Anyone with Asthma?

**avman** · 10-26-2004, 01:27 PM

Well I'm pretty sure my 9 year old son has asthma. I'm taking him to see a doctor about it tomorrow. Being an overly concerned parent (I can't help it), I'm trying to learn as much about this as possible so I ask the right questions tomorrow.

For anyone who has asthma, can you tell me when you knew you had it? How have you coped with it? What kinds of things should I be asking the doctor about? This is a disease that I'm pretty ignorant about so I'm on a crash course to come up to speed.

Deckman33 · 10-26-2004, 01:53 PM

Dear avman, I have suffered some 5 years ago a form of asthma, that is my lungs get really rapidly tired when I go through an exhaustive sporting activity. I used to begin to hiss while I breath heavily, so this led me to search a bit about asthma as I thought this was it in the beginning.
Now after a doctor's diagnostic, I was given a Ventolin inhaler, and it helped me alot, and now it's practically disappeared after 3 years, but I am still sensible to smoke and such.
I would advise you to check this website out, I hope it has all the information you need.

asthma.about.com

And I hope everything works out well with your son.
Cheers

CarterJonas · 10-26-2004, 01:58 PM

Asthma runs in my family although I don't have it at the moment.

What makes you think that your son has asthma? Is there a history of it running in your and your girlfriend/wife's family?

I know that sometimes it can be mistaken for allergies, although your doctor is the best person to advice.

**avman** · 10-26-2004, 02:16 PM

No, no history of it. But he has been complaining more and more of not being able to keep up with his friends (running around and such). Sometimes at night he'll start wheezing a bit. But the worst is when he gets a cold, he'll wheeze severely and the past few times he's complained about being short of breath, he looks pale, and he coughs like crazy.

sisterlynch · 10-26-2004, 02:45 PM

I have a feeling that these types of diseases will be more common in the future. I have had it for several years, but it came on about six months after the death of my dad. So it is a psychosomatic illness for me. I am not sure if it is for everyone. It is better to treat it than to let it go, he will become more self conscious of it over time if you don't treat it.

DBL · 10-26-2004, 02:46 PM

I have had asthma since I was 3 years old. Been to the hospital a couple of times for it. When I was younger it was more of a bigger deal, there weren't inhalers and medications that work quickly like they do today. It has to be the worst thing I have ever experienced. There are different degrees of asthma...from just some simple wheezing here and there to having to have machines on hand. As a child I fell more toward the machine part. As I became older my asthma has become better.

I was 14 when I had my first inhaler, after that I never regretted having asthma. I learned to cope with it to the point that I forget I even have it. Today asthma is more treatable. I have had one friend die of it when she was 19, and my fathers cousin died of it a couple of years back. Basically they went into commas and that was it. Not trying to scare you. My friend had is severely and my fathers cousin was in her 70's

Some tips...Working out has helped my asthma A LOT. Getting the lungs expanded etc. They say swimming is also good for asthma, don't know how true that is, but that is something that was said when I was a child.

There are also certain triggers like certain foods, the winter cold, heat and humidity, exterting one self, etc. Anything can trigger it. During allergy season asthma becomes worse. The last couple of years I been taking 2-3mg of vit c and working out and I survived the allergy season just like it was any other season. Two times a year I can expect to go through hell...that is spring and fall.

Anyway you learn to deal with it, today they have a lot of stuff to help it. There is no cure for it. I never thought of it as a disease though, I just look as it as a spasm of the broncial tubes. I hope the best for your son. I would not worry too much with everything available.

If you want an idea of what it feels like to have an asthma attack. Cup your hand over your nose and mouth. Leave a little crack between your fingers so that it is hard to pull air into your lungs, do that for an hour and see how much your lungs hurt. Your literally trying to pull the air into your lungs as hard as you can during a good attack. If I had to start over in life I would like to bypass the time when I had no inhaler. I thought I was going to die every night as a kid.

Also during attacks it is sometimes easier to breath through your nose instead of your mouth.

Good Luck, feel free to ask me anything you want on it.
DBL

tea · 10-26-2004, 03:14 PM

I had asthma since I was 5... and I got rushed to the hospital a couple of times. I didn't think I was going to die, but I did have to sleep standing up right with my head on my piano so I can breathe. (Didn't want to wake anyone up.)

