of the asthma attack cases the
attack is triggered by an allergy. In fact in 90% of the cases it
has been triggered by some kind of allergy. About 70% of people
under 30 with asthma and 50% of those over 30 with asthma also have
allergies. The probability increases with the increase in age.
Triggers can be caused by two primary
categories of triggers
1. Allergens: Something
that causes an allergic reaction in some people, but not others.
Indoor allergens include dust mites, cockroach debris, pet dander,
and mold.
2. Irritants: Irritants
are substances that irritate the respiratory tract and include
tobacco smoke and paint fumes.
Things like tobacco, smoke and paint irritants can be taken care of
by taking proper precautions. But the most major case of allergen is
pollens of plants. Around 70% of allergen induced asthma is due to
pollens.
The types of pollen that most commonly cause allergic reactions are
produced by the non flowering plants like trees, grasses, and weeds
that do not have showy flowers to attract insect. These plants
manufacture small, light, dry pollen granules that are custom-made
for wind transport
The problem with pollen allergy is that it simply cannot be
prevented. You can protect yourself from foods, drugs, or animals
that cause allergies but how can you protect yourselves from the
air. Also people with pollen allergies tend to develop sensitivities
to other trouble makers such as dusk mites.
The main factor that determines whether pollen causes allergy is its
chemical makeup. For example although the pine tree produces the
largest number of pollens however the chemical composition of pine
pollen, appears to make it less allergenic than other types hence
its probability to cause allergy is less.
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