Asthma: What Are Its Causes And Treatments?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 262 million people in 2019 had asthma resulting in 455,000 deaths. It is a significant non-communicable disease affecting adults and children. The airway narrows due to inflammation resulting in coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Avoidance of triggers can help reduce asthma symptoms, but it is also necessary to seek medical treatment. Many treatment options are available for asthma, and newer treatments for asthma are being explored with each passing day.

What Is The Main Cause of Asthma? 

There are multiple causes of asthma. One cannot simply put their finger on a single factor responsible for it. Therefore, asthma is of multifactorial origin. Some of the causative factors are listed below:

• Asthma may run in the family: People with family members having asthma are more likely to have it. It is especially true for close relatives such as siblings or parents.
• Asthma coincides with other allergic conditions like eczema or hay fever.
• Urban populations have a higher incidence of asthma, which may be due to multiple lifestyle factors.
• Studies have shown that events in early life like low birth weight, premature birth, exposure to air pollutants (especially tobacco smoke), and respiratory viral infections increase the risk of asthma.
• High exposure to environmental allergens and irritants like air pollution, dust mite, molds, chemicals, fumes, or dust is also a contributing factor.
• Overweight adults and children have a higher risk for asthma.

What Is The Treatment Of Asthma? 

Treatment therapies are available to curb asthma symptoms and help you lead an active life.

Some of the standard treatment therapies include:

• Inhalers
• Tablets
• Injections
• Surgery
• Complementary therapies

Inhalers:

Inhalers are portable devices through which you can breathe in medicine. They can help alleviate symptoms as they arise (reliever inhalers) and prevent the development of symptoms (preventer inhalers). Some people with more severe forms may need a combination of both (combination inhalers). You may consult your doctor and discuss the type of inhaler best suited to your condition.

• Reliever inhalers: Most people with asthma receive these blue-colored reliever inhalers. They can relieve asthma symptoms in a few minutes when you suffer an attack. Short-acting beta agonists like salbutamol, epinephrine, and levalbuterol are the most commonly used. Side effects of pain relievers include rapid heartbeat (palpitations), trembling of hands, and a feeling of uneasiness or anxiousness. During your health visits, you should let your doctor or nurse know that you use reliever inhalers more than three times per week.
• Preventer inhalers: If a person needs to use a reliever inhaler often, it is a good idea to consider a preventer inhaler. Common preventer inhalers are inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). These are daily medications and must be consumed even if you feel you can skip them. Sometimes they can cause a fungal infection of the mouth or throat (oral thrush), a hoarse voice, or a sore throat. One can prevent it by using a spacer (a hollow plastic tube) and rinsing the mouth afterward.
• Combination inhalers: If using a reliever or a preventer inhaler does not work, one may need a combination inhaler. They can be used daily to help stop symptoms from occurring and provide long-term relief if the symptoms arise. The side effects overlap with reliever and preventer inhalers.

Tablets:

Sometimes, only inhalers do not work and a combination of inhalers and tablets may be required. Some of these are:

• Leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs)

The most common tablets for asthma are leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs). These are available as syrup or powder and are to be taken daily. The most common side effects include stomach aches and headaches.

• Theophylline

Theophylline is a xanthine and is one of the most widely popular drugs for asthma and COPD. It is inexpensive and readily available. Side effects are nausea, headaches, inability to sleep, and rashes.

• Steroid tablets

Steroid tablets such as prednisone and hydrocortisone are available options for more serious asthmatic attacks. Long-term side effects can include increased appetite, leading to weight gain, easy bruising, mood changes, fragile bones (osteoporosis), and high blood pressure.

Other Treatments:

• Injections: Another available option for asthma is injections. An asthma specialist can prescribe asthma injections of medicine and biological therapies every few weeks.
• Surgery: A bronchial thermoplasty is a procedure in which a tube passes into the bronchus. It then generates heat, relaxing the walls of the airway. Bronchial thermoplasty is a relatively safe procedure done under general anesthesia.

Complementary Therapies:

Multiple complementary therapies can be possible treatment options for asthma. These include:

• Breathing exercises (such as the Papworth method or the Buteyko method)
• Traditional Chinese herbal medicine
• Acupuncture
• Ionizers (devices that use an electric current to charge molecules of air)
• Manual therapies (such as chiropractic therapies)
• Homeopathy
• Dietary supplements

There is some evidence supporting breathing exercises as possible adjunct therapies. Currently, there is no proof that other therapies work.

Work-related Asthma or Occupational Asthma:

It is important to avoid triggers for asthma and sometimes your work environment may cause your symptoms to exacerbate. Thus, it is important to have the right diagnosis by a professional. Eventually, you can introduce modifications to your workplace so that you can avoid triggers.

You may be able to:

• Substitute or remove the substance that is triggering your asthma from your workplace
• Ask if your employer could reassign you to another role within the company
• Use protective breathing equipment

The Takeaway:

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that causes the airway to narrow. Many factors including environmental and genetic factors can cause asthma. It is possible to manage asthma with medications such as inhalers and oral tablets, however, there is no definite cure yet.

Asthma can be fatal without treatment, so people with asthma need to work closely with their healthcare provider and develop individualized treatment strategies. These can include medications, lifestyle modifications, and regular monitoring.

As previously discussed, there are currently no available treatments for asthma, which is why many prominent clinical trial organizations are busy investigating novel therapies. When looking at treatment options one should always explore all their options before making a final call.