Asthma and Allergies

Asthma

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways. The airways are the tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways are inflamed (swollen). The inflammation makes the airways very sensitive, and they tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to, to irritants in the environment, to cold, and to infections. When the airways react, they get narrower, and less air flows through to your lung tissue. This causes symptoms like wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing, especially at night and in the early morning.

When asthma symptoms become worse than usual, it is called an asthma episode or attack. During an asthma attack, muscles around the airways tighten up, making the airways narrower so less air flows through. Inflammation increases, and the airways become more swollen and even narrower. Cells in the airways may also make more mucus than usual. This extra mucus also narrows the airways. These changes make it harder to breathe.

Asthma attacks are not all the same-some are worse than others. In a severe asthma attack, the airways can close so much that not enough oxygen gets to vital organs. This condition is a medical emergency. People can die from severe asthma attacks.

Controlling asthma means patients working closely with their doctors to develop an effective therapeutic regime and monitoring the condition so as to respond quickly to signs of an attack. 

If asthma is not well controlled, people are likely to have symptoms that can contribute to missed school or work. Asthma is one of the leading causes of children missing school. Asthma cannot be cured, but most people with asthma can control it so that they have few and infrequent symptoms and can live active lives.

Allergies

Allergies are a specific reaction of the body's immune system to a normally harmless substance, one that does not bother most people. Allergic reactions occur to environmental substances known as allergens; these reactions are acquired, rapid, and occasionally predictable. People who have allergies often are sensitive to more than one substance. Common types of allergens include: pollens, house dust mites, mold spores, food, latex rubber, insect venom, and medicine. 

Food allergies are also very prevalent.  According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network a food allergy is an immue system response to a food that the body mistakenly believes is harmful.  Although an individual could be allergic to any food, such as fruits, vegetables, and meats, there are eight foods that account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions. These are: milk, egg, peanut, tree nut (walnut, cashew, etc.), fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat.

Certain allergies can be managed with medication. Researchers are becoming increasingly aware of the role of environmental factors in allergies, and are continuously evaluating ways to control environmental exposures to allergens and pollutants to prevent allergic disease. These studies offer the promise of improving the treatment and control of allergic diseases and the hope that one day allergic diseases will be preventable.

To read more about the Center's work in Asthma and Allergies, please explore our programs in the left hand sidebar.