Monday, March 25, 2024
HomeAsthmaIs Allergy Induced Asthma Dangerous

Is Allergy Induced Asthma Dangerous

Pet Allergies By Asthma And Allergy Foundation Of America

Exercise-Induced Anaphylaxis (Severe Allergic Reactions)

Who Gets Pet Allergies?

Six out of 10 people in the United States come in contact with cats or dogs. The total pet population is more than 100 million, or about four pets for every 10 people.

Allergies to pets with fur or feathers are common, especially among people who have other allergies or asthma. From 15 percent to 30 percent of people with allergies have allergic reactions to cats and dogs.

People with dog allergies may be allergic to all dogs or to only some breeds. Cat allergies are about twice as common as dog allergies.

What Causes a Pet Allergy?

The job of immune system cells is to find foreign substances such as viruses and bacteria and get rid of them. Normally, this response protects us from dangerous diseases. People with pet allergies have supersensitive immune systems that react to harmless proteins in the pet’s dander , saliva or urine. These proteins are called allergens.

Dogs and cats secrete fluids and shed dander that contain the allergens. They collect on fur and other surfaces. The allergens will not lose their strength for a long time, sometimes for several months. They appear to be sticky and adhere to walls, clothing and other surfaces.

Pet hair is not an allergen. It can collect dander, though. It also harbors other allergens like dust and pollen.

If allergen levels are low or sensitivity is minor, symptoms may not appear until after several days of contact with the pet.

To diagnose cat-induced asthma, the patient must have both of the following:

How Can Air Pollution Affect My Asthma

Ozone

Ozone, a gas, is one of the most common air pollutants. Ozone contributes to what we typically experience as “smog” or haze. It is most common in cities where there are more cars. It is also more common in the summer when there is more sunlight and low winds.

Ozone triggers asthma because it is very irritating to the lungs and airways. It is well known that ozone concentration is directly related to asthma attacks. It has also caused the need for more doses of asthma drugs and emergency treatment for asthma. Ozone can reduce lung function. Ozone can make it more difficult for you to breathe deeply.

Airborne particles

Other forms of air pollution may also trigger your asthma. Small particles in the air can pass through your nose or mouth and get into your lungs. Airborne particles, found in haze, smoke and airborne dust, present serious air quality problems. People with asthma are at greater risk from breathing in small particles. The particles can make asthma worse. Both long-term and short-term exposure can cause health problems such as reduced lung function and more asthma attacks.

What Are The Symptoms Of Allergic Asthma

If you have allergic asthma, you may have many of the same symptoms you would experience with other types of asthma. These symptoms can include:

  • Coughing frequently, especially at night.
  • Wheezing .
  • Experiencing chest tightness .

These symptoms can be very intense during an asthma attack. Make sure you have a treatment plan in place if you have severe asthma symptoms this plan often includes an inhaler .

You can also experience symptoms more closely related to allergies. These are usually less intense than asthma symptoms and can happen when youre exposed to an allergen. These symptoms can include:

  • A stuffy nose.
  • A rash and hives.

You May Like: Allergic To Mucinex

Q: Is Asthma More Dangerous For Adults

A: Yes. The death rate for adult-onset asthma is substantially higher than the death rate for childhood asthma.

One reason may be that adults either ignore asthma symptoms or attribute them to being overweight, being out of shape or getting older.

Asthma symptoms can also mimic those of other illnesses, including:

You’ve Saved This Page

What are mild asthma symptoms â Health

Asthma is a lung disease that causes your airways to tighten up, making it hard for you to breathe. Theres no cure for asthma. Even if you have asthma and feel healthy, asthma flares can happen at any time.

Most people with asthma can keep the disease under control and avoid serious health problems. If youre pregnant, its really important to work with your health care provider to manage your asthma and get medical care, if needed.

Don’t Miss: Allergy Pill Ingredients

Causes Of Allergic Asthma

The triggers of allergic asthma will vary between patients. Identifying the trigger is an important step in plotting an effective treatment to reduce the likelihood of severe responses to allergens and asthma attacks. The following causes are the most common triggers of allergic asthma.

