Asthma - Airborne Causes of Bronchospasm

Irritation produced in the lung by inhalation of chemicals like formaldehyde is still another known cause of asthma. These exposures usually occur at work, so the problem is called "occupational" asthma. About 250 agents can cause occupational asthma. Among the substances that may provoke occupational asthma are toxic gases including dry-cleaning fluids, metals such as solder, dusts (particularly grain dusts and seed dusts), organic chemicals, plasticizers, plant sprays, and toxic gases. For the most part, no allergic mechanism is associated with this type of asthma, but inflammation is a factor. Reaction to these exposures can cause severe asthma, which, when it occurs in the workplace, can lead to lawsuits.

Occupational asthma does not always happen on the job. I can vividly recall a whole family, including three small children, who developed coughing and wheezing only at home. Rather than use the municipal service, the family had their own well; testing the well water did not disclose a cause for the family's asthma. Next, the family was tested for possible allergies but nothing came up. On a visit to the home it became apparent that the problem had begun shortly after insulation had been blown into the walls. The culprit turned out to be formaldehyde, a plasticizer that continued to evaporate into the air for months as the insulation set The family was forced to move to a new home to solve the problem. This led to a lawsuit against the installer of the insulation, a suit in which the family prevailed.