Most jobs locations, especially office and factory professions, have some kind of dust, smells and other fumes, with which you have direct contact or, indirectly, as it may be going through the ventilation or air systems (from one office to another), producing occupational asthma.



Usually the levels that you breathe in are so minute (small) that you aren't troubled by it.

This means that if the job location , or your work environment, is the cause of your occupational asthma, your asthmatic conditions will improve if you leave that job, or that at least change your work environment, assuming that you and your doctor have caught and treated it early enough.

However the longer you continue working in the same conditions which are causing the asthma, the more likely you are to continue having asthmatic conditions even after you leave those working conditions and stay away from the dust, smells or fumes.

Unfortunately, most continue with a job in a damaging environment as they have not realized that there is a relationship between their environment and their health, or because it is seemingly very difficult to leave or change jobs. The cost of either is very high, occupational asthma, or other health issues.

When a job or workplace is causing the asthma, co-workers, are also affected.

However if it is just you it could be another cause such as job-related stress rather than any fumes or pollutants.

Wrongly blaming your job for your asthma can have very bad effects.

Why lose your job if it is harmless and didn't cause your asthma at all?

Also, if people think that the workplace caused asthma, the expense of improving working conditions may mean there will be fewer jobs or in some cases no jobs at all.

In addition, a diagnosis of occupational asthma may reduce your chances of future employment.

However, if your gets better during the weekends, on an extended break, or when you are on vacation, it likely that something at work is the cause of it.

The dust, fumes or allergens in various trades such as bakeries (flour), working with animals, working with pharmaceuticals, craftsmen (especially wood), electronics (soldering), textile dyes (reactive dyes), polyurethane paints and plastic moulding, etc., can be direct causes of occupational asthma.

Oddly enough, many substances with a nasty smell don't seem to cause asthma, even though they can cause allergic reactions in the nose.

If you believe you may have asthma, occupational or not, do not hesitate to speak with your doctor immediately.