Asthma triggers and preventive measures

Author: Chief Physician, Peking University Third Hospital, Changchun

Reviewer: Zhou Xin, Chief Physician/Professor, First People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

The hot summer weather makes many people complain bitterly. In the unbearable heat wave, people miss the spring with its long grass and flying birds. However, asthma patients, the joy of spring seems to have nothing to do with them. They would rather endure the scorching heat than have too much contact with spring. To them, spring is more like a shackle around their throats, depriving them of the joy of breathing.

What is asthma?

Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, with the number of adult asthma patients in my country reaching 45.7 million. There are many types of asthma, such as exercise-induced asthma, allergic asthma, and cough variant asthma. Among them, allergic asthma is the most common, with about 60% of adult asthma and about 80% of childhood asthma. Asthma patients often suffer from asthma attacks or aggravations due to contact with allergens or external environmental stimuli, usually manifested by repeated attacks of wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness, which seriously affects the quality of life of asthma patients.

"How can a useless person get back on track? I feel low self-esteem, depressed and anxious," said an asthma patient. What's more frightening is that an acute attack of severe asthma can even lead to death.

Figure 1 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

How does asthma occur?

The normal human immune system will respond to harmful substances such as bacteria and viruses with a protective response that is beneficial to the body, but the immune system of patients with allergic asthma will overreact to originally harmless allergens, thereby producing a destructive immune response that damages the body.

Figure 2 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

In addition, under the influence of environmental factors, genetically susceptible individuals with a family history of asthma will develop airway inflammation. Inflammatory cells, cytokines and inflammatory mediators will interact with each other, and under the influence of neural regulation imbalance, abnormal structure and function of epithelial cells and airway smooth muscle, airway hyperresponsiveness will gradually occur. Under the influence of inducing factors (such as allergens, exercise, etc.), typical clinical symptoms of asthma such as wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath and chest tightness will occur.

How do I know if I have asthma?

Seeing this, I believe that many people have doubts, wondering whether their coughing and other symptoms in daily life are hinting that they may be asthma patients. In fact, although asthma is common, it is not "common". Asthma often occurs in combination with other diseases or inducing factors, such as rhinitis, drug allergies, urticaria, and after exercise. In addition, asthma is hereditary. If parents have asthma, the possibility of their children suffering from asthma will increase. Therefore, if there are asthma patients in the family, and you often sneeze or have an itchy nose in addition to a cold, your eyes are often red, tearful and itchy, and you feel short of breath after moderate exercise, you can go to the hospital to seek help from a doctor to find out whether you have asthma.

In the diagnosis of asthma, due to the large proportion of allergic asthma patients, the identification of allergens is of utmost importance. The commonly used method is the skin prick test, which is to use a pricking needle to gently pierce the skin with allergen liquid on the surface of the skin. If a red lump similar to a mosquito bite appears at the pricking site, it means that you are allergic to this type of allergen. Of course, there are also methods to identify allergens such as intradermal experiments and patch tests. In addition, laboratory tests such as pulmonary ventilation function tests, bronchial provocation tests, bronchial dilation tests, and arterial blood gas analysis also have a good diagnostic effect on other types of asthma.

Figure 3 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

Develop good living habits and stay away from asthma risk factors

Through the above introduction, I believe everyone has realized the prevalence and severity of asthma. However, there is no need to be "terrified" by the mention of asthma, and asthma patients should not be pessimistic and lose confidence in a healthy life. Just maintain good living habits in daily life and stay away from asthma triggers, which can effectively reduce the occurrence and attack of asthma. The following briefly introduces the common triggers of asthma and prevention and treatment measures.

1. Inhaled allergens Dust mites, pet hair, cockroaches, pollen, mold and other allergens are important triggers of allergic asthma. They stimulate the airway to produce allergic reactions, release inflammatory factors that damage the airway, and induce or aggravate asthma. Therefore, attention should be paid to maintaining a clean environment, keeping the room dry and ventilated, drying the mattress, changing bedding frequently, and reducing interior decoration. At the same time, keep pets indoors as little as possible, and wash pets and pet clothing frequently. In addition, in the spring when pollen is flying, try to reduce outdoor activities. If you must go out, you can wear a mask, glasses, etc. to reduce contact with allergens.

2. Respiratory tract infection: Many patients will experience or aggravate asthma symptoms after a cold or bronchitis. At this time, they should seek medical attention immediately to avoid delays that may lead to worsening of the condition.

3. Fatigue and staying up late can lead to autonomic nervous dysfunction, especially vagus nerve hyperactivity, which can induce asthma. Therefore, patients should develop regular work and rest habits.

4. Exercise-induced Asthma attacks are triggered in most patients after short-distance running, long-distance running, mountain climbing and other sports. Therefore, such patients should choose sports that have less impact on the body, such as swimming. They should take precautions before exercise, and can use bronchodilators combined with hormone inhalation in advance; breathe through the nose during exercise, and prepare emergency medicine just in case. In addition, some drugs (such as montelukast, etc.) also have a preventive effect on exercise-induced asthma.

5. Lack of trace elements. The lack of trace elements such as iron and zinc can lead to a decline in the body's immune function, thereby triggering asthma. Therefore, you can consume more foods rich in these trace elements in your life.

6. Climate change Studies have shown that asthma patients are more likely to experience respiratory symptoms such as coughing in cold environments, so they should strengthen warming protection and reduce the inhalation of cold air.

7. Smoking The smoke produced by smoking burns and damages the airway epithelium, triggering airway inflammation, while leaving the nerves exposed and unprotected, resulting in a stronger reaction to low stimuli and airway hyperreactivity. Therefore, asthma patients should avoid smoking in their daily lives.

8. Emotional changes Although asthma is not a psychological disease, strong emotional changes (such as laughing, crying, anger, etc.) can cause airway narrowing and induce asthma. Therefore, you should maintain a calm and gentle mentality and avoid drastic changes in emotions.

By improving immunity, increasing protection, and reducing contact with allergens, even asthma patients can embrace spring and regain their health and happiness!