Is there a firm way to distinguish sinus issues from asthma symptoms

[Blueforest23]

This might sound like a stupid question but I have a nasal condition - chronic rhinitis with polyps which is relatively managed however my nose/nasopharynx has changed somehow in the past year in that it makes whistling noises when I breath in. Particularly my left nostril it feels a bit like breathing through a plastic pipe. I tried a run the other day and I had the sensation that there was fullness right at the back of the sinuses and I felt I was breathing heavier than usual. ENT last reviews a few months ago they said it looked mostly fine/managed

I don’t have an official diagnosis of asthma but with having family history of asthma/polyps and high blood eosinophils I am likely to, my dads rhinitis/polyps are not anywhere near as bad as mine (he doesn’t rely on a steroid nasal spray)and he developed asthma at my age. So every bit of breathlessness or odd sense of breathing makes me nervous. If I walk up some long stairs I always question if my breathlessness is in keeping with the exertion or is asthma starting.

The thing is, and I’m aware it might sound pathetic, but how do I tell the difference between sinus issues and potential lower airway issues? When my nose starts to whistle I can also hear it out my mouth and at the back of my throat. I wonder if it’s a wheeze starting. When I get the fullness feeling in the nasopharynx it just feels harder to breath in general and there’s the breathlessness sensation. I ran for 4 minutes today and stopped as the breathlessness felt excessive. I recovered ok so I think it was in my head. Two weeks ago I ran for 15 minutes and didn’t feel that bad.

[DannyQ]

As I have asthma, the symptoms you'd probably feeling if you had asthma would be a tightening of your chest as you struggle to breath and heavy whizzing and struggling to breath, but most importantly if your that worried that you do have asthma asked to speak to your asthma nurse at your doctors and they can do the necessary tests to put your mind at ease as you may just be having a little anxiety at the thought of getting asthma like your dad did

[Blueforest23 in reply to DannyQ]

Thanks, I have already been to my gp (he trialed a brown inhaler for 4 weeks-no change to peak flow) I had spirometry the respiratory consultant said it was normal. Though I know this doesn’t exclude asthma. I am certainly having a lot of anxiety mainly because my dad also has polyps/rhinitis (but mine is persistent his isn’t) plus with the high eosinophils I’d be extremely lucky to avoid developing asthma.

There’s no point me keep moaning about it but at the same time I don’t want to be caught out by it when I am out say exercising or away from home as the thought of suddenly struggling to breath terrifies me. It’s this that I find it hard to deal with mentally

[DannyQ in reply to Blueforest23]

I just want to say theres no point worrying about it because if it happens, it happens but I get why your worrying about it,try just enjoy your life every day and if it happens then work out the best way forward, as your not your dad your your you, werd all made differently as I'm the only one of e brothers that has asthma, neither of my parents had asthma, what I'm trying to say is just because your dad developed asthma, doesn't mean you will

[northernlass]

Hi, have you a neti-pot? If not, it may be worth buying one to use weekly/fortnightly as a maintenance for keeping germs at bay as a friend of mine has really bad sinuses & she was forever clearing her throat from the sinus drip & she used to get a lot of upper resp’ tract infections & lower chest infections but since using the neti-pot, she’s been a lot better. I understand that over thinking affects how you behave, (had years of it), so try & kp sinuses clean & relax, yr sinuses could also be affected by pollen/pollution so not necessarily asthma. If it is asthma, it will become more evident in time anyway.

[Blueforest23 in reply to northernlass]

thanks I use nasal irrigation twice per day

[Poobah]

Is there a firm way to distinguish between upper and lower respiratory tract disease? Each can be equally distressing, as both impact on the ability to breath and both can cause air hunger. I would say that lung function tests undertaken at a respiratory clinic would be definitive in diagnosing asthma. But even then, this forum has examples of people's experiences with the difficulties in getting a definitive diagnosis, despite tests. Such is the nature of asthma.From your previous posts I can understand your concern and need to have a foolproof way to establish whether or not you've developed asthma. Looks like eosinophilic asthma is linked to CRSWNP and so your doctor can test for eosinophil levels and IgE levels, in addition to lung function tests.

But if you're hoping for foolproof way of what does asthma feel like, you'll get a range of experiences and you should understand that other conditions can mimic asthma, as symptoms aren't unique to asthma.

Have you been able to discuss your concerns with the asthma nurse at your GP surgery? They may be more amenable to monitoring your symptoms over time and happy to explore a way to allay your understandable fears of developing asthma.

[Nubz]

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