Worsened "Asthma" after eating/drinking

[MrsBoilie]

Hello Folks,

I've been mildly asthmatic for about 40 years. Never needed steroid inhaler only very occasional blue inhaler when faced with dogs and cats.

About 3 years ago we moved to a rural village and I started with a cough. The doc sent me to ENT who prescribed Reflux. I took a PPI for reflux but continued to cough.

The cough then disappeared and my breathing started to get worse especially after eating or even drinking water. This has been going on for nearly 3 years and I'm pretty much at the end of my tether.

I wake up wheezy and now take Symbicort 200/16 x 3 times a day but still get wheezy.

Has anyone else ever noticed a link with Asthma and food? I've had allergy tests done and ok with all but cats, dogs, dust mites and hay fever.

Many thanks in advance.

Jo

[green881]

Sorry to hear about your battle. I wheeze immediately after eating dried apricots preserved with sulfur dioxide (to keep them orange). So yes you can be allergic to food. I also read that acid reflux can trigger asthma but I think it's the acid.

The cough i don't know, it's not a symptom directly related to my asthma. If i get bronchitis it can trigger asthma, but most of the time there is no cough especially during allergy asthma season (right now).

Symbicort contains the corticosteroid budesonide plus a long acting beta agonist. I'm not a fan of budesonide personally, I tried it now and then and I found it weak. I do much better on Qvar. Or you can try Flovent (fluticasone). Sounds like it is time for a switch. Asthma is very individualistic.

[Emily-G]

Hi

My asthma is unpredictable around food. I was getting more and more random attacks when eating but really struggled to find a common trigger. After keeping food diaries I am fairly certain that sulfites are the trigger. They are difficult to avoid completely, but I have cut down on them as much as I can and have less attacks when eating.

Hope you find what is triggering you, good luck, Emily xxx

[MrsBoilie in reply to Emily-G]

Thanks Emily, that's really helpful. What foods are you main triggers then? Xx

[Emily-G in reply to MrsBoilie]

Anything with vinegar in it, dried fruit, jam, wine (sadly), soya, tinned food, frozen chips. I avoid processed food (as much as possible). It started out as a very random looking list but eventually we noticed the sulfites. Eating out is very tricky for me and I tend to avoid it.

Good luck xxx

[ChicChantal]

If I have a cold, I cough after eating. Not drinking though.