Asthma is a chronic lung condition that is characterized by a difficulty in breathing. A person with asthma will have extremely sensitive airways that react by becoming narrow when agitated. This makes breathing very difficult.

Often, asthma is confused with allergies, such as the wheezing and coughing that comes when a person is allergic to pollen and dust in the air. However, too much exposure to allergens can lead to the development of asthma. The allergens cause the immune system to kick into high gear in the same way it would if fighting off a virus or parasite. This triggers a natural antibody in the system that releases chemicals into the body’s airways. For most people, this reaction induces coughing. But if the airways become inflamed, and if it happens with frequency, the body reacts with wheezing and general difficulty in breathing. That is an asthma attack.

Asthma on the Rise

Diagnosed cases of asthma have increased over the past two decades, but doctors and researchers have no solid answers for the increase. They do have some theories, however. One of the theories is that people in developed countries, such as the United States, are spending more of their time indoors. Indoor allergens, such as mites, are more likely to cause asthma than outdoor allergens. Plus, homes and offices tend to be sealed and closed to the outdoors, trapping in not only heat during the winter and air-conditioned coolness in the summer, but also the allergens that can trigger asthma attacks.

Another theory for the rise in asthma diagnoses is that because people and conditions are more sanitary today than in years past, people are not building up immunities to allergens as they once did.

Other theories include the rise in pollutants from things like car exhaust and industry waste along with increases in obesity, particularly among young people. Obesity takes its toll on the lungs and airways, as well as causing other health issues.

Nearly seven percent of the population suffers from asthma; about one third of those are children. Although death from asthma is rare, asthma attacks account for hundreds of thousands of emergency room visits each year.

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