# First Steps of Asthma Management with a Personalized Ontology Model
## 2 State of the Art Systems
Early life sensitization to indoor allergens is a predictor of asthma development later in life. Furthermore, the avoidance of exposure to these allergens continues to be important, especially given that the vast majority of children with asthma are sensitized to at least one indoor allergen [21]. Indoor allergens are of particular importance and principally include house dust mites, animal dander, cockroaches, mice, and molds [21; 22]. The relative importance of these different allergens varies based on different environmental factors, depending on geographic, climatic, socioeconomic, and housing conditions. In the outdoors, pollens can induce seasonal asthma in sensitized individuals, and outdoor molds or fungi may lead to severe asthma exacerbations [23]. Changes in gaseous and particulate outdoor air pollutants are associated with daily asthmatic symptoms, a decrease in lung function, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations for asthma attacks [23]. Several studies have confirmed that air pollution from ozone (O\({}_{3}\)), sulfur dioxide (SO\({}_{2}\)), nitrogen dioxide (NO\({}_{2}\)), and particulate matter (PM) may induce or aggravate asthma [24]. The most important outdoor air pollutants are PM, O\({}_{3}\), SO\({}_{2}\), NO\({}_{2}\), CO, and Lead (Pb). Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in early life, especially that from the mother, and maternal smoking during pregnancy, are known risk factors for respiratory symptoms and asthma among children. Active smoking has been shown to be risk factor for developing asthma; women who smoke are at particular risk. Similarly, second hand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposure is also associated with the development of asthma in adolescents and adults [8; 25]. The workplace environment can lead to the development of different types of work-related asthma. Occupational asthma (OA) results from the exposure to irritants and allergens in the workplace, such as food derivatives, fumes, gases, chemical products, animal products, etc. [8; 26]. Cold weather causes functional disabilities among individuals with an existing respiratory disease. This is because low temperatures and the accompanying low air humidity are likely to affect the respiratory epithelium and induce hyperresponsiveness and narrowing of the respiratory airways [27]. Cold temperatures can trigger asthma attacks. In general, the effect of cold weather appears to last for several weeks, whereas the effect of hot weather is more short term [23]. These research projects handle, in particular, the heterogeneity, yet, despite their medical value, they lack many aspects that may affect the lives of asthma patients. The developed frameworks and applications do not adequately support a comprehensive control of asthma either in terms of the indicators to be tracked or in terms of physical location changes. None of these research projects provide a detailed protection platform to monitor all relevant environmental triggers and food allergens. For example, a combination of the context categorization, formal context representation, and reasoning is not yet used. In addition, these frameworks need a personalized treatment asthma plan since each patient reacts differently to these triggers. In this research work, we aim to fill the gap by proposinga personalized healthcare system to better protect asthma patients from the environmental risk factors and food allergens.