Anyone have asthma?

[Farmer Kitty]

I'm also an asthma suffer. I would recommend talking to the doctor about a controller inhaler! They are really a blessing! I also take a 1000 mg vit. C a day. I had read that taking the 1000 mg a day help asthma. I have had really good luck with it and it also helps ward off illness. When it is cold outside he should be wearing a mask or scarf to cover his mouth and nose. It helps heat the air he is breathing and therefore helps lessen the attacks. We have a dairy farm and I'm in and out of the barns all the time so I found a coat that the collar zips right up. Then I can tuck my mouth and nose down in the collar and that acts as a mask or scarf. Also, if he has any allergies they will trigger an attack. He needs to control any allergies he has by avoiding them or taking meds for them.

Good luck! Remind him that uncontrolled asthma leads to lung damage!

 

[mom'sfolly]

Make sure everyone in your family gets a flu shot. Flu can ba a danger to people with asthma, my son is always on the short list for the shot. Also a daily med, either inhaled or oral is probably needed, albuterol is an emergency med and is not meant to be used daily. My son was using his nebulizer alot this fall, and is now taking Zyrtec (sp?) daily, it has made a world of difference. One of my asthma triggers was cold, dry air. Now I live in Texas and I haven't seen cold dry air in 13 years. If cold dry air is a trigger, the boiling water is great, but if dust mites are a trigger, keeping the house dry is better. Dust mites don't breed under a certain humidity (30%) I think, so dry air help get rid of them. Your dh might consider getting allegy tested and taking allergy shots for a long term solution. I don't know if his is allergy triggered or not. Like migranes, foods can trigger asthma particularly red wine. Keeping track of foods, environmental factors and tracking symtoms may help you find out things he needs to avoid. I'll put him in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[jeaucamom]

All three of my kids had asthma as infants/toddlers. Even as a nurse, I have panicked on several occasions. My girls outgrew it, but my son is still an asthmatic. Austin stopped breathing at 19 days old after I had eaten eggs and then nursed him. And Caity, one night when I picked her up at midnight from the sitter after I had gotten off work was blue also. So they have had severe cases. Singulair is a very good, NON habit forming preventative. It is a chewable tablet you take at night, not another inhaler. My son only uses it seasonally, like in the winter when the cold damp sets his asthma off. So your DH may not have to take it year round. I understand not wanting to take meds on a daily basis. I have to take thyroid meds cuz I have no thryoid and I hate it. But these are meds that will make life better, not worse as in prescription drug addiction.

Asthma has three different components to it. 1) Increase in mucous production.... that is why dairy is a bad idea. 2) Bronchospasms..... the tubes leading down to your lungs do not have coordinated movement to get the mucous out or cough effectively, they are just spasming. 3) The cilia (microscopic hairs) that line the bronchioles do not work.... their job is also to move the plegm up and out. Different meds will work on different aspects of the disease, you have to find the right one for you.

All the suggestions about cleaning central h/ac filters are excellent. And I would highly suggest Air filters for every room. They have come down in price, and are very energy effecient and very quiet. I think they would make a huge difference.

You can also google homeopathic asthma treatment and you will find a whole world of info out there. Some great some total bologna, but you will never know until you try. Just make sure you tell your md which remedies you are trying so they wont interfere with his meds.

And.... we have found that Xopenex is much more effective than albuterol with way fewer side effects.

 

[Smitty's Farm]

Hey there! My daughter (14yrs old) has mild asthma that is triggered by change in the weather, esp when the temps drop & virus related. She also started a everyday maintenance inhaler (Flovent) that she is suppose to take every morn, then if she gets a flare up (dry cough that sounds like a seal) she is suppose to add the albuteral inhaler 2 puffs every 4 hours. Then if her cough is really bad then she adds the maintenance at night also, but hasn't had to do that in a while. She seems to be getting better, but it can side blind her and when it hits if she doesn't nip it with the meds then she can be really sick. Her flare ups could make her so sick. She would cough & cough all night long, then be a zombie at school b/c lack of sleep.

When she was little her Pediatrician would not recognize that it was asthma, so she ended up soooooo sick every Dec. It would turn into a horrible respiratory problem. I can remember a few yrs trips to ER for x-rays to see if she had Pneumonia. It was aweful! I finally took her to an allergist. She is doing so much better, now that she is on the correct med.

Her problem is that every year she feels better, so forgets to take the maintenance in the morn. I constantly have to remind her. She has few issues if she follows Dr directions. She is very active....plays on a select soccer team and loves to run.

