HOW ASTHMA AND ALLERGIES DIFFER

Asthma and allergies have a lot in common and they often occur together, but they are not the same thing. Allergies are an immune response to a substance, while asthma is a respiratory disorder that restricts airways and makes it difficult to breathe. Flare-ups of both conditions start with exposure to a substance that triggers a response in the body. With allergies, an allergen triggers the immune response, causing the body to release histamines that produce allergy symptoms. Asthma symptoms are often triggered by exercise or environmental conditions (cold weather, poor air quality). However, asthma can also be triggered by an allergen when a person suffers from both allergies and asthma, called allergic asthma or allergy-induced asthma.

P.S. There are a few treatments that target both allergies and asthma at the same time, but more commonly, these two conditions are treated separately.

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