Occupational asthma

Okay, so let's talk about something called occupational asthma. Do you know what asthma is? It's when your airways (the tubes that lead air in and out of your lungs) get blocked, making it hard to breathe. When you have occupational asthma, it means that your asthma was caused by something you were breathing in at your job or workplace.

Now, let's pretend you have a job at a flower shop. You love your job because you get to smell all the different flowers, but after being there for a while, you start to feel like you can't breathe very well. That's because the flowers are giving off tiny things called "allergens" (pronounced: al-er-jenz) which are like little particles that can get stuck in your nose and airways, making them swollen and blocked.

When you breathe in these allergens at work every day, your body starts to think they are dangerous and your immune system tries to fight them off. That's when you might start having asthma symptoms like wheezing, coughing, or trouble breathing. That's called occupational asthma.

But the good news is, there are things your boss and doctor can do to help you. Your boss might try to reduce the amount of allergens in the air or give you protective gear like a mask to wear. Your doctor might give you medicine to help control your asthma symptoms. It's important to talk to both your boss and doctor if you think you might have occupational asthma so that you can protect your health and keep doing the things you love.