  • Pollen
  • Strong fragrances

Can Allergic Asthma Be Prevented

While asthma itself cant be prevented, you can reduce your risk of an allergic asthma attack by knowing your triggers and controlling your environment. This might mean not cutting the grass if you know that pollen is trigger for your asthma or avoiding places with a lot of animals if dander is a trigger for you.

You May Like: Claritin Vs Zyrtec Vs Allegra

When To See A Gp

See a GP if you think you or your child may have asthma.

Several conditions can cause similar symptoms, so it’s important to get a proper diagnosis and correct treatment.

The GP will usually be able to diagnose asthma by asking about symptoms and carrying out some simple tests.

Find out more about how asthma is diagnosed.

There Are Many Different Types Of Asthma Brought On By Many Different Triggers

Exercise Induced Asthma

If youre struggling with asthma symptoms trouble breathing, a persistent cough or tightness in the chest an allergist can help you take control by providing a diagnosis and identifying the underlying causes.

Learn about the triggers and treatment for allergic asthma and how an allergist can help you manage allergy and asthma symptoms.

Also Check: Can Allergy Medicine Raise Blood Pressure

Allergy Induced Asthma Treatment:

The identification of allergic elements and rectification airways inflammation are two parts of the treatment that doctors perform during medication procedure. You have to understand the nature of airflow obstruction in asthma that could be due to increased airway irritability, inflammation and swelling in bronchial tubes. Its treatment varies according to the allergens and allergic periods.

Bronchodilator inhaler as a short-term medication

Bronchodilator is one of the very first medications that doctors prescribe in most cases of asthma. Such inhaler provides quick relief to the patients and its effect remains up to 8 hours. One can easily carry this rescue inhaler as it is very small in size.

Anti-allergy drugsThe oral corticosteroids are available for both short-term and long-term treatment for allergy-induced asthma symptoms. These drugs can prevent the effects of molecules that are responsible for swelling in airways. They are available in pills as well as liquid form, but they dont work like anabolic steroids.

Anti-IgE therapyIt is one of the latest treatments provided to treat all sorts of allergic asthma. This therapy uses injection to insert drugs into the body on a regular basis. You can reduce this treatment gradually. Since its a bit costly, every patient doesnt take it.

Can Allergic Asthma Be Cured

Unfortunately, allergic asthma cannot be completely cured. However, the right treatment can drastically reduce the impact the condition has on your life or the life of your child. Working with an expert allergist can reduce the likelihood of a severe asthma attack, while also minimizing the main symptoms. In brief avoid allergens, take the medication prescribed by your doctor, and perhaps utilize immunotherapy treatment. These practices will minimize allergic asthma for most patients.

Also Check: Zyrtec Vs Claritin Vs Allegra

Younger Age And/or Absence Of Comorbidities

Susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 infection increase with age , therefore, age is an important confounder in the assessment of the risk of contracting severe COVID-19. Izquierdo et al. showed that asthma patients without COVID-19 were younger and more likely to have eczema and rhinitis, while those with COVID-19 were older and more likely to have co-morbidities such as hypertension and diabetes . In addition, children and young adults with asthma manifest Type-2 high airway inflammation that is driven predominantly by allergy, IL-4 and IL13. In comparison, non-type 2 asthma is more frequent in older adults, particularly in women over 35 and presents with a different risk profile in terms of comorbidities, SARS-CoV-2 infection, development of COVID-19 and progression to severe COVID-19 outcomes . Expression of ACE2, the co-receptor for SARS-CoV-2, varies with age . Because Type-2 asthma sufferers tend to be younger than those with other comorbidities, the age factor probably explains why patients with asthma may not be at greater risk. However, to better address this question, age-adjusted models need to be formulated.

What Is An Allergy

Mild asthma induced by cat or house dust mite allergy study

An allergy is the immune system‘s reaction when exposed to what is otherwise a harmless substance, such as plant pollen, mold, or animal hair, skin, or saliva. The immune system acts as a body defense, yet for people with allergies, the immune system treats these things, called allergens, as if they are harmful, causing a disruption to normal body functions. Allergens are what trigger a series of reactions by the immune system during an allergic reaction.

