Asthma Project - New to BLF!!!! - Lung Conditions C...

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Asthma Project - New to BLF!!!!

13 years ago•6 Replies

Hello. I am Nicola Greaves, Project Manager for Asthma at the British Lung Foundation. I am new to the world of Asthma having been in post for less than one month. The BLF are embarking on an exciting new Asthma Project which is ultimately aiming for the better control of Asthma for everyone in the UK.

Asthma affects 1 in 11 children and 1 in 12 adults in the UK (5.4 million in total) and it is estimated that 3 people a day die from Asthma.

I am interested in hearing about your experiences of Asthma whether you are an Asthma patient, carer or healthcare professional. You can blog about anything you want from what interventions you would like to see more available to sufferers, carers or healthcare professionals, or what works well for you as an Asthma sufferer, or why not just share your own personal experience of any aspect of Asthma.

Your engagement is crucial to the success of the Asthma Project at the BLF so

I look forward to hearing from you.

Nicola

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6 Replies

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ribbit13 years ago

Hi Nicola

My name is Jenny, and I am a 35 year old severe brittle asthmatic who is on first name terms with most of the staff in my local a+e. I am also a member of Breathe Easy Bournemouth and Poole, so the Bristol Office has all my details. I am always happy to talk to anyone about asthma. Please don't hesitate to contact me.

nicjg13 years ago

Dear Jenny,

Many thanks for your message. It is great to hear from you. Thanks for the offer to be able to contact you - that will be very helpful during the course of the project, I really appreciate it. In the meantime, take care and we'll catch up soon. Nicola

Why_Bird13 years ago

Hello,

I to am on first name terms with ED and Ambulance service. So if you ever need to know want anything contact me!

What I would like to see is more support regarding how life limiting it. For example cancer suffers can access paltive care services with there massages and days out. Also would be nice to have a Breathe easy young persons group.

kaz67• in reply toWhy_Bird12 years ago

I agree with you, your right! I also wish that schools & nursery's would take these illness's more seriously, I leave an inhaler at the nursery my son age 4 goes to & said to them if you find he's coughing a lot please give him his inhaler as he has asthma a few staff have said they haven't noticed him coughing much & I only tell them to give him his blue inhaler if he's been wheezing & is on a reducing regime or persistently coughing! I could be wrong but am pretty sure some times that they are too preoccupied with looking after all other children that it get's forgotten about the the coughing has eased up quite a bit since starting the Singulair granules about 4 months ago! And yes it would be very good to have a group for young people that suffer from these conditions & other related conditions,Perhaps there's a way of starting up such a group it deffinatly would be a great idea Good luck!

JBettles13 years ago

Hi Nicola,

Its great that there are websites like this that encourage patients with asthma to communicate their concerns etc.

I have had asthma for most of my 41 years. I also have a son George age 10 who was diagnosed with asthma since he was 16 months old. But on a positive note, George is doing well now and very rarely does he feel chesty only after touching fluffy animals or the weather is damp.

I myself have good and bad days, but what would be most helpful in that the people who I work with, to be more sympathetic to the illness and not treat me as if there is nothing wrong and that I am putting it on when I have to take time off work to recover from a bad asthma episode. People in general need to be made more aware of the illness of Asthma and realise that if you can't breathe then you can die!!!

Jayne

kaz6712 years ago

Hi there Nicola! this is the first time on this site & am glad I've joined! I myself doesn't have asthma but my son age 4 does & it took nearly two year's before we knew he had asthma! He always had a cold hardly ever gone with out one so had a feeling he must have a weak immune system. However when he turned two half he started coughing a lot & any remedies I gave him such as lemon & honey because cough medicine became useless didn't work either, we visited the doctor quite often as he would wake coughing at 3 am 4am & other odd hours, I just had that feeling something isn't right My other children had colds but not as many as my son & never had the amount of coughing my son had. The doctor just told me it's normal for children to cough up to a month even. So we just got through each day with hardly any sleep it was becoming a nightmare.I made an appointment about his constant coughing but it was for the afternoon, then a little later in the morning he wasn't jumping around like he does half the time as he's hyper, he didn't seam very well and sounded very bad with a whistling sound as he was breathing,cut a long story short, I took my son straight to hospital I think if I had waited to see the doc he might not be with us to this day. He was half a sleep when we reached the hospital then found he was hyperventilating his chest was sinking in when the doc checked him over so he was straight away put on the blue inhaler Salamol. He was given ten puffs & in no time was up & about playing in the play area! he had this another dose of ten puffs before he was seen by another doctor who took what information needed then went & came back & said we don't like to say it's asthma as he isn't five yrs of age yet! he put it down to a viral wheeze.eventually we had to wait & saw the doctor who administered another ten doses, why so much it didn't seam right! so i was shown how to use the inhaler & given a sheet of paper & told if after the treatment he gets worse or have concerns go to our GP. Sorry this is so long, am almost done. My son went through more episodes of coughing & wheezing then was put on prednisalone he's now been on that twice if not 3 times & antibiotic's & had a lung infection, he went through a few episodes like this through the year of 2012 the following year around the same month of October the coughing was just maddening back to the doctor we went & this time my son was given the brown inhaler & that same day if i remember rightly my son got worse it was late aound 10.30pm I called camidoc & a doctor was sent out which dosen't happen often, the doctor came within 45 minutes & when she saw him she said he should be in hospital & she put him on the nebuliser & called for an ambulance he's having an accute to sevear asthma attack she told the paramedics when they got to our home, so we went to hospital by ambulance & got to the hospital my son was seen quickly & we were sent upstairs we he was given the blue inhaler a couple of times & stayed overnight. In the Morning when the doctor's made their rounds the doctor said he's happy for my son to go home he also said we don't like to call it asthma the same reason the first doctor gave us he said it's caused by a virus, of course everything is these days it seams, I was alarmed & not content,why asthma medication if it's not asthma how ridiculous is that!? if not dangerous! anyway we was given a regime of the medication & home we went. A few day's later we went to see our GP the one who said children can cough for up to a month well this time he say's he can see that we had gone to the hospital because of course notes get sent to our GP's & this time he said he deffinatetly has asthma & the medication will always be available, a few weeks later & the brown inhaler wasn't helping he was woken by the dreaded coughing again & this time put on Singulair granules which I'm glad to say has eased up his coughing at night & hardly coughs much plus have managed to get some sleep for at least four months now! I do dread what all this medication is doing to his insides of his body bless him, he always has bags under his eye's which he's been given a steroid cream & made no difference we have to go back again.Where's it all leading to it's frightening, I know we are not alone with these problems there are many people who share what we do! I have joined the asthma UK & will continue with my support as long as I live! this is all from me for now I think I must have written a book by now, hope to be back soon with a much shorter sentence!