Oh yea! Ask your Dr about a humidifier if the air is dry. Sometimes her Dr advised against it & sometimes he ok it depending on what was going on with her. My daughter likes to rub a lot of vicks cream on her to help her breath at night when she's having symptoms.

I'm so sorry your DH is having to deal with this. I hope he will find some relief soon.

Good luck!

 

[hsm5grls]

Smitty's Farm :

Hey there! My daughter (14yrs old) has mild asthma that is triggered by change in the weather, esp when the temps drop & virus related. She also started a everyday maintenance inhaler (Flovent) that she is suppose to take every morn, then if she gets a flare up (dry cough that sounds like a seal) she is suppose to add the albuteral inhaler 2 puffs every 4 hours. Then if her cough is really bad then she adds the maintenance at night also, but hasn't had to do that in a while. She seems to be getting better, but it can side blind her and when it hits if she doesn't nip it with the meds then she can be really sick. Her flare ups could make her so sick. She would cough & cough all night long, then be a zombie at school b/c lack of sleep.

When she was little her Pediatrician would not recognize that it was asthma, so she ended up soooooo sick every Dec. It would turn into a horrible respiratory problem. I can remember a few yrs trips to ER for x-rays to see if she had Pneumonia. It was aweful! I finally took her to an allergist. She is doing so much better, now that she is on the correct med.

Her problem is that every year she feels better, so forgets to take the maintenance in the morn. I constantly have to remind her. She has few issues if she follows Dr directions. She is very active....plays on a select soccer team and loves to run.

Oh yea! Ask your Dr about a humidifier if the air is dry. Sometimes her Dr advised against it & sometimes he ok it depending on what was going on with her. My daughter likes to rub a lot of vicks cream on her to help her breath at night when she's having symptoms.

I'm so sorry your DH is having to deal with this. I hope he will find some relief soon.

Good luck!

WOW that is exactly how my husbands asthma is. The weather changes make him very sick. Your dd symptoms and triggers are just like my DH's.​

 

[nccountrygirl]

I to have a mild form of Asthma. I worked for years in a cotton mill and stayed sick because of the cotton dust. My Dr. put me on Advair and It almost killed me, I was never well why I was using that drug. 2 yrs. ago I was home visiting my mama and there was a news report about people dying from using Advair so I stopped using it and I have not been sick since. I still have to use my inhaler (Albuterol ) but not often, maybe 2 times a week during the winter. When I was so sick I invested in a portable nebulizer and after stopping the Advair I have never had to use it. It is still in the box in my closet.

Edited to add: Most people that have Asthma also have allergies.

 

[Smitty's Farm]

It is very frustrating! I think if she would do the maintenance program she would have even fewer symptoms. She also hates taking any meds...... miss natural. My DH is the same way. He won't even take a tylenol unless he was almost dying. (Ha!Ha!)

If you can, go she an allergist. She had to be off all meds for about 2 weeks before testing. They did the whole thing....poking needles in the back to test for allergies, etc. No allergies came up at the time, but I swear she has some. I know you can develop them at any age. She is probable due to be retested, but haven't been wanting to risk being off her meds just yet.

I've had so many sleepless nights worrying about her. She would be coughing her poor little head off. It sounds like the croup. (sp?)

Good luck!

 

[Smitty's Farm]

Quote:
Holy cow! Good to know about that meds. That had to be sooo scary that people were dying from it. I hate that my daughter has to take any med at all. I hope she will grow out of it.

My neice had asthma that was allergy related and had a lot of issues w/ her med. I'll have to check and see if that was one of them. As a yound child she gained a lot of weight b/c the med had sterroids in it.....I think. She is symptome free and off med now, maybe it was the same thing??????

That is so great that you are almost symptom free.

 

[hsm5grls]

Dh won't take Tylenol either unless he is in a horrible amount of pain or has a real high fever. He only takes multi vitamins. He hates to put anything like that in his system. I think it has a lot to do with his hospital stay and all the meds he took then. He was forced to take them and now he just refuses them. He has phobia's from the whole thing. I was telling him last night that he has to take better care of himself as far as his asthma goes. It is not fair to me and the kids to watch him suffer when there are meds that could help him. I do not want to be a widow with 6 kids. Asthma can be dangerous if not maintained and controlled. I think he is starting to realize that we all suffer when he is sick.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Quote:
How very true! Even my three year old worries when I get an attack. Remind him that the added stress is not good for you or the baby either.