Can other factors irritate the lungs other than what is suspected to kick off an attack ?

Hi, I've had problems since Feb last year, and occupational asthma has been diagnosed as a possible cause. I've never had asthma before and had an onset of breathing difficulties over a two day period. Had a few episodes and hospital stays since then and put it down to the chemicals i was using at the time. However I'm monitoring my peak flows and they seem to drop throughout the shift even when that chemical is not in the environment. Granted it drops quite lower when it is, and can be quite instant. If my asthma was initiated by a chemical or particular process in work am I now vulnerable to other things such as heat,airborne powder, increased activity ? Any help, most appreciated. Thanks Alan

Occupational Asthma, Worker, 6/15/2012, 6/20/2012,

Once you have developed occupation asthma you may also react to all the things that make normal asthmatics worse, such as virus infections, cold air, exercise, perfumes and irritant exposures. In your situation it may also be that there is enough exposure to the chemical causing your asthma in the workplace even when it is not being used at the time. Many develop occupational asthma from processes that they dont work on, but are nearby. It sounds that you may be very sensitive to something, in which case you need to identify the cause and not have further exposure.

6/18/2012

Thank you

6/20/2012