If you’ve ever wondered how someone gets asthma, this article may help you understand the process of how allergic diseases start producing asthma attacks.
Allergies are a disease of the immune system, where the body over-reacts to harmless foreign elements such as pollen, dust, dander, etc. As a means of protecting us from dangerous intruders, our immune system draws a very clean line to determine what is a part of the “self” and what is a “non-self” element. Something seen as “non-self”, whether it be hazardous to your health or not, is treated with a zero tolerance rule.
Your immune system may encounter a foreign agent (like ragweed pollen for example), and after the first couple instances of contact, your cells formulate a human leukocyte antigen (HLA). HLA aids your body in mapping out that ragweed pollen is a “non-self” invader and readies your Lymphocytes (white blood cells) in case of another attack.
Once the Lymphocytes recognize ragweed pollen, they produce IgE antibodies that bind themselves to the allergen (in this case, a fragment of ragweed pollen). Mast cells and Basophils (Mast cells are found in tissues, while Basophils are found in blood) become armed like tiny bombs, with IgE antibodies acting almost like a fuse. When the IgE binds itself to the pollen fragments, the Mast Cells and Basophils explosively release tiny packets of over 30 allergy chemicals. One of the most important of these chemicals is histamine—every Mast cell has 1000 packets to release and it is histamine and the other chemicals that cause an allergic reaction.
It is your body’s own defense mechanism that causes the runny nose and sneezing you experience after you’ve come in contact with an allergen. Usually over time, our immune system will become sensitized to a substance and with increased or repeated exposure, allergic symptoms could lead to asthma. Why is this? Researchers are finding that the relationship between allergies and bronchial asthma is cemented in several occurrences:
1. Similar anatomy—The idea that the anatomy of the tissues in the nose and lungs are almost identical. Both are exposed to the same allergens and irritants and both respond similarly—it is a matter of time and exposure until both are equally sensitized;
2. The nasal-bronchial reflex—The idea that there are nerve fibers originating in the upper airway which connect to the lungs, allowing allergic reactions in the nose to cause a reflex in the lungs—a severe enough allergic reaction could make its way into your lungs, causing asthma;
3. Nasal blockage results in increased mouth breathing—The idea that the nasal blockage caused by allergic rhinitis may result in a shift from the normal pattern of nasal breathing to mouth breathing—this causes the allergens to hit the lungs directly;
4. Postnasal drip of inflammatory material—The idea that severe postnasal drip triggers episodes of asthma. Researchers have found that inflammatory chemicals from Mast cells commonly found in the noses of people with allergic rhinitis drip into the lungs while they sleep, thus causing asthma to worsen.
Over time your body will build up a sensitivity to an allergen and if you aren’t careful or simply have the genetic predisposition, you could develop asthma over time.
An informative page for adult onset asthma can be found on the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s website. In the section under “How Can Asthma Symptoms can be Controlled or Reduced?”, it is suggested that steps be taken to control known or potential triggers in your environment.
From the perspective of a Certified Air Quality Professional, it’s best to remove those triggers from the air before they get the chance to be inhaled. Dynamic Air Cleaner makes several air filters that are safe for the delicate lungs of asthmatics and give HEPA quality air filtraton (as recommended by the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology).
To your health!
Dan Buglio
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