What makes you want to bang your head against a wall?

[servewithmintsauce]

Again, more material for the blog It's also good for a laugh or a vent when you're feeling bad!

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Here are a few of my Pet Pulmonary Peeves:

- people who go "oooh!" every time I cough. Like seriously, the sympathy was kinda nice the first time but now it's just irritating.

- people who have asthma or COPD and *choose* to keep smoking (i.e. don't want to stop). I know Nicotine Addiction is a real illness and it must be so difficult…but if you aren't even trying, then I just hope you realise how lucky you are to have the choice to throw your lungs away.

- the aforementioned Stubborn Smoker who complains loudly and proudly about how 'bad' their asthma is and how much it sucks. Yes, it sucks. But imho it's your own fault that it's bad, and I have a Sympathy Score of..oh, yes, that's right; 0.00%.

- anyone who is well enough to get out of bed in the morning, come to college, sit through lessons, and whinge about how 'ill' they are and how they are 'literally dying'.

- people who come into college when they clearly have the flu. I mean, don't get me wrong, I admire the dedication to education there but I have just come out of hospital and I'm trying to stay out, so if you're going to cough and splutter all over me, don't act offended when I ask to move.

- people who have naturally outgrown their asthma (which happens like, all the time) but who attribute it to snorting ginger or pressing their pinky to their chest. No offence, it's great that you've 'grown out' of your asthma, but aside from the fact that your techniques have been largely disproven by double-blind, randomised-control trials (DB-RCTs), you are just making me feel bad about the fact that I can't do what you think you did.

- people usually in the same group as the above point who tell anyone with ears about how 'asthma medications only treat the symptoms' or that they 'only make you worse'. I could give a full, detailed scientific explanation of why this is not so in the comments if anyone is interested, but the simple fact is that, while some meds don't work for some people et vice versa, asthma meds treat the underlying inflammation and bronchoconstriction, and I would not be alive right now if the meds really only made me worse.

- people yet again in the above groups who assume I'm being 'paid by Big Pharma'. Lol no, I'm the one paying Big Pharma to keep me alive, a rough total estimate for the past 12 months being something like £1100, excluding infusions, hospital stays, injections, and any treatment for other conditions besides asthma.

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Any to add on?

[Hidden]

Rude people who, when they hear my horrible mucus-y cough, say "it's about time you gave up smoking by the sound of it", or similar. I've never smoked, I've just got crap lungs, ok??!! Bloody cheek!

[servewithmintsauce in reply to Hidden]

Ooooh yes, yes indeed. I have only had that a couple of times, but in my mind it's even worse than "ooh, that's a nasty cough", and "ew don't cough on me!"

[Hidden in reply to servewithmintsauce]

Sadly, some of them probably think they are being funny, or making a joke. Also sadly, they're probably the ones who don't know that asthma is a life threatening condition.

[servewithmintsauce in reply to Hidden]

Yes. Or people who think that their asthma is the poster boy for all asthma..yes, I'm happy for you that you only need Ventolin from time to time, yes that's how asthma works for most people, no that isn't how asthma works for everyone, and no it most certainly is not how asthma is for me.

[chrissie49]

Being offered a 'sucky sweet' for that cough of mine

[starveycat]

Hi Servewithmintsauce how about when you step back from someone and explain their perfume is affecting your breathing as you have asthma, and their reply is that they have asthma doh .

I just wish mine was as bad as theirs.

Just keep on posting they are brilliant