Basic of Asthma - Part 2
Written by Clive Chung on 1:28 AMAtopic asthma is asthma that is allergy based and it usually starts in childhood. The condition is likely to be triggered by external allergens like the house-dust mite, pollen, cat dander, or irritants like cigarette smoke. The person may well have one of the other atopic conditions - eczema.
Atopic people tend to make larger then usual amounts of antibodies called immunoglobin E or IgE. Antibodies defend the body against foreign substances, also known as allergens. When antibodies meet up with undesirable substances, they react, and with asthma patients, the already irritable airways become inflamed.
There is often a family history of one of the other associated atopic conditions - eczema, allergic rhinitis and hayfever - but it is not necessarily apparent. It has been estimated that as many as a third of all people would prove to be atopic (allergic) if tested. Yet not all of these ppeople have asthma or any of the atopic conditions mentioned. However, they do all share a predisposition to them.
Asthma that develops later in life is usually a variety known as intrinsic asthma. Here the triggers are not so easy to identify but viral infection is thought to be one. Allergy may still be important but is not so easily identified. Patients may also experience benign polyps in the nose. However, a great number of patients have both types of asthma so identifying which one you have may not be as helpful as it seems.
Viral infections are one of the commonest triggers of asthma in all the groups. The reason why asthma so often accompanies viral conditions may be due to a combination of an allergic response and the effect of the virus.
So asthma is a condition to which you have a predisposition, probably because of family connections. It is very likely that you have inherited a tendency to have asthma as part of your genetic make-up. It is not infectious, contagious or viral. You cannot give asthma to anyone, nor can anyone catch it from your under any circumstances whatsoever!
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