The causes of asthma are many and can have an “individual” nature, due to a genetic predisposition or an “environmental” origin due to contact with substances present in the environment which can act as triggering factors
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Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases and is present worldwide. It is a complex disease that manifests itself through chronic inflammation of the airways. The inflammation generates an increase in bronchial responsiveness which, in turn, causes recurring episodes of respiratory crises, or asthma attacks, which involve wheezing, chest tightness and coughing. During attacks, which can be sudden or gradual, symptoms and respiratory function worsen. The most frequent symptoms of the disease are respiratory problems and crises, coughing, especially at night, wheezing, long-lasting colds and a sense of tightness in the chest. But what causes asthma and what are the differences between allergic asthma and bronchial asthma?
The cause
The causes of asthma are many and can have an “individual” nature, due to a genetic predisposition (allergies, hyperresponsiveness of the airways), or an “environmental” origin, due to contact with substances present in the environment which can act as triggering factors (allergens, domestic or work environment with the presence of dust mites, pollen, cockroaches, cigarette smoke, air pollution, respiratory tract infections and obesity). However, these two causal modalities are not distinct, they interact with each other. A triggering factor can only be defined as such if there is an organism predisposed to develop asthmatic crises. In any case, the predisposition is given by the presence of chronic inflammation of the respiratory tracts, in turn responsible for the hyperreactivity of the smooth muscle that regulates the patency of the airways and for the production of mucus which can obstruct the passage of air causing typical asthma symptoms.
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Risk factors
Therefore, environmental risk factors are added to the genetic risk factors. In fact, a very important role is played by environmental pollution, both indoors and outdoors (from dust to mites, from particulate matter to pollen), from insects and animals and pets, from the presence of mold in the environment in which we live , excessive humidity, low birth weight and early pulmonary infections. In addition to environmental and health causes, the level of nutrition, education and hygienic attention and economic conditions are all elements that profoundly influence the progress of the disease.
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Differences between allergic asthma and bronchial asthma
But how do you know if you have allergic asthma or bronchial asthma? It depends on the trigger because the two conditions are a variant of asthma that differ from the cause that causes inflammation of the airways. In the case of bronchial asthma, the causes can be exposure to irritants, cigarette smoke, air pollution and other environmental factors. Allergic asthma, on the other hand, is a form of asthma, the most common, caused by an allergic reaction to pollen, mould, dust mites, animal hair, food and the droppings of some insects. The therapy for the two forms of asthma is very similar with the possible addition of a specific treatment in the case of allergic asthma, avoiding coming into contact with the allergens and possibly with the assumption of antihistamines prescribed by the allergist.
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How to cure
According to reports from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, there is currently no definitive treatment for asthma, but it is possible to control its course by reducing asthma attacks and their consequences, such as wheezing and coughing, and breathing difficulties. To carry out an adequate control plan it is important that the disease is diagnosed early, to avoid the harmful effects of chronic inflammation. It is inflammation that determines the severity of asthma and is also the factor that best responds to therapy with inhaled anti-inflammatory drugs, even in the absence of other symptoms. Anti-inflammatories can also be prescribed which also act on the formation of mucus plugs that occlude the peripheral airways. The drugs can be administered in different forms, from sprays to pills, but the correct therapy is necessarily individual and therefore an asthma control plan must be developed according to the type and recurrence of attacks in different patients.
