Asthma

Sometimes irritating material enters with the air .This material is unwanted because it is useless to the body and can be dangerous, so the lungs have a natural defense mechanism: coughing starts in an attempt to expel this material. Mucus is also produced in large quantities to lubricate the airways so any material can be “washed out”. Those ways the lungs are able to expose our blood to the air while at the same time protect us from the harmful substances in that air.
From that we gather that the coughing and mucus production is NORMAL in response to irritants. In asthma, this normal protective response is EXAGGERATED, leading to frequent over-reaction by the lungs in response to certain stimuli.

Causes of Asthma:
There are 2 types of Asthma depending on the causes;

Extrinsic asthma: Occurs in younger patients , it is usually caused by exposure to “allergens”, and it is associated with a genetic predisposition (family history ,either of asthma or other “atopies” like eczema and hay fever)
Intrinsic asthma: Occurs in older patients, it is usually not related to allergy or family history.
Although the exact cause of asthma is not understood, the first type is closely related to allergy; sometimes treating the allergy will cure the disease.
Both types of asthma happen in the form of ATTACKS that are precipitated by TRIGGERS. The concept of triggers is important, because avoiding the triggers can decrease frequency of attacks.