The Causes of Asthma
Doctors have yet to discover the precise cause of asthma, but they have put forth several different theories. Doctors can agree on several different factors that can contribute to the development of asthma symptoms.
- Genetics- There is a link between genetics and the development of asthma. Parents can pass on certain conditions and allergies onto their children, or more accurately, the potential to develop certain allergies and conditions. Children who have parents with specific allergies can inherit those allergies, which can then advance and mutate into asthma.
- Development- Almost all cases of asthma develop early in life. It is rare for adults to develop asthma without having symptoms as a child.
- Infections- Certain respiratory factors can contribute to the development of asthma. If a child develops an infection of the lungs, this could cause specific damage that can lead to the development of asthma.
- Environmental Factors- Exposure to certain environmental factors can lead to the development of allergies, and in turn the development of asthma. Whatever is in the air will wind up in our lungs, and therefore, it can be a contributing factor to various conditions of the lungs. This can include everything from animal dander to cigarette smoke.
Doctors, while still researching the precise cause of asthma, have come forth with an interesting universal theory. The Hygiene Hypothesis, as it has become known, was put forth due to the statistics of the condition. The U.S., and several other Western countries, tend to have higher cases of asthma in both children and adults.
The Hygiene Hypothesis is based on the sanitary conditions in Western, or more developed, countries. Due to our emphasis on cleanliness, children are no longer exposed to as many infectious conditions. While this is a good thing, it also prevents the immune system from developing as well. The immune system develops throughout childhood from exposure to infectious conditions, viruses, bacteria, and germs in general, which provides the immune system with an opportunity to learn how to fight them. Due to the sanitary conditions that our cultures have presented, there is no longer the vast exposure, which means children today, if raised in a Western country will have a weaker immune system. Due to this weakened immune system, or that lack of exposure to harmful agents, the body will develop different ways of combating infections. Asthma could actually be the body's way of fending off an infection of the lungs, if the immune system has not had the opportunity to develop a resistance to those particular lung infections.
This is still just a hypothesis, and has yet to be proven as fact.
