Questions about Asthma answered:

[utkmybrthawy]

I asked Doc about 15 questions, and got them all answered before he escaped.

1. Is asthma a symptom or a diagnosis? A diagnosis. It is a disease, not a symptom of another disease.

2. Is it an autoimmune disease? Yes.

3. Do over-the-counter anti-inflammatories help the lungs? Absolutely not.

4. Is this a post-menopausal thing? Would hormones help? No, and no.

5. Is it the result of a compromised immune system due to aging. probably not.

6. Would staying on a low-dose antibiotic be a good idea? NO!!! Bad idea!

7. Could my screwed-up back be causing it? no.

8. Could allergies be causing it? Definitely. Asthma is your body misbehaving, wiring misfiring, etc. Something is triggering it that wasn't meant to be a trigger. It gets the message, for example, that pollen is invasive bacteria. When it misbehaves like this, it could potentially misinterpret and react to just about anything.

9. Does it bode an early demise? If the patient consistently does poorly on breathing tests, yes; otherwise not necessarily. (can be managed...)

10. A bit of A-fib with my asthma; is that normal? No; that is a separate issue. You need to discuss that with your primary physician. Could be your heart. I have to go now. My hand's been on this doorknob for the last 5 minutes. You are really growing tiresome and forgetting your place. Good-bye.

I made that last part up; but in the U.S that is how health care is. Any better across the pond?

[Suspect1]

I used to live in uk and would never get questions answered they talked like a politician ...never a straight answer. Since I have moved to Florida the dr stays and talks to me about everything. They are amazing here. I get to know stuff to help me. Totally different than uk. But hey you do pay a lot for it!

[VincentW in reply to Suspect1]

That adage is true: You Get What You Pay For! But, not ALL doctors are knowledgeable when it comes to asthma here in the U.S. Pulmonary specialists are great for treating asthma if you are having problematic episodes of it.

[VincentW]

Never stay on antibiotics on a long period of time as your body will grow immune to them and when you do get an infection, nothing antibiotics wise will help you! Asthma deals with the breathing passages only. Food allergies will cause some flare up also.