What Causes An Asthma Attack?
An asthma attack can occur when you are exposed to things in the environment, such as house dust mites and tobacco smoke. These are called asthma triggers. Some of the most important triggers are available at Important Asthma Triggers. The above text is from the “You Can Control Your Asthma” [PDF, 4074KB] full-color brochure and is suitable for downloading and printing.
Some causes and triggers are common to all people with asthma, and some are more individual, especially allergens. There are very big differences between people in how readily and how severely they react to different triggers. The severity of the symptoms can differ in the same person at different times, and the effects of treatment can also vary. Your asthma does not stay the same, but changes over time, and every person with asthma has good days and bad days (or longer periods). However, if asthma is properly treated, there can also be long periods without symptoms or attacks. A number of different triggers can cause asthma symptoms or start an asthma attack: • infections, usually those caused by a virus (e.g. colds or flu) • allergens, most commonly from house dust mites, pets or pollen • exercise, especially in cold weather • emotions, such as excitement, fear or anger • irritants, such as air pollution • smoking people with asthma and the parents of asthmatic children should avoid
