5% of German children and adolescents have already suffered from asthma before age 17. This is what a recent study by the Robert Koch Institute shows. Asthma is even the most common chronic disease in children. In asthmatics, the airways are chronically inflamed. Stress, cold, or contact with allergenic substances cause the inflamed airways to narrow. The result is shortness of breath – a typical symptom of asthma.
Allergies are common asthma triggers. If the allergy is not treated at its source, the symptoms can spread from the upper to the lower airways and lead to chronic asthma inflammation. In many cases, this progression can be prevented by allergy vaccination. Since the 1970s, allergic diseases have increased dramatically in Western countries. The number of patients suffering from bronchial asthma has doubled since then. According to experts, the causes of this development are diverse. Doubtless, hereditary factors play an important role in asthma and allergies. But environmental conditions also play an important role. Some allergy experts, for example, blame modern eating habits or excessive hygiene for the increase in allergies. Studies show that children who grow up on farms and are regularly in stables suffer significantly less from asthma and allergies.