ABSTRACT
Asthma is a variable disease dependent on environmental factors, such as particles, smoke and allergens. One of the most important factors to avoid is tobacco consumption, which is important for the unborn infant, the adolescent who might have started this habit and the smoking adult patients with asthma. Focus on tobacco cessation leads to better disease control, equivalent to stepping up anti-asthma medication and prevents future development of airflow limitation and COPD. Likewise, in allergic patients with asthma, better disease control might occur when the allergens are removed from the environment, which is possible with pets, but less so with pollen or other airborne allergens.
The majority of patients with asthma can be managed satisfactorily when the medication is taken as prescribed, with the frequency as agreed between the physician, the asthma specialist and the patients. The likelihood of achieving good control is higher if information about important risk factors is sought. In this chapter, we review these risk factors and their treatment.
