Can dust cause asthma even if you're not actually allergic?
I've had symptoms of dust mite allergy for years, and since I was diagnosed with asthma last year, the dust has emerged as a major trigger. I had allergy testing done and I'm only allergic to ragweed (which seems to have only a mild effect on my asthma, despite causing other allergy symptoms).
Could it be a false negative? Or maybe dust is an irritant for me, rather than a true allergy, like cigarette smoke or air pollution?
Hi rjmoon and thanks for your question. While we cannot provide medical advice or diagnostics over the internet (for your own safety), your concern certainly warrants a reply. There could always be the possibility that the allergy test results yielded a false negative - you may want to explore that further with the allergist.
In the interim, it sounds like the dust is one of your triggers since you become symptomatic upon exposure. Call it an irritant if you want to, the main idea would be to avoid exposure and protect yourself. You may find it helpful to wear a barrier mask of some kind when you are going to be dealing with dust. That might help you.
All the best,
Leon (site moderator)
