Asthma is a disease of the airways in the lungs. Its symptoms are caused by inflammation, which swells the airways making them narrow, red and extra-sensitive to irritants. This leads to recurrent attacks of breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness and coughing.

Common symptoms of asthma are:

• Wheezing or a whistling noise in the chest
• Coughing
• Shortness of breath
• A tight chest

What can trigger asthma symptoms?
A trigger is anything that irritates the airways and causes the symptoms of asthma to appear. Everyone's asthma is different and an asthma sufferer will probably have several triggers. Common triggers include allergies to things like pollen, house-dust mites, furry or feathery animals or tobacco smoke. Asthma is unfortunately becoming more and more common with around one in every twelve people in the United Kingdom having asthma which equates to over 5.2 million people.

Eczema, or dermatitis as it is sometimes called, is a group of skin conditions which can affect all age groups. In the United Kingdom, as many as one in five of all children of school age have eczema, along with about one in twelve of the adult population.

The severity of the disease can vary. In mild forms the skin is dry, hot and itchy, whilst in more severe forms the skin can become broken, raw and bleeding. Although it can sometimes look unpleasant, eczema is not contagious. With treatment the inflammation of eczema can be reduced, though the skin will always be sensitive to flare-ups and need extra care.
Atopic eczema is the most common type of eczema and is linked with hay fever and asthma. The tendency to develop atopic eczema is inherited but is strongly influenced by environmental factors.
Atopic means an extra sensitivity to substances (allergens). The most common allergens being house dust mites, feathers, pollen, cat or dog fur and sometimes foodstuffs e.g. cows milk, eggs or nuts.