Recommended Reading: How To Read Allergy Skin Test Results

Each Season Can Brings New Symptom Management Challenges

Allergies and asthma can bring about the same symptoms, no matter the season. But you may notice that you’re sneezy, stuffy, short of breath, and so on at certain times of the year more than others.

Each season can expose you to different allergens, such as pollen, that are harmless save for the fact that your immune system happens to misidentify them as dangerous. This causes the release of histamines, chemicals that work to clear allergens from the body by triggering allergy symptoms like runny nose, watery eyes, and sneezing.

Histamines also cause inflammation in their effort to prevent additional allergens from coming in. While helpful in that regard, that inflammation can also trigger an asthma attack. Different times of year can make certain other asthma triggers, like temperature, hard to escape as well.

This means you may need different treatment strategies in the fall than in the summer, or in the winter than in the spring. You may need to work with your doctor to identify these patterns and adapt your medication routine season by season.

Asthma Doctor Discussion Guide

Susceptibility Of Patients With Asthma To Covid

In the early stage of the pandemic, asthma was inconsistently mentioned among the significant clinical risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection in studies from China and Italy . Studies from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and India also reported lower rates of asthma among patients with COVID-19 . Instead, studies from the USA and the UK reported that comorbidity rates of asthma in patients with COVID-19 were similar or higher than those in the local population . Recently, Broadhurst et al. performed a focused literature review among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 infection their findings suggest that asthma prevalence appears to be similar to population asthma prevalence and significantly lower than asthma prevalence among patients hospitalized for influenza . Kalyanaraman et al. reviewed the electronic health records of all patients who received a SARS-CoV-2 test and showed that asthma was not associated with testing positive . A systematic review and meta-analysis of 131 studies from 39 countries reported asthma prevalence in adult or all-age-group patients with COVID-19. The regional asthma comorbidity rates were estimated as follows: East Asia and the Pacific, 2.2% Europe, 6.4% Latin America and the Caribbean, 3.5% the Middle East and North Africa, 4.9% North America, 10.2% . Very recently, Terry et al. performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of 150 studies and did not find clear evidence of increased risk of COVID-19 diagnosis in asthmatics .

Read Also: Medicare Allergy Shots

Is Allergic Asthma Curable

There is no cure for allergic asthma, but it is manageable. With treatment of your allergies, you may be able to limit the frequency of your symptoms. Allergy immunotherapy can significantly reduce your allergy symptoms or even eliminate them. Not all allergens have immunotherapy options, so discuss the best treatment option with your doctor.

Tips To Reduce Exposure To Indoor Pollution

Find out what’s making you sneeze with an allergy test

To reduce air pollution in your home:

  • avoid all cigarette smoke in your home
  • clean mould or damp from all surfaces
  • make sure all heaters and gas appliances are vented correctly and inspected every year
  • avoid fan-forced ducted heating because it circulates dust choose radiant heating instead
  • avoid wood stoves or make sure the doors to the stove fit tightly
  • avoid using open fireplaces
  • avoid household products that can irritate the airways such as cleaning products, paints, varnishes, pesticides, perfumes and soaps.

Also Check: Cetirizine For Asthma

Triggering A Fatal Reaction

Asthma triggers vary from person to person. Smoke, air pollution, exercise, weather, and fragrances or any allergen can cause an asthma attack. Asthma is chronic inflammation in the airways. If you have an allergic reaction, it can increase the inflammation, making it difficult to breathe.

Any allergen can cause a fatal asthma attack if exposure is high enough or the asthma is poorly controlled, Galowitz added.

The best way to prevent this is to keep your asthma under control by taking daily long-term control medicines and to avoid or reduce exposure to your allergens, Mendez added.

Why Might Asthma Protect Against Poor Outcomes In Covid

Several studies have suggested possible non-harmful or protective effects of asthma on the clinical outcomes of COVID-19. Asthma might protect against poor outcomes in COVID-19 due to several possible mechanisms , including altered viral entry receptor expression, chronic type-2 inflammation, younger age and/or absence of comorbidities, reduced exposure due to shielding, increased adherence to therapy and ICS use .

