In fact, federal officials report that the number of asthma cases more than doubled between 1980 and 1996. Ironically, industrialization, energy-efficient homes, and eradication of many childhood illnesses, such as measles and mumps , may be partly to blame. For reasons unknown, asthma isn't much of a problem in pre-industrial societies. But when development moves in, asthma follows. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans are spending more and more time sealed in energy-efficient homes.
Indoor air is ripe with allergens, such as dust mites and cockroaches.
And as children spend much of their time propped in front of the TV or computer, they spend less time outside in the fresh air. In fact, the typical American child only spends about two hours outside daily these days. All this has translated to an increase in asthma. The ever-ready immune system , too, which used to marshal its defenses against chicken pox and rubella , now has little more to do than combat an onslaught of cockroaches and dust mites, microscopic pests that actually cause asthma. Asthma is a chronic condition, and there is no known cure.