How is asthma developed

Thank you! You will now receive email updates from the American Lung Association. Select your location to view local American Lung Association events and news near you. Our service is free and we are here to help you. What Causes Asthma? Section Menu. Scientists continue to explore what causes asthma, but we do know that these factors play an important role in the development of asthma: Genetics.

Systematic approach to asthma of varying severity. Clinics in Chest Medicine. Ferri FF. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Wu TD, et al. Asthma in the primary care setting. Medical Clinics of North America. Fanta CH. An overview of asthma management.

Santino TA, et al. Breathing exercises for adults with asthma. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Amaral-Machado L, et al. Use of natural products in asthma treatment. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. IBM Micromedex. Accessed April 6, Whyand T, et al. Pollution and respiratory disease: Can diet or supplements help? A review. Respiratory Research. O'Keefe JH, et al. In many patients; however, the symptoms will disappear or are significantly reduced after puberty.

After age 20, symptoms may begin to reappear. Researchers have tracked this tendency for reappearing asthma and found that people with childhood asthma tend to experience reappearing symptoms through their 30s and 40s at various levels of severity.

To diagnose asthma, your physician will question you about your symptoms, perform a physical exam, and conduct lung function breathing tests. You also may be tested for allergies. Your internist or family physician may refer you to an allergist or pulmonologist who specializes in lung diseases for specialized testing or treatment.

After middle age, most adults experience a decrease in their lung capacity. These changes in lung function may lead some physicians to overlook asthma as a possible diagnosis.

Untreated asthma can contribute to even greater permanent loss of lung function. Get a definitive diagnosis from your health care provider. If you manage your asthma, you can expect to lead a normal lifestyle.

Basically, there are four key steps to managing asthma successfully:. Take prescribed medications. Check your lungs daily at home by using a peak flow meter. Asthma patients often can detect lung changes with a peak flow meter before they actually experience any changes.

Visit your physician regularly for further in-office tests. Lung testing is painless and provides valuable data that helps your physician make adjustments in your medication. Make an asthma management plan with your physician. A plan establishes guidelines that tell you what to do if your asthma symptoms get worse. In order to determine relevant triggers, you may want to seek consultation with an allergist who can further define these triggers.

In addition, anyone with asthma should consider getting an annual flu shot. Older adults also should talk with their internist about getting a pneumonia vaccination. Many older patients are treated for asthma by their internist or family physician; however, if your asthma symptoms are not under control within three to six months, or if you have severe persistent asthma, or if you are having asthma episodes that need emergency treatment, it may be time to see an asthma specialist.

Those who have completed training in those specialties are usually called board-certified or board-eligible. The key to good living with asthma is developing a strong partnership between patients, caregivers, and physicians. Practical steps include the following:. An asthma management plan helps you understand what to do when specific situations arise. Childhood asthma and adult-onset asthma share many of the same triggers. For all people with asthma, exposure to one of the following triggers may cause an asthma attack, though different people have different triggers:.

Children diagnosed with asthma are more likely to have intermittent symptoms, though some children have daily symptoms. Allergens can set off an asthma attack. Children are typically more sensitive to allergens and more prone to an asthma attack because their bodies are still developing.

Children diagnosed with asthma may find that their asthma symptoms almost completely disappear or are less severe during puberty, but they may recur later in life.

The American Lung Association also states that secondhand smoke is particularly dangerous for children. An estimated , to 1 million children with asthma have their condition worsened by secondhand smoke.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC state that children with asthma are more likely to have routine office, emergency, and urgent care visits than adults with asthma. With adults, symptoms are typically persistent. Daily treatment is often required in order to keep asthma symptoms and flare-ups under control. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America , at least 30 percent of adult asthma cases are triggered by allergies.

Among adults who develop asthma, women are more likely than men to develop it after age 20, and obesity increases the risk of developing it. Death resulting from an asthma attack is rare and mainly occurs in adults over the age of 65, according to the CDC.

There are quick-relief and long-term control medications for both children and adults with asthma. Quick-relief medications are designed to ease symptoms caused by an asthma attack or flare-up. Long-term control medications are designed to ease inflammation and swelling for longer periods of time in order to prevent both an asthma attack and the long-term airway damage caused by uncontrolled asthma.

Long-term control medications are typically taken daily for months, or even years.