TAKE CONTROL - Q&A to Getting to Know Your Triggers   Home | Asthma Assistant | Glossary | Disclaimer   Is it Asthma | Society & Self | Take Control | Treatment or Cure | Quality Living

What is a trigger? A trigger is anything which brings on your symptoms or makes them worse. There are a wide range of known and common asthma triggers, but in addition, there are probably as many unknown! It is important to understand that triggers do not cause asthma, they only bring out the symptoms. The airways of people with asthma are always twitchy and sensitive, but it is usually the triggers which bring on the symptoms. Most people with asthma will be affected by many triggers and not everyone has the same triggers. Some of these are: (1) Pollens from flowers, trees and grass. (2) Furry of feathery animals such as cats, dogs or budgerigars. (3) House dust mite. (4) Exercise. (5) Common cold and flu viruses. (6) Foods such as some preservatives or dairy products. (7) The weather. (8) Pollution. (9) Drugs such as aspirin and beta blockers (used to control blood pressure). (10) Hayfever. (11) Occupational triggers such as latex or wood dusts. (12) Emotions such as stress or excitement. Why should I get to know my triggers? It is very important to get to know your own personal triggers, so that you can take precautions to avoid them where possible or at least prepare yourself before contact! Knowing your triggers can mean: (1) Better control on less medication. (2) Less chance of an asthma attack. (3) Healthier lungs both now and in the future. Why can identifying my triggers be difficult? Some asthma triggers are obvious. You may walk into a smoky room and immediately your asthma symptoms come on. However, it is not always this simple for a number of reasons:   Multiple Triggers Most people find they are sensitive to a number of different triggers. It can therefore be difficult to identify them individually as you may contact several in one day.   Sensitisation Your asthma may be triggered after a period of exposure to something which did not previously trigger your asthma: this is called sensitisation. This means you may suddenly become sensitive to something which you have had contact with for days, weeks or even years.   The Initial Culprit? You may suddenly find your asthma worsened by many different things. It is not unusual for one trigger e.g. a cold, to agitate the airways so that they are then much more sensitive to other triggers, even things which would not normally affect you! This can make it hard to identify the initial culprit!   The Late Response If you react quickly to a trigger, within minutes or so, it is usually easy to identify. This is called the 'early response'. However, sometimes after these symptoms wear off another reaction occurs much later, between 6 and 10 hours after the first one. This is called the 'late response'. As it comes on more slowly, it can be harder to identify and peak flow monitoring can be particularly useful here. Some triggers may only cause a 'late response' which can complicate things further.   No Triggers! Some people with asthma do have any triggers which can be clearly identified. This tends to be more common in people who develop asthma in adulthood. How can I identify my triggers? Sometimes your triggers will be obvious. For example, if you come into contact with the neighbours cat and within minutes your asthma symptoms come on, then it is easy to make the association between the cat and your asthma! Monitoring at home can help you to identify your more elusive triggers. The sub-topic Getting to Know Your Asthma will give you more information on how to do this. The Asthma Assistant Application has a special feature to help you track your triggers. What can I do about them? Once you have identified your triggers you can take precautions to avoid them. This is now recommended in a number of published guidelines on asthma care. Some of the measures you can take are summarised in the topic Quality Living. Obviously, it is not always practical to avoid things which make you worse. One alternative option is to take some reliever medication before you contact the known trigger as this can protect you. This is probably most well known in people who take a puff of their reliever before exercise to help prevent their symptoms from coming on. Another option is to increase your regular preventer therapy. This is particularly useful if you are going somewhere, e.g. on holiday, where you will be exposed to one or more of your known triggers. Discuss these options with your doctor and/or asthma nurse.

Topic "Take Control" Updated 14th August 2003

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