4.21.1 Lesson: Asthma & Allergies

ASTHMA & ALLERGIES

Objective:

G.7 – Students will identify global and local health-related environmental issues, including ways to prevent and manage asthma and allergies.

Asthma

Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and produce extra mucus.  This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.

For some people, asthma is a minor nuisance.  For others, it can be a major problem that interferes with daily activities and may lead to a life-threatening asthma attack.

Asthma can't be cured, but its symptoms can be controlled.  Because asthma often changes over time, it is important that people who have asthma work with their doctor to track signs and symptoms and adjust treatment as needed.

Click on the link to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s website, and learn more about asthma, especially how the airways work.

Causes of Asthma

It isn’t clear why some people get asthma and others don’t, but it is probably due to a combination of environmental and genetic (inherited) factors.

Exposure to various irritants and substances that trigger allergies (allergens) can trigger signs and symptoms of asthma.  Asthma triggers are different from person to person and can include:

• Airborne substances, such as pollen, dust mites, mold spores, pet dander, or particles of cockroach waste
• Respiratory infections, such as the common cold
• Physical activity (exercise-induced asthma)
• Cold air
• Air pollutants and irritants, such as smoke
• Certain medications, including beta blockers, aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), and naproxen (Aleve)
• Strong emotions and stress
• Sulfites and preservatives added to some types of foods and beverages, including shrimp, dried fruit, processed potatoes, beer, and wine
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition in which stomach acids back up into your throat

Symptoms of Asthma

Asthma symptoms vary from person to person.  One may have infrequent asthma attacks, have symptoms only at certain times (such as when exercising), while someone else may have symptoms all the time.

Asthma signs and symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath
• Chest tightness or pain
• Trouble sleeping caused by shortness of breath, coughing, or wheezing
• A whistling or wheezing sound when exhaling (wheezing is a common sign of asthma in children)
• Coughing or wheezing attacks that are worsened by a respiratory virus, such as a cold or the flu

Signs that asthma is probably getting worse include:

• Asthma signs and symptoms are becoming more frequent and bothersome
• Increasing difficulty breathing
• The need to use a quick-relief inhaler more often

For some people, asthma signs and symptoms flare up in certain situations:

• Exercise-induced asthma, which may be worse when the air is cold and dry
• Occupational asthma, triggered by workplace irritants such as chemical fumes, gases, or dust
• Allergy-induced asthma, triggered by airborne substances, such as pollen, mold spores, cockroach waste, or particles of skin and dried saliva shed by pets (pet dander)

Risk Factors

Several factors are thought to increase your chances of developing asthma.  These include:

• Having a blood relative (such as a parent or sibling) with asthma
• Having another allergic condition, such as atopic dermatitis or allergic rhinitis (hay fever)
• Being overweight
• Being a smoker
• Exposure to secondhand smoke
• Exposure to exhaust fumes or other types of pollution
• Exposure to occupational triggers, such as chemicals used in farming, hairdressing, and manufacturing.

Managing Asthma

The American Lung Association provides extensive information related to managing asthma.  Take a look at their website by clicking here.

Here is an example of an Asthma Management Plan.

Allergies

Allergies occur when your immune system reacts to a foreign substance (such as pollen, bee venom, or pet dander) or to a food that doesn’t cause a reaction in most people.

Your immune system produces substances known as antibodies.  When you have allergies, your immune system makes antibodies that identify a particular allergen as harmful, even though it isn’t.  When you come into contact with the allergen, your immune system’s reaction can inflame your skin, sinuses, airways, or digestive system.

The severity of allergies varies from person to person and can range from minor irritation to anaphylaxis, which is a potentially life-threatening emergency.  While most allergies can’t be cured, treatments can help relieve your allergy symptoms.

Below are common forms of allergies:

• Food
• Skin
• Dust
• Insect sting
• Pet
• Eye
• Drug
• Latex
• Mold
• Cockroach
• Allergic Rhinitis
• Sinus Disease

Learn more about each of these by browsing the information in the link, found here.

