[Occupational asthma and reactive airway dysfunction syndrome].

Occupational asthma could be defined as a reversible lung disorder characterized by attacks of breathing difficulty, wheezing, and cough, which are caused by various agents found in the workplace. Incidence varies from 2 to 15% in adult work population; actually there is no data for the child population. Allergic occupational asthma is due to allergic sensitization to a specific substance or material present at the workplace; non-allergic occupational asthma occurs because of the high exposure to an irritant also at the workplace. Over the past few years, more people have been diagnosed as having asthma because of some workplace exposure. The identification of occupational asthma in workers is important because early detection may lead to the control of the worker's symptoms and control of the chemicals in the workplace. In Latin America there is no data about occupational asthma, maybe for the scarce information about it or for its difficult diagnosis.