Questions

These are just example questions but i would like to check that i am doing the correct things. I may have had asthma for years now but doctors and nurses like to presume you know what you are doing and when you ask them questions they say do it how you always do it and i just wanted to check that i was doing things correctly really.

1) If you wake up in the morning with a tight chest, you take 2 puffs of your blue inhaler and wait for a while for it to work?

2)If it doesnt work then you take some more of the blue inhaler until it does start to work?

3) Is this an asthma attack or an asthma flare up, just having a tight chest?

4) At what point do you ring the doctor or go to the A +E?

5) Say if you have been laughing and you start coughing and you just cant seem to stop, you take your blue inhaler to try and relieve breathlessness and to stop your coughing, if it works great but if not what do you do, keep taking blue till it does? or ring doctor or go to A+E?

6) If you are in a house by yourself and you are struggling to breathe what do you do? (i know the take the blue inhaler, to try and stop it), is this an asthma attack?

7) If you are around none asthmatic people and you start struggling to breathe or cant stop coughing (as seems to be my main problem) how do you explain to them what help you need and how do you get them to understand you?

8) I am always nervous of saying to someone i cannot breathe as i really dont want to panic them, i usually take my blue inhaler and hope for the best, but it is when the best doesnt happen i never quite know what to do for the best?

9) At what point should i ring doctors?

10) At what point should i go to A+E?

I guess what i am trying to say is i find it hard to know what to do at particular times, i dont want to be going to see medical people when i really dont need to as i am well aware that they are all extremely busy and dont want to be bothered by people who could have sorted them selves out.

I guess they are very basic but important questions and i am always worried that i should know the answers but i am really unsure on what to do at some of the points described. (None of the above is now it is just questions i have floating around my head and thought here would be a good place to ask and i might not get told you should already know what you are meant to be doing when i am so unsure to what i meant to do when.) I know when my cough starts or my chest gets tight i take my blue inhaler 2 puffs. After this i often get stuck

Thank you for your time reading this long post, thank you in advance for any advice you give

Plumie

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I think the questions relating to how much reliever you take are questions that you need to be asking your doctor/nurse as they are highly individual things. The same applies to what point you contact them or go to AnE. But as a general rule doctors would rather see you sooner rather than later if you are struggling.

As to explaining to people what help you need without panicking them I'm not very good at this and tend to go hide in a corner until I'm better. Maybe someone else will have better answers to this.

And as to what constitutes an actual attack I've never figured this out exactly. I tend to refer to any problems with my asthma as exacerbations.

Someone else will hopefully be along with more answers soon but I hope this is at least of some use.

Em

xx

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Hi plumie.

I would recomend you make an appointment with the asthma nurse, or clinic at your doctors surgery pr with your GP as they can answer these weustions with a prior knowledge of your condition or controll. For someone like me to answer them or anyone else who doesn't know your personal condition may give the wrong answers. hope you get some clarity soon

nutty

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If you look on the main part of the website under all about asthma there are publications that will answer some of you questions. Take the asthma attack card I think it is to your GP appointment and get them to personalise it for you then you will know exactly what to do at what point.

Everyone is different and asthma can be serious but with the many treatments available it can also be controlled enabling you to live a so called ""normal!"" life. Only your doctor knows what is right for you.

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Update, thank you for your replies, i went back to the doctor and they have given me an up to date asthma plan and a new inhaler as my peak flow is 280 and its best is normally 500. I go back to see the consultant soon so hopefully he will be able to sort it out from there. I now know what i am meant to be doing when

Thank you all again!