Allergy Symptoms

An allergic reaction typically triggers symptoms in the nose, lungs, throat, sinuses, ears, lining of the stomach, or on the skin.  Those symptoms might include a skin rash, headache, sneezing, runny nose, swelling, nausea, and diarrhea.  For some people, allergies can also trigger symptoms of asthma.  In the most serious cases, a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis (an-a-fi-LAK-sis) can occur.

The following link provides more detailed information about the symptoms related to different forms of allergies. Please click here.

Risk Factors

You may be at increased risk of developing an allergy if you:

• Have a family history of asthma or allergies. You are at increased risk of allergies if you have family members with asthma or allergies such as hay fever, hives, or eczema.
• Are a child.  Children are more likely to develop an allergy than are adults.  Children sometimes outgrow allergic conditions as they get older.
• Have asthma or another allergic condition.  Having asthma increases your risk of developing an allergy, and vice versa. Also, having one type of allergic condition makes you more likely to be allergic to something else.

Managing Allergies

Treatment

Allergy treatments include:

• Allergen avoidance.  Your doctor will help you take steps to identify and avoid your allergy triggers.  This is generally the most important step in preventing allergic reactions and reducing symptoms.
• Medications.  Depending on your allergy, medications can help reduce your immune system reaction and ease symptoms.  Your doctor may suggest over-the-counter or prescription medication in the form of pills or liquid, nasal sprays, or eyedrops.
• Immunotherapy.  For severe allergies or allergies not completely relieved by other treatment, your doctor may recommend allergen immunotherapy.  This treatment involves a series of injections of purified allergen extracts, usually given over a period of a few years.
• Another form of immunotherapy is a tablet that is placed under the tongue (sublingual) until it dissolves. Sublingual drugs are used to treat some pollen allergies.
• Emergency epinephrine.  If you have a severe allergy, your doctor may give you an emergency epinephrine shot to carry with you at all times.  Given for severe allergic reactions, an epinephrine shot (EpiPen, others) can reduce symptoms until you get emergency treatment.

Alternative Medicine

Clinical practice guidelines suggest that some people with allergic rhinitis may benefit from acupuncture.

Researchers are investigating using dietary supplements, fish oil, and prebiotics and probiotics for pregnant women to help prevent food allergies and eczema in their children.

Self-Management

Lifestyle and home remedies

Some allergy symptoms improve with home treatment.

• Sinus congestion and hay fever symptoms.  These symptoms often improve with saline nasal irrigation — rinsing out the sinuses with a salt and water solution.  You can use a neti pot or a specially designed squeeze bottle to flush out thickened mucus and irritants from your nose.  However, improper use of a neti pot or other device can lead to infection.
• Household airborne allergy symptoms.  Reduce your exposure to dust mites or pet dander by frequently washing bedding and stuffed toys in hot water, maintaining low humidity, regularly using a vacuum with a fine filter such as a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter and replacing carpeting with hard flooring.
• Mold allergy symptoms.  Reduce moisture in damp areas, such as your bath and kitchen, by using ventilation fans and dehumidifiers.  Fix leaks inside and outside your home.

Prevention

Preventing allergic reactions depends on the type of allergy you have.  General measures include the following:

• Avoid known triggers.  Even if you're treating your allergy symptoms, try to avoid triggers.  If, for instance, you are allergic to pollen, stay inside with windows and doors closed during periods when pollen is high.  If you are allergic to dust mites, dust and vacuum and wash bedding often.
• Keep a diary.  When trying to identify what causes or worsens your allergic symptoms, track your activities and what you eat, when symptoms occur and what seems to help.  This may help you and your doctor identify triggers.
• Wear a medical alert bracelet.  If you’ve ever had a severe allergic reaction, a medical alert bracelet (or necklace) lets others know that you have a serious allergy in case you have a reaction and you are unable to communicate.
• Continue to eat normally if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.  Guidelines no longer recommend avoiding highly allergenic foods when you are pregnant or breastfeeding.  In fact, studies now suggest this exposure may protect children against future allergies.

NOTE: Assessment questions are not available for this lesson in this preview course.