Sports help a lot with asthma, but I can't do too much of them. I have breathing problems after 10 min of any sport, and I tried running 2 miles once, almost died.

What I know that helped me a lot was allergy shots. I had 1 shot a week for 2 years since I was allergic to 36 different things. After the shots my asthma almost completely went away. Now I just have small attacks when seasons change or when we're cleaning the room....or when I decided that I should run for a bit.

Don't be too concerned, asthma's so common now. Did you find out what caused your son's asthma?

Mine was caused by allergies, and now I still have some because some attacks that happened when I was younger damanged my lungs a bit, but it's not a big deal.

Inhalers do help you, but if your son's attached to those he might need bigger and bigger doses as he grows older.

I use my inhaler as needed. If I'm not going to wheeze for more than 2 hours I don't touch it, and now I haven't used it for 2 years.

Bobo · 10-26-2004, 03:14 PM

lol. For the first time ever on this forum, i feel like one of the superiors in knowledge in this field! Right, I've had asthma all my life. I was born with it, and a bundle of other allergies and 'diseases', like eczema etc.

Ok, my parents have had one expensive child! Theyve spent a fortune on all kinds of stuff, mainly for my eczema. But luckily, being on the crappy NHS in Britain, most of my asthma care was 'free'. In case you dont know, asthma from birth usually goes hand in hand with eczema. 'Proper' full asthma is more than just getting wheezy due to physical activity, though that is one of the main symptoms. Average asthma is mainly caused by an allergy to dustmites and such things. The allergy causes a swelling, or tightening of the chest, making it harder to breathe as a result. Depending on the serousness of the asthma, the 'patient', as I do, may have to take a preventative inhaler morening/evening, just to up the 'immunity' a bit. There are many different types of preventative. I myslef, am onto a more 'advanced' one, Flixotide, as Ive built up to it over the years. I think it may be less powerful or something! As previously mentioned a blue Ventolin inhaler is required to ease such problems. If a times the asthma is really bad, and the Ventolin inhaler isnt sufficeint, 'steroid' tablets (forgotten what theyre called!!!) can be disolved in water and consumed for pretty immediate effect. In really bad situations, such as an asthma attack, a nebuliser may be used. I luckily have only had to use this a couple of times. Basically, you inhale vapourised medicine in a mist, through a machine, which works wonders!.

But im getting ahead of myself here. Chances are, your child doesnt have that serious a case of asthma, or you would have really know about it by now! So most of the stuff above is irellivant, but at least you know a bit about it now!

But anyway, Ive all but grown out of asthma. I still use the preventative, but rarely have to use anything else, and it doesnt bother me in anyway at all, now! (ive conviniently left out the whole combo of my allergies and stuff, which gets nasty, cos i dont want to worry you over nothing!)

DBL · 10-26-2004, 03:30 PM

Tea,

I still sleep partially sitting up. It became a habit of sleeping that way when I was younger. Since invoking a conservative diet, supplements and exercise program, one inhaler last me several months now. I took allergy shots from 3-14 every week. The doctors used to joke about my arms having more holes then a pin cushion. For a few years I had to get two shots every week. Finally one day the doctor just said...if you haven't gotten better by now, these shots are not going to help you anymore.

Bobo,

I developed the ecezma too. The ecezma went away when I was bout 14 after a trip to Florida, but it resurfaced about a year ago, but not as bad as it used to be while growing up.

DBL
DBL

tea · 10-26-2004, 03:48 PM

Bleh, I love my body compared to your's DBL. Asthma's so annoying. Glad to say mine is almost completely gone.

Have you tried those Chinese herbal medicines? I'm not sure if those help, but I took a lot of those when I was younger too... like, 24 pills a day? Well, since there's no official cure for this, you should try out everything people suspect will help you right?

