Hi everyone. As cold and flu season approaches here in UK I would appreciate any advice as to what to do if you get a cold etc? I'm new to asthma so I'm not sure - should I visit the doctor at the first sign of a cold or just increase my preventative inhaler?
I use my preventative inhaler as my relief inhaler (fostair) because it's a combination inhaler and the blue inhaler doesn't work for me.
My peak flow has dropped from a personal best of 360 to around 290/300.
Thanks for your help.
You should have an asthma plan agreed with your practice nurse /asthma lead. It will tell you what to do when your PF changes
As QuietChest3 said the main thing to do is get an asthma action plan (you can download from the AUK site here asthma.org.uk/advice/manage... ) if you don’t have one and take it to your GP/practice Asthma nurse to get it filled out.
Colds and virus are very common triggers for asthma. That being said you don’t have to see someone straight away if you get one, but as soon as you think it’s affecting your breathing you get a same day appointment just in case you need steroids. If you’re using your inhaler more than usual regularly you also need to let someone
Hope that helps
I was told by my asthma nurse to double my preventer if I had a cold that affected me. When I have a cold I keep a better watch on myself & double up if necessary.
Well I would wait until your better and get a flu jab... then tell sick people to stay away.... seriously if people are sick we ask them not to visit until they are well (we are a household of asthmatics)
As for now it's a case of staying as well as you can and my respiratory team told me to do *whatever* is safe to stay well
As your peak flow has dropped over 10% but not quite 20% your still glassed as in the green zone... some gp's refer to this as the well zone (peak flow will normally fluctuate a little bit throughout the day for even a healthy non asthmatic)
If your peak flow drops to around 280 you fall into the orange zone (not good but not the end of the world)
The aim of the game is to stay in the green and if you do end up in the orange zone get out of it as quick as possible (within 24-48 hours) or seek help
A peak flow of 50% or less is an ambulance and is classed as a medical emergency
As for increasing your fostair If your on mart then a few extra puffs for a few days wouldn't hurt and should make breathing a bit easier... as long as its within the prescribed limits
Chip
Also things like eating properly to strengthen your immune system and regular washing of hands and surfaces go a long way. During cold and flu season I wear gloves most of the time to stop picking up bacteria/ virus from things such as handrails etc. Just reduces the possibility of picking up the virus in the first place.
I take a royal jelly capsule every day a good quality royal jelly has every vitamin mineral and amino acid in varying quantities known to man
Taking Probiotic capsules have prevented any chest infections / colds / Flu for the last 5 years. Previous to this I would get 2-4 infections every year for over 40 years. Increase Vir C & D and magnesium & zinc
I also notice with the royal jelly capsule I wounds and skin issues heal quicker as well
Many thanks for your helpful advice. My peak flow gets lower as it gets nearer the time to have the next dose of preventer. Once I've taken the preventer it rises to over 300.
I shall definitely et an appointment to make an Action Plan.
Meanwhile I assume it's ok to take more than 4 puffs of Fostair 200/6 per day? Even without the doctor's permission? I know you can take the blue ventolin as and when needed but ventolin doesn't work for me so the Fostair is my preventer and reliever. I know people can take ventolin several times a day if required.
Once again thanks for taking the time to respond☺
They dont like you doing it for too long (they being gp's medical professionals) but I used to go from 4 to 8 puffs of the dosage of fostair I was on it was the weaker one I dont know if that was 200 or 100 but I did that as needed
You say ventolin doesnt work have you tried a powder salbutamol?.. it requires a much harder in breath and so alot of people find that works better (alot of people me included breathe in very hard and lots of ventolin ends up at the back of your throat and not in your lungs)
I take powder salbutamol and find it works much better
It is Important to try to establish a personal, current best for peakflow. What then matters is the percentage of that your best peakflow falls by. Like someone said, down to 80% of your best is ok, by 60-80 % it is time to make an appointment, even though not necessarily an urgent one, below 50% you need to go to hospital. I do get an urgent an urgent care appointment before I reach as low as 60%, just to up all preventative measures before it gets worse.
As for doubling your inhaler, while that is what many of us do, you should really first have that discussion with your gp or asthma nurse, and it should be on your asthma action plan. That kind of discussion is best had at a review, not when you are acutely unwell, so unless you have an asthma action plan and the advice is on it, you have a good case for seeking a review.
For the rest, I try to avoid people with colds as best as I can, Including not meeting up with people when they are full of it, but it is difficult. All it takes, after all, is standing near someone who is sneezing out lurgies by a checkout in a shop.
I’m on fostair 100 and was told I could increase my inhaler to three times a day as it’s better than taking extra puffs morning and night so if you take 2 puffs twice a day take 2 puffs 3 times a day for no more than a week if there’s no improvement or you get worse take emergency preds if you’ve got them and see a dr ASAP to be checked out .This regime tends to work for me although I had a rough time this summer with the heat high pollen count extra and ended up with pleurisy
Hi I have infection induced asthma and i use symbicort as a preventer and bricanyl as a reliever, I generally score 750 plus peak flow however if I get a cold or anything respiratory related I get a terrible wheeze and awful asthma symptoms. In answer to your question yes I would go to the doctor and ask him to listen to your chest; if your chest is wheezing you should be prescribed a course of steroids to clear this up, maybe some antibiotics if you have an infection.
I try to be careful and just wash my hands lots in order to limit germs.
However it’s difficult to avoid germs sneezers etc.
You should be taking what you’ve reported here to your doctor now, because your regimen isn’t working.
Most preventatives won’t work as a relief inhaler so I see multiple problems.
Work with your doctor to improve the plan you’ve got now. Personally I would also get myself to a doctor if I had a cold, much less the flu. Asthma may be the only disease where a cold could kill an otherwise healthy person.
My peak flow is back to normal and no more cough. Seems it wasn't an outright cold after all. I shall visit doctor before the winter season sets in to get an action plan for if I really do get a cold.
Many thanks for all your responses. Much appreciated.
It's a bit basic, but when I am on a bus, or tube, or in busy shops, I cover my mouth with a scarf. Don't worry about people thinking it's odd! Buses are the best place to pick up a germ. And doctor's waiting rooms come to that. If you wheeze at night, you could try what I do - before bedtime, a spoonful of Benylin Mucus Max cough syrup. It doesn't have paracetamol or anything like that in it, but it really helps. You don't have to take it during the day. Hope it helps, it has me!
Many thanks for that advice. I shall do that for sure. I already use the hand sanitizers a lot and make sure toilet seats / handles are sprayed before I touch.
Cold lasting three weeks
cold weather 
Flu Jab
Covid and flu jab
Cold, asthma and really struggling 
