A Frightening Illness (My Experience of Asthma)

Name: scuzz

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Product:	My Experience of Asthma
Date:	19.10.04 (80 review reads)
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I was first diagnosed with asthma when I was about seven years old. I was taken to the doctor after I'd developed breathing problems during a PE lesson.

The doctor said it could have been to do with my heart murmer, which I was born with. For those of you who don't know that's when your heart has an irregular beat. My Dad's smoking could also have contributed to my condition.

To handle it, I was given a blue ventaline inhalor. I was told to practise taking it. This involves breathing in, spraying the thing in your mouth and swallowing at the same time. Now for a seven year old that can be very difficult and I looked like I was smoking on most attempts.

I had to take the inhalor whenever I felt breathless or tight chested. As time went on, my condiditon gradually worsened. So the doctor gave me a brown Becotide inhalor. This contained steroids. It was to be taken twice a day - once in the morning and once at night. The point of this inhalor is to prevent an attack coming on in the first place. But this medicin made me feel ill and cough a lot. So I stopped taking it.

To help monitor my asthma, I was given a peak flow metre. This is a tube that you blow into as hard and as fast as you can. This will measure the elasticity of your lungs. Over a few days you can work out what your normal peak flow is and if it drops, you know you have a chance of an attack soon. I used to love doing this and would challenge my family to see if they had a higher peak than me. Suprisingly, mine was the highest in the household.

Asthma attacks can be triggered by different things in different people. For me it was exercise, swimming in particular. This is odd as it's supposed to be very good for asthmatics. I was very sporty in my secondary school days, but I was determined for my asthma not to be a problem. I became good at most sports and it only seemedto be endurance sports that would trigger an attack.

Smoke is another thing can bring on an attack. So working in a pub was hell for me. I have to hold my breath if I'm near a bonfire or driving through smoke. Fog is also a problem along with the cold weather