Asthma triggers are different from person to person. Exposure to various allergens and irritants can trigger signs and symptoms of asthma

Asthma is a very scary thing for any person, especially a young child. The bronchial tubes of people with asthma are very sensitive to substances that they are allergic to. These irritants cause the bronchial tubes to swell. Asthma has exacerbations or "attacks", as most people call them. An asthma attack can occur when someone is exposed to the irritants they are highly allergic to. As of yet, there is no cure for asthma, but doctors are learning more about it. Most persons develop asthma in childhood, but some people develop asthma as adults. It usually gets progressively worse in adults, leading to emphysema. About one in four persons who develop the disease in childhood will have a spontaneous recovery.

Asthma is most likely to be caused by a convergence of factors that can include genes (probably several) and various environmental and biologic triggers (e.g., infections, dietary patterns, hormonal changes in women, and allergens).

Genetic factors: asthma tends to run in families, and many people with asthma also have other allergic conditions such as rhinitis (inflammation of the nose lining). "Allergy" is a hypersensitivity to some proteins foreign to the body; a small dose of the "allergen" will produce a violent reaction in the person concerned.

Many aspects of modern lifestyles ? such as changes in housing and diet and a more hygienic environment ? may have contributed to the rise in asthma over the last few decades

Certain conditions seem to make asthma worse. And for some it seems to be worse on certain days and at different times of the year. Asthma symptoms occur when sensitive lungs overreact to certain factors called triggers . These irritating factors are part of the environment in which we live and are different for different people.

Whatever the initial factor that creates the vulnerability, there is no doubt that environmental pollutants contribute heavily to worsening the condition. Even healthy lungs and passage ways can be damaged over time by pollutants alone. So ultimately, each individual's medical history will be unique in determining just how the disease may have developed.

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