Airborne substances that when inhaled act as an asthma trigger is known as asthma irritants. Nonetheless, they vary from allergens in that they do not create an immune response. As an alternative, they just further irritate already inflamed airways.
Here are some of the most common types of asthma irritants:
Tobacco Smoke
Tobacco smoke is a powerful asthma trigger, whether you are the one doing the smoking or if you are just breathing in secondhand smoke from someone else’s cigarette. Not only is tobacco smoke injurious to asthmatic people, but some studies have proposed that children whose mothers smoke are much more possible to develop asthma themselves.
Most asthma triggers fall into one of two categories: allergens or irritants. Tobacco smoke is what is known as an irritant. This means that it does not stimulate allergic reaction type in sensitive people, but it further aggravates already inflamed and irritated airways, deteriorating the asthma and triggering asthma symptoms.
A study has shown that being exposed to primary or secondhand smoke causes the following problems for people who have asthma:
- Lung function Decreased.
- Augmentedwant for asthma medicine.
- Missed school & work days.
Air Pollutants & Irritants
Air pollution is yet another asthma trigger. Air pollutants such as smoke, ground level ozone, vehicle exhaust, and others are in the class of asthma triggers known as irritants.
An irritant is so calledas it irritates previously inflamed asthma airways. Irritants don’t create the similar type of immune response that an allergen does. But they can make prevailingasthma symptoms worse.
Common air pollutants include:
- Tobacco smoke.
- Wood smoke from campfires and wood stoves.
- Exhaust, soot and fumes from cars and other road vehicles.
- Other chemical fumes in the air.
Airborne Asthma Triggers - Particles, Dust, Powders
Airborne asthma triggers comprise a class of triggers known as irritants. Some sorts of these irritants are inhaled into the airways as dust or powder, rather than as a gas. When these triggers are inhaled, your already irritated airways inclined to become even more irritated and inflamed, ensuing asthma symptoms increase.
Types of Dust/Powder Airborne Asthma Triggers
Certain of these irritants might come across in daily life, but more regularly they are anoccupational hazard.
Examples include:
- Talcum powder (in gloves used by healthcare workers).
- Coal dust (coal mine workers).
- Chalk dust (teachers).
- Sawdust (wood yard workers).