<s>[INST] What causes an asthma attack? [/INST] Some causes and triggers are common to all people with asthma, and some are more individual, especially allergens. There are very big differences between people in how readily and how severely they react to different triggers. The severity of the symptoms can differ in the same person at different times, and the effects of treatment can also vary.Your asthma does not stay the same, but changes over time, and every person with asthma has good days and bad days (or longer periods). However, if asthma is properly treated, there can also be long periods without symptoms or attacks. A number of different triggers can cause asthma symptoms or start an asthma attack: infections, usually those caused by a virus (e.g. colds or flu),allergens, most commonly from house dust mites, pets or pollen,exercise, especially in cold weather,emotions, such as excitement, fear or anger,irritants, such as air pollution,smoking people with asthma and the parents of asthmatic children should avoid smoking,changes in the weather (e.g. a cold spell),food additives, such as tartrazine (an artificial food colouring), or food allergens, such as peanuts (sensitized or allergic individuals can have a very severe allergic reaction),certain medications some people may be allergic to some drugs (e.g. aspirin). Source: Ginasthma. Link: https://ginasthma.org/about-us/faqs/. Field: Lung Disease. Disease: Asthma </s>