• Question: Why isn't there a cure for asthma?

    Asked by anon-271432 on 1 Dec 2020.
    • Photo: Ashleigh Cheyne

      Ashleigh Cheyne answered on 1 Dec 2020:

      Asthma can be caused by different reasons – it can be because of your genes, or the environment or because of other illnesses. So, it is difficult to cure asthma because there are lots of different things you need to fix, and you need different cures for each type of asthma. Some of these causes are things like dust or pollen, like if you were allergic to them.

      As an example, some types of asthma is caused by your immune system being more sensitive than it should be, so your body reacts to things like dust which it normally wouldn’t react to. The exact reasons why this happens are not completely understood. Your immune system is made up of many different cells and these cells are all around your body so it is really difficult to understand which cells are not working well and why.

    • Photo: Sarah Smythe

      Sarah Smythe answered on 1 Dec 2020:

      Asthma isn’t just caused by a virus or bacteria or something that can be replaced. It is caused by a combination of things and this means that it is really hard to cure.

      I have “allergic asthma” – this means I get asthma and breathing difficult when I am near something I am allergic to (cats, dogs, horses). I have lots of different medications to fix it, but these aren’t the same as someone who has asthma due to genetics (from their family) or through pollution or their lifestyle. That means we can’t invent a cure that can fix every single type because they are all different.

Comments

  • Photo: anon-274110

    anon-274110 commented on :

    Is there any other different types of asthma ?

    • Photo: Sarah

      Sarah commented on :

      So asthma has typical symptoms that almost every person will get – shortness of breath, wheezing, lots of mucus. In some it is fatal. It can be bad for some people and not too bad for others.

      It can be different based on the person and how their body can cope. It can be different depending on how severe it is.

      It can also be different in how it is caused – some people get it from allergies (dust, fur, hayfever). Some people get it from pollution. Some people get it from their families (parents had it, grandparents have it). It can be triggered by weight or sports.

      It’s quite complex and everyone can be different. But almost everyone treats it with an inhaler (and there are lots of different inhalers too!)

  • Photo: anon-274110

    anon-274110 commented on :

    That is what i have all the things you named