Hi there, I'm new to Health Unlocked but not new to Asthma, had it since birth, and at 6 months old stopped breathing and almost died (I'm 22 now). I feel I can control my Asthma fairly well, and have an attack every 5 or so years. I never wanted to be one of those people that relied on an inhaler and as a kid never really took it, unless I felt like I needed it. Thus I never really carried an inhaler on me meaning when I have had an attack it always turned out pretty bad.
Now onto what I need help with, I'm a graphic design student in my third year and am currently doing a project about chronic illness and how to help people manage it, and I've chosen Asthma to focus on as I have plenty of personal experience with it. So what I need is other people's personal accounts of asthma attacks, especially ones where you were caught off guard without you medication, how you handled it and why you weren't carrying your inhaler? To help me identify areas which could be improved on.
I the last two times I've had an attack I've not had my inhaler on me, because it happens so rarely I forget I need it and leave it at home, but have been at school and Uni when it happened so there were others around me to help and go and collect my inhaler or order a taxi to take me home to get it. I now carry one in my bag all the time (but do not if its empty or out of date), but there are times I'm without my bag and don't carry it, I've yet to be in a situation where I'm by myself without medication, but do not know how I'll handle it. Any personal experiences you could share would help me out a bunch, and any other comments or thoughts on the state of Asthma and its treatment in the UK would be a helpful insight. Like the shape of the inhaler or medical professionals approach to asthma etc.
Thank you in advance for reading all this, and hope you can help with my project.
Kieran
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kieranjames161
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Like you I too had asthma from birth but not diagnosed until I was 2. This was not unusual all those years ago. I am 55. Like you I rarely took my inhaler when young and don't believe I took one to school in my school bag actually don't actually think any one ever told me to take one around with me at the time and there was certainly no one else who carried one or had one held in the school,office or by the school nurse. Having said that I did not start with an inhaler until in high school. Hadn't even heard of inhalers until 1970. I think in those days everyone thought you would "grow out of it". Same thing happened with eczema, which like asthma was diagnosed as croup eczema was often just diagnosed away as allergy rashes until it happened so many times and lasted for so long it just had to be something else. I think now diagnosis is made much earlier and inhalers are prescribed much earlier too.
Funnily enough I was never alone when I had an asthma attack so always had help looking back I find that first big asthma attack I had which I was eventually hospitalised with was in 1981 about 3 months after my wedding. That went OK and once in hospital was put on a ventolin inhaler and brown becotide inhaler - again was not good at taking these and mainly took the blue ventolin when I needed it. The worst situation I have been in was purely through embarrassment at taking my Inhaler in public. It was probably about 4 months after being released from hospital and we had been out for the evening. I really think it was a combination of cigarette smoke in the pub and then coming out into the cold November evening. We were giving someone a lift home and they sat in the front with my hubby. When we got to their place I was already wheezing but, as usual trying to hide the fact and was embarrassed at taking my inhaler. Of course we were asked in and I managed to get out no I want to go home. She then said well come and sit in the front as did my hubby I had to make pleading eyes and say no and try and tell hubby by thoughts transference that I needed her out so I could take my inhaler. She must have thought me such a funny person but I just couldn't wait for her to get out of the way so I could get my inhaler out and gets home and relax as by that time I was so wound up and panicky. So that was embarrassment.
I was once driving to work and began gasping for breath. I had to pull into a lay by - so this time I was on my own. Although by this time I had learned not to panic too much I couldn't take my inhaler properly. Luckily had a mobile phone signal and called home for my partner to phone the surgery and come out and get me. Luckily his parents were staying and his Dad could bring my car back. Surgery said to come in at once and I was put on nebulised ventolin and everything was fine. I had got a summer chest infection - something I get a lot of which had started me off. My GP said if anything like that happened again to drive straight to the surgery or the hospital. Thankfully, nothing like this has happened again. I was really good after the nebulised ventolin too but shaky for quite a few days to a week.
Hope this is of help to you Kieran. The main thing I have noticed about asthma treatment at the moment is that Docs are starting to refuse to prescribe antibiotics to us asthmatics and people with Bronchiectasis who do need them before whatever bad throat, sinus problem or what ever sets our asthma off. I used to be able to telephone my GP and tell him my symptoms and a prescription would be left for me as he trusted me to know when I was bad. Now this doesn't happen and a couple of times I had just goNe down and down and after the third visit to the GP with the same problem and worsening peak flow reading eventually get antibiotics. I always want to say I told you so when I eventually get them. It seems to differ from one GP to another in our surgery but if you have made an emergency appointment you don't get to choose who you see so to my mind it is a waste of an appointment if you are refused antibiotics once or twice and then eventually have to have them.
Sorry have rambled on now. As I said hope some of this stuff is useful to you.
Sorry going back to the embarrassment of taking my inhaler in public. I still do not like doing it and probably find a loo if out and take it in there. especially when recovering from an infection and am taking 3 or 4 times a day. Daft isn't it? But who wants to see you stand there and take four puffs from an inhaler? DAFT!
Thank you for this its really helpful, I know what you mean about being embarrassed about taking it, the design of the current inhalers I feel is one of the main problems with them, and everyone knows what it is, if there was a nicer design or a more subtle way of taking it I feel this would remove a lot of the embarrassment around carrying/using it.
I was just reading your post and noticed the part about croup, although not sure what you meant. Are you saying that if you had croup as a child then that was actually asthma? I had very bad croup as a child and now I´m 60 have been diagnosed with allergy related asthma. To be honest I´m still not sure what I should be doing.
The specialist says if I need it the preventer inhaler more than once a week then I have asthma, but he doesnt actually say how much I should be using it - my GP says my chest is clear and I dont have asthma and I should stop taking the preventer - which I´m quite pleased to do cos its making me fat. (I was using it twice a day - which was what the specialist told me to do but he seems to have forgotten he said that!)
So now I have not taken the preventer for about 5 days and use Bach rescue remedy instead and that seems to clear the tight band around my throat/chest, so perhaps its just stress after all? God knows I´ve had a lot of stress recently.
I guess this is not helping with the survey but I will never forget that coal tar lamp and the fright and stress of having croup as a child.
No don't mean that if you had croup it is asthma. Lots of children of around my age were diagnosed with croup when they were under the age of 2/3 who after that age, like me but whilst still children were then re-diagnosed shall we say as asthmatic.
Obviously I can't remember if I had croup when I was 2 or 3 but I certainly had it at the age of 4-5 as I remember disturbing my baby brother who was only a baby. He used to cry with the coal tar lamp - or so my mum told me
Try to ALWAYS have your reliever inhaler,such as ventolin,with you. I have been caught out and it is sheer luck that I am still here at all. I now always have one in my car,in my bag and in my pocket .
You never know when it may be a life or death situation.
I don't find I take it any more often just because I have it with me.
When I was a student in London in the early 1980s I once caught the coach down there & realised I'd left it behind (I had no preventer in those days, just the blue one). I'm still not sure how I survived the attack I had. Iwas nearly collapsing in the surgery & the GP just sent me on my way with a prescription, the nearest chemist being a mile away.
Most likely although there are others. It may also be called salbutamol. There's a few blue ones around I think (bricanyl for example if it's still used??), but ventolin is probably the most widely used.
Edited to add: the blue ones are all what is known as bronchodilators, also called relievers so they help when short of breath but provide no long-term solution.
Since I my asthma came back from childhood...I have done and still doing lots of research on meds and alternative treatments. I'll keep you posted. I know with my experience, I don't leave without my rescue inhaler. Most of the time I control my attacks with breathing...using buteyko. Keep us updated on what you find out there.
Thank you all for your replies they are extremely helpful in understanding areas where there are problems and need improving. I'm sure I will have more questions as the project goes on, so I doubt this will be my last post. Thank you for taking the time to reply and help. Kieran
I'm a brittle asthmatic so have a portable nebuliser in my car or on me at all times, I've just started a new job which coincided with a flare, so one week in and my new colleagues are left in no doubt that I'm asthmatic. My asthma was an industrial injury 25 years ago. And I'm now assessed by the wonderful ATOS people ( sarcasm there ☺️) as being 60% loss of lung function. I emptied my bag earlier and had 5 inhalers in there, that's a sure sign that I'm worried about not having one on me!
I try to make sure I have my inhaler with me. Sometimes when I don't have pockets I carry it. It would be helpful if someone would invent a carry case, maybe with a strap that goes around your neck. Those I can imagine look stupid or are just small purses.
Hi there, i am new to asthma, i was diagnosed two weeks ago and today i was caught up without my inhaler. I was at home alone and i was coughing so bad and short of breath, felt like i was going to die, i had my prescription with me but i was finding hard to even walk around and tie on my shoes, i was thnking what if any other asthma patient been caught up and run out of their inhaler and finds hard to go to pharmacy like me, i was thinking of a way that it would have been very helpful if local pharmacy had delivery option to drop off medicines to patients at their home, i was thinking of that idea whilst struggling with breathing but i had no choice but to go and get my inhaler in my local boots. On my way to pharamacy i was really making stops holding my kness that way i find it it helps me to atleast take a short breath in and make few walk again and i was even coughing relly bad, felt i was about to die, thats how bad it was. There i was went into boots had in my prescription and got my inhaler.
I straight took out my inhaler and took couple puff there and then in the middle of a busy shopping mall, i coldn't give a monkey what people thought. i can describe that feeling of relief when i start feel i can breath normal, as a new asthma patient i am still amazed how a two puff inhaler can save someones life (in this case my life).
There was one idea run into my mind whilst i was feeling unwell today.
A free medicine deivery to local patients especially elders.
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