10-26-2004, 01:27 PM	#1
avman Offline Administrator Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Minnesota Gender: Male Age: 42 Posts: 6,526	Anyone with Asthma? Well I'm pretty sure my 9 year old son has asthma. I'm taking him to see a doctor about it tomorrow. Being an overly concerned parent (I can't help it), I'm trying to learn as much about this as possible so I ask the right questions tomorrow. For anyone who has asthma, can you tell me when you knew you had it? How have you coped with it? What kinds of things should I be asking the doctor about? This is a disease that I'm pretty ignorant about so I'm on a crash course to come up to speed. __________________ "Children are a wonderful gift . . . They have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are." Desmond Tutu

10-26-2004, 01:53 PM	#2
Deckman33 Offline Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 47	Dear avman, I have suffered some 5 years ago a form of asthma, that is my lungs get really rapidly tired when I go through an exhaustive sporting activity. I used to begin to hiss while I breath heavily, so this led me to search a bit about asthma as I thought this was it in the beginning. Now after a doctor's diagnostic, I was given a Ventolin inhaler, and it helped me alot, and now it's practically disappeared after 3 years, but I am still sensible to smoke and such. I would advise you to check this website out, I hope it has all the information you need. asthma.about.com And I hope everything works out well with your son. Cheers __________________ It Takes A Lifetime To Understand Life

10-26-2004, 02:16 PM	#4
avman Offline Administrator Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Minnesota Gender: Male Age: 42 Posts: 6,526	No, no history of it. But he has been complaining more and more of not being able to keep up with his friends (running around and such). Sometimes at night he'll start wheezing a bit. But the worst is when he gets a cold, he'll wheeze severely and the past few times he's complained about being short of breath, he looks pale, and he coughs like crazy. __________________ "Children are a wonderful gift . . . They have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are." Desmond Tutu

10-26-2004, 02:45 PM	#5
sisterlynch Offline Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: NorCal Posts: 2,187	asthma I have a feeling that these types of diseases will be more common in the future. I have had it for several years, but it came on about six months after the death of my dad. So it is a psychosomatic illness for me. I am not sure if it is for everyone. It is better to treat it than to let it go, he will become more self conscious of it over time if you don't treat it. __________________ Prepare for tomorrow, not tomorrow, but today.

10-26-2004, 01:58 PM	#3
CarterJonas Offline Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: In a bubble Age: 32 Posts: 945	Asthma runs in my family although I don't have it at the moment. What makes you think that your son has asthma? Is there a history of it running in your and your girlfriend/wife's family? I know that sometimes it can be mistaken for allergies, although your doctor is the best person to advice.

10-26-2004, 02:46 PM	#6
DBL Offline Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Age: 39 Posts: 972	I have had asthma since I was 3 years old. Been to the hospital a couple of times for it. When I was younger it was more of a bigger deal, there weren't inhalers and medications that work quickly like they do today. It has to be the worst thing I have ever experienced. There are different degrees of asthma...from just some simple wheezing here and there to having to have machines on hand. As a child I fell more toward the machine part. As I became older my asthma has become better. I was 14 when I had my first inhaler, after that I never regretted having asthma. I learned to cope with it to the point that I forget I even have it. Today asthma is more treatable. I have had one friend die of it when she was 19, and my fathers cousin died of it a couple of years back. Basically they went into commas and that was it. Not trying to scare you. My friend had is severely and my fathers cousin was in her 70's Some tips...Working out has helped my asthma A LOT. Getting the lungs expanded etc. They say swimming is also good for asthma, don't know how true that is, but that is something that was said when I was a child. There are also certain triggers like certain foods, the winter cold, heat and humidity, exterting one self, etc. Anything can trigger it. During allergy season asthma becomes worse. The last couple of years I been taking 2-3mg of vit c and working out and I survived the allergy season just like it was any other season. Two times a year I can expect to go through hell...that is spring and fall. Anyway you learn to deal with it, today they have a lot of stuff to help it. There is no cure for it. I never thought of it as a disease though, I just look as it as a spasm of the broncial tubes. I hope the best for your son. I would not worry too much with everything available. If you want an idea of what it feels like to have an asthma attack. Cup your hand over your nose and mouth. Leave a little crack between your fingers so that it is hard to pull air into your lungs, do that for an hour and see how much your lungs hurt. Your literally trying to pull the air into your lungs as hard as you can during a good attack. If I had to start over in life I would like to bypass the time when I had no inhaler. I thought I was going to die every night as a kid. Also during attacks it is sometimes easier to breath through your nose instead of your mouth. Good Luck, feel free to ask me anything you want on it. DBL

