I’m sick

[golden-retriever]

My asthma is normally very well controlled and I usually only need to take about two puffs of Ventolin per week, plus my preventer.

I’ve had two regular colds recently, both with a temperature and about two weeks apart. (And a runny nose, which for those who are wondering, is not a feature of the Coronavirus).

It’s really messed with my asthma. I’m wheezing and coughing and having trouble breathing. Regular asthma stuff. Nothing really awful but annoying.

The Ventolin fixes it really well for a while, but pretty soon it starts returning and I go round like that all day long.

Should I go on like that and see if it goes away, or should I have see my doctor and have my preventer meds adjusted?

I’m reasonably new to asthma and this is my first relapse. What should I do?

[Hidden]

Try warm ginger ale to help find of the cold. Put your preventer in the middle of the day approximately lunchtime and see if it helps. But do it for a day or two. Still unsure go and see GP's as there might be something more serious going on.

[Sparkywoo]

Do you have an asthma action plan agreed with your nurse/GP? This will really help you understand what you need to do and when according to your symptoms and your peak flow. It sounds like your lungs are still irritated from having colds. If you are having to take your ventolin to control it frequently every day I’d get straight back to the doctors - and get that plan while you’re there!

[golden-retriever in reply to Sparkywoo]

I don’t have an action plan yet, but I have an appointment with the consultant at the hospital in a three weeks. They’re going to sort out everything there, but it was a bit too long to wait. I’ll see my GP. Thanks for your help.

[54321pugs]

I have been the same after a UK virus I had an asthma flare-up after had to go on steroid tables my asthma is normally managed well go to your Dr for advice hope feeling better soon

[Poobah]

Definitely see your GP. You should have an Asthma plan which explains how much to increase your preventer by and how much Ventolin to take during a flare up.

Some folk also have an emergency pack of steroid tablets and antibiotics to start when necessary. This is in recognition that starting early gets on top of the matter while waiting to see the GP.

If your GP surgery has an asthma nurse then also make an appointment to see them. You can discuss the asthma plan and how to act when you get a cold or are exposed to other asthma triggers. You should have a clear action plan (increasing preventer, increasing Ventolin, monitoring and emergency action if necessary). It's much easier to have made these decisions before you get poorly as it's difficult to make good decisions when you are ill.

Hope you feel better soon.

[golden-retriever in reply to Poobah]

Thanks Poobah. I’ll do that.

[hilary39]

It's normal for asthma to worsen during colds and flus and good you are treating with ventolin. How often are you having to use it? It only lasts 4-6 hours so if it's around that, it makes sense. But I'd still get in to see your GP to be on the safe side. Good to never mess around with asthma--that's an important thing to keep in mind as you navigate what sounds like a relatively new diagnosis. Take care and I hope you feel better and less wheezy soon!

[golden-retriever in reply to hilary39]

Thanks Hilary. It’s good to know it’s normal and I’m not an alien 👽

[peege]

Best to see the doc. It only takes a few minutes to listen to your chest to make sure you don't have an infection needing antibiotics.

Whenever I catch a viral cold it always ends up wirh a bacterial chest infection. That's what we need to avoid.

We sometimes do get a downturn in our asthma symptoms that need a tweak of preventer and/of a week of steroid tablets. Another possibility is that February is a tree pollen time if you've an allergy.

It's a massive learning curve so you're doing absolutely the right thing sharing your queries here ☺

[golden-retriever in reply to peege]

Thank you so much peege. That’s all such useful information.

[Hidden]

Hi,

Just picking up on a point about moving your preventer to lunchtime.

Please bear in mind that preventers usually work for 12 hours so you would have to also change the time of your evening preventer if you are on 2 applications.

I learnt the hard way and now take my preventer exactly 12 hours apart.