Extrinsic (External) factors responsible for Childhood Asthma

They comprise of a wide range of allergies, which include allergens such as food allergens, pollutants (industrial pollution), chemicals (pest control), environmental factors (pollen, dust mites, cats, cockroaches, fungi, smoke, etc.), temperature intolerance (affected by the change in the atmospheric temperature). Physical exertion or exercise is known to induce an asthmatic episode. Certain infections such as viral, bacterial or fungal infections often lead to asthmatic breathing.

Intrinsic (Internal) factors causing Asthma in Children

The extrinsic factors alone cannot produce asthma, as not every one who is exposed to the pollen develops asthma. Again, not everyone who is allergic to pollen develops asthma! This means, the very individual susceptibility is probably the most important aspect when we try to understand the causative factors responsible for childhood asthma. In other words, asthma is not merely a disease of the lungs but of the immune system. The asthmatic episode is an outcome of the fundamental tendency or the susceptibility, which is genetically determined. (This is also true with a wide range of diseases.) Hereditary influences also decide the predisposition to asthma as children with a family history of asthma or allergy or eczema are more prone to asthma as compared to their counterpart who do not have such a family history.