10-26-2004, 03:14 PM	#7
tea Offline Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Age: 26 Posts: 652	I had asthma since I was 5... and I got rushed to the hospital a couple of times. I didn't think I was going to die, but I did have to sleep standing up right with my head on my piano so I can breathe. (Didn't want to wake anyone up.) Sports help a lot with asthma, but I can't do too much of them. I have breathing problems after 10 min of any sport, and I tried running 2 miles once, almost died. What I know that helped me a lot was allergy shots. I had 1 shot a week for 2 years since I was allergic to 36 different things. After the shots my asthma almost completely went away. Now I just have small attacks when seasons change or when we're cleaning the room....or when I decided that I should run for a bit. Don't be too concerned, asthma's so common now. Did you find out what caused your son's asthma? Mine was caused by allergies, and now I still have some because some attacks that happened when I was younger damanged my lungs a bit, but it's not a big deal. Inhalers do help you, but if your son's attached to those he might need bigger and bigger doses as he grows older. I use my inhaler as needed. If I'm not going to wheeze for more than 2 hours I don't touch it, and now I haven't used it for 2 years.

10-26-2004, 03:14 PM	#8
Bobo Offline Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Age: 21 Posts: 56	lol. For the first time ever on this forum, i feel like one of the superiors in knowledge in this field! Right, I've had asthma all my life. I was born with it, and a bundle of other allergies and 'diseases', like eczema etc. Ok, my parents have had one expensive child! Theyve spent a fortune on all kinds of stuff, mainly for my eczema. But luckily, being on the crappy NHS in Britain, most of my asthma care was 'free'. In case you dont know, asthma from birth usually goes hand in hand with eczema. 'Proper' full asthma is more than just getting wheezy due to physical activity, though that is one of the main symptoms. Average asthma is mainly caused by an allergy to dustmites and such things. The allergy causes a swelling, or tightening of the chest, making it harder to breathe as a result. Depending on the serousness of the asthma, the 'patient', as I do, may have to take a preventative inhaler morening/evening, just to up the 'immunity' a bit. There are many different types of preventative. I myslef, am onto a more 'advanced' one, Flixotide, as Ive built up to it over the years. I think it may be less powerful or something! As previously mentioned a blue Ventolin inhaler is required to ease such problems. If a times the asthma is really bad, and the Ventolin inhaler isnt sufficeint, 'steroid' tablets (forgotten what theyre called!!!) can be disolved in water and consumed for pretty immediate effect. In really bad situations, such as an asthma attack, a nebuliser may be used. I luckily have only had to use this a couple of times. Basically, you inhale vapourised medicine in a mist, through a machine, which works wonders!. But im getting ahead of myself here. Chances are, your child doesnt have that serious a case of asthma, or you would have really know about it by now! So most of the stuff above is irellivant, but at least you know a bit about it now! But anyway, Ive all but grown out of asthma. I still use the preventative, but rarely have to use anything else, and it doesnt bother me in anyway at all, now! (ive conviniently left out the whole combo of my allergies and stuff, which gets nasty, cos i dont want to worry you over nothing!)

10-26-2004, 03:30 PM	#9
DBL Offline Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Age: 39 Posts: 972	Tea, I still sleep partially sitting up. It became a habit of sleeping that way when I was younger. Since invoking a conservative diet, supplements and exercise program, one inhaler last me several months now. I took allergy shots from 3-14 every week. The doctors used to joke about my arms having more holes then a pin cushion. For a few years I had to get two shots every week. Finally one day the doctor just said...if you haven't gotten better by now, these shots are not going to help you anymore. Bobo, I developed the ecezma too. The ecezma went away when I was bout 14 after a trip to Florida, but it resurfaced about a year ago, but not as bad as it used to be while growing up. DBL DBL

10-26-2004, 03:48 PM	#10
tea Offline Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Age: 26 Posts: 652	Bleh, I love my body compared to your's DBL. Asthma's so annoying. Glad to say mine is almost completely gone. Have you tried those Chinese herbal medicines? I'm not sure if those help, but I took a lot of those when I was younger too... like, 24 pills a day? Well, since there's no official cure for this, you should try out everything people suspect will help you right?