Possible mechanisms by which asthma might protect against poor outcomes of COVID-19

ACE2 receptor

Inflammatory endotypes and COVID-19

Eosinophilic inflammation

Also Check: Anti Drowsy Allergy Medicine

Risk Of Morbidity And Mortality In Patients With Asthma And Covid

Patients with asthma have a lower risk of death compared with patients without asthma . The overall findings of another recent meta-analysis suggest that people with asthma have a lower risk than those without asthma of acquiring COVID-19 and have similar clinical outcomes . Finally, Terry et al. review the literature related to the role of asthma on COVID-19 outcomes: the results of this meta-analysis do not provide clear evidence of increased risk of COVID-19, hospitalization, or severity, due to asthma . Moreover, the authors reported a significant 18% reduction in risk of mortality in asthma patients with COVID-19 compared to non-asthmatic patients. This finding is more robust due to the adjustment for major confounding factors, and provides reassurance to asthma sufferers, and those responsible for their care.

Severe Asthma And Covid

Tottori Allergy &  Asthma

In conclusion, it is now well-recognized that older age, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes are risk factors of poor COVID-19 outcome. What is not yet clear is whether chronic respiratory diseases like asthma are also to be included as risk factors. The many studies that have addressed this question show discrepant results and point towards numerous factors that may play a role in the susceptibility and severity of COVID 19 in asthma patients. These include the severity of asthma itself, the asthma phenotypes/endotypes, asthma medications and co-morbidities. The reported incidences of severe COVID-19 cases among asthma patients are not determined by patient-related factors alone. Moreover, local factors and the diagnostic methods to identify asthma and COVID-19 can play an important role .

Recommended Reading: What’s Better For Allergies Claritin Or Zyrtec

Are People With Allergies Or Asthma At A Higher Risk Of Getting Covid

There is good news. Evidence now being collected indicates that people with asthma are no more likely to contract COVID-19. Similarly, allergies do not appear to increase the risk of COVID-19.

The best way to reduce the risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19 is by maintaining consistent infection prevention habits, including social distancing and washing your hands.

Is Allergy Induced Asthma Created By Eating Fruit

Asthma is the most common childhood disease and it affects children from all walks of life, all socio-economic levels, and is often under-diagnosed. Airways in the lungs become inflamed, narrowing the path for oxygen.

The World Health Organization estimates more than 300 million people suffer from the debilitating effect of asthma. In poorer countries, asthma is regularly untreated.

Though doctors and scientists dont understand what actually causes asthma, they have worked diligently to narrow down the most common triggers for attacks. Allergy induced asthma episodes are common because 70% of those who have asthma also have allergies.

Primary Triggers for Asthma

  • Inhaled environmental pollution such as smog and chemical irritants
  • Dust and pet dander
  • Tobacco smoke
  • Mold, pollen, and grass clippings

At the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, researchers discovered a link between a fungus called Alternaria alternata and the occurrence of asthmatic episodes.

The fungus is common in the commercial growth of certain fruits. Produce that is infected though not rotted can trigger an attack when specific proteins known as Alt 1 and Alt 5 are present as well. These proteins lower the natural defense of the fruit kiwi in this study against the fungus.

The fungal spores are allergic to the protein, many asthmatics are allergic to the spore, and the combination of all three may be one of the primary causes of allergy induced asthma attacks among children in the United States.

Don’t Miss: Nighttime Sniffling Sneezing

Is It Safe To Take Asthma Medicine During Pregnancy

Asthma symptoms that dont stop or that get worse can be a risk to your and your baby. If you were taking asthma medicine before pregnancy, dont stop taking it without talking to your provider first.

If youre diagnosed with asthma during pregnancy, talk to your provider about the best way to treat or manage it.

If youre already getting allergy shots, you can keep taking them during pregnancy. But if you arent getting allergy shots, dont start taking them when youre pregnant because you could have a serious allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.

RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular