What triggers asthma?

Asthma becomes worse when you are exposed to triggers. A trigger is anything, which makes your breathing difficult, or your asthma worse.

People with asthma react to different triggers but common ones include:

House Dust and Dust Mite particles
Pollen
Exercise
Fumes/cigarette smoke
Some foods
Changes in air temperature
Chemicals
Colds & Flus
pollen: Pollen for some asthmatics can trigger an attack.

It can be very difficult to identify the actual factor causing an asthma attack and it is rare to find an asthmatic that only reacts to one trigger. Whether you can avoid exposure to triggers depends a lot on what your triggers are. For example, it is impossible to avoid dust mite particles but it is easy to avoid eating peanuts. The Asthma Trigger section has more information.

Does Exercise Bring on Your Asthma?

For many asthmatics the answer is "yes", especially when you exercise in cold weather. This sort of asthma is called Exercise Induced asthma or EIA for short.

Do you wheeze, cough, have shortness of breath or have chest tightness when exercising? This may mean that you have asthma. Remember that even if you are physically fit, you can still have EIA.

Some asthmatics only experience EIA and never have asthma at any other time.

How well is your Asthma Controlled?

When your asthma is well controlled then you will:

not use a reliever drug more than three times a week
be free of nocturnal coughs and wheezing
remain comfortable when doing normal daily activities
be able to exercise without symptoms

If you do not fit into this category then see your health professional for a review of your medication Buteyko Asthma

Danger Signs of Uncontrolled Asthma

Should you:

get very bad asthma very quickly
have symptoms which remain or even get worse after taking your reliever medication
have difficulty in speaking
have very severe symptoms
go blue around the lips and finger tips
get frightened about your condition

then phone your emergency services AT ONCE

Am I Over-Using My Relievers?

If you are using a reliever and find that you need to use it more than three to four times a week, then this could be a sign that your asthma is not being controlled.