As the season has shifted, we are se... - Asthma Community ...
As the season has shifted, we are seeing an increase in calls and symptoms , how many of you are aware of your triggers to your asthma ?
https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/conditions/asthma/asthma-triggers?
Please select all that apply:
Although the winter months can affect my asthma - it is really the high pollen months that can knock me sideways. I’m often confined to the house with the windows and doors tightly closed - gazing out, longingly, at our beautiful garden….🥴
BTW - I have had late onset asthma since the age of 73. I am now 78 and, at an age when I should know better….🥴😂🤣😂
I would love to know what my triggers are as this is a late onset asthma (I'm 64). It does seem to be worse walking uphill, in the cold and if I'm carrying something! Doctor is reluctant to give an allergy test or explore triggers (reflux? hormones? )
I was around your age when first diagnosed. I have learned, eventually, that it is not allergies that is the issue for me, but environmental factors like cold, rain, walking up hill or generally too fast, smoke from anything burning, sometimes cooking fumes, and of course infections. But it seems to me that even in the 10 or so years I have lived with it (I am now 75) that things change. So sometimes rain - or approaching bad weather - seems to trigger though it didn’t used to. Sometimes I just don’t know what it is. Asthma is a weird condition.
My asthma is under control for 90% of the year with just Fostair but nearly every year around October as the weather changes I get a bad flare up that needs at least a week of prednisolone to settle it down. It's not on the back of a cold or other chest infection, it's just a really tight chest and some coughing. This is despite ramping up the fostair to max dose at first symptom. Anyone else get this sort of sudden seasonal hit?
Yes changing of seasons and tree pollen resurgence in sept /Oct usually sees me in hospital as once again happened this year.
yes same.i am getting a awful flare up at the mo ,same as every October,wheezy tight chest and on prednisolone.very allergic feeling.it’s not fun.
I have been like that for years. After reasoning politely with my new resp clinic they agreed to test for sensitivity to Aspergillus - and, lo and behold, I recorded a lovely, clear, reaction to it! Aspergillus is high in the atmosphere at the moment due to the decaying tree leaves. At least I have written confirmation from the White Coats that this is a big cause of my worsening breathing. But I battled for YEARS to get somebody to listen to me.
interesting, I did reason it's got to be something external as season change isn't severe or predictable enough to account for it, it's just a time of year. Sometimes we get warm weather through Oct and then it's Nov I see the issue. But if it is a secondary effect, ie. weather changes, causing the Aspergillus then that would all make sense.
worcester.ac.uk/about/acade...
this website is an absolute Godsend! It is one of very few that give mould spore forecast as well as pollen. I check it every week.
Me too!
season changes are my worst time. It’s like my lungs have got used to the temp/conditions and then have a melt down when it changes. It’s been a nightmare this year with the constant indecision about what season we’re in 🤣. Also autumn with the moulds etc not a good time for me.
Just out of hospital after an acute viral asthma flare-up, despite having well-managed asthma for decades. Cause unknown for the flare up but will be tested soon by the hospital's respiratory team for mould, dust mites and cat dander.
I have late onset asthma. I am gradually getting to know my triggers. I am having problems with my asthma since the cold weather started so cold air affects it. I also had asthma attacks after a cold which needed prednisone. I am considering at the moment whether too much activity causes it to be more troublesome. I get tired, breathless and sweat more than normal.
My asthma nurse in Lancaster reckoned that mould spores were one of the triggers for me as I usually had flare ups around spring and autumn. She also said there were so many of them it would be impossible to test to see which were the culprits and anyway how could one avoid them, they are everywhere. Best option to be aware and do the Dtox thing if a flare up occurs, shower/wash hair, body, clothes and dose up on all your meds.
I'm a prisoner in my home in winter . Cold air is my biggest enemy!
I ticked "no" to the query, as I never get any flare-ups. In fact, I often ask myself if I really have asthma. However, my Doctor says "yes, you are asthmatic". I never argue with him.
Sounds like you’ve got your meds just right. X
Hi Dpotter,
Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I think I have got my medication right. I use Relvar Ellipta (fluticasone/vilanterole) 92/22mg once a day. I also have a "rescue" Salbutamol in my drawer, just in case, but luckily, I have never used it. Furthermore, I get a replacement every three or four years when the use by date expires.
My triggers are grass pollen in the summer or very cold air in winter can leave me breathless but mainly pollen
In my opinion, this is not a yes/no question.
I am aware of the triggers I know about but lately, new sensitivities are emerging.
Recently, I took my dog to the Vet. He is 13 years old and I have never had problems before. However, I ended up in A&E, I was not aware of any animal related problems.
Could it have been chemical smells in the vets or perfume someone is wearing? Check no airfreshners in reception too, or flowers. (Just thinking of problems I have had at the vets previously.)
I have a few triggers, and thank you to the nurses at Asthma UK, I was able to find them out.
One of them is the cold weather but my consultant reduced my dose and I don’t have a new appointment. I’m tempted just to increase so I don’t get my yearly chest infection in December.
I try to get outside every day, especially if it's sunny. I tend to stay in when it's raining or that familiar blanket of grey sky hovers above us like a set jelly. I keep my daily dose of Fostair going regardless of how I feel. To me, keeping the base layer of preventative medication makes sense.
Recovering from a bad virus that did a number on my lungs. That seems to happen every fall and winter!
Would like more info
Hi, take a look at our webpage here: asthmaandlung.org.uk/condit...
Or you can give our helpline a call for more information on 0300 222 5800, Mon-Fri 9:15 -5
idk war my triggers are but getting more active is helping my asthma and helping my meds to work better!!!
I’m really dreading the winter weather I suffered badly with my asthma whenever I went outside and the cold air hit me I wore a scarf around my mouth and nose to get warmer air in
Me too, and wearing something over my mouth and nose really helps.
I'm aware of mine, I think - but I can still be surprised. (I'm still annoyed about the random and rather intense reaction to guava on holiday last year. It tasted so good! And I already have a stupid list of rather odd plant- and fruit-based triggers. I think gin tasting is definitely not a hobby I could manage 😂).
Also, I'm not always sure what the trigger is. Sometimes it's very obvious (hello, mango drink too close to me! Hello, perfume spray! Hello, atmospheric pressure change!) but it isn't always - and often the worst reactions are from a combination of triggers.
I'm aware of mine - my problem is making other people aware of them! I get so frustrated with people doing something that causes a flareup because they've decided it 'can't' be an issue. I'm extra-scrupulous about avoiding a flareup from the beginning of October onwards because I've learned the hard way that if I have a major flareup from this point, I never really get back on top of things until the spring. I'm fine with dry cold - love a frosty, sunny day - but rain, mist or fog are a nightmare.
I have had my flu vaccine but don't want to have another covid jab i've had 3 since covid started i hate the long side affects should i having it cos im asthmatic?
As an asthmatic, you are only eligible for a Covid booster this year if you have either been hospitalised with your asthma in the last year, are over a certain age (I think it's 65, but you can check on the nhs website) or have had a certain number of oral steroids in the past year.
If you're eligible, I'd definitely think about having it - I was poorly for a week with the Covid jab, but it definitely reduces the severity of any Covid infection - there was a huge difference between how ill I was when I got Covid pre-vaccine compared to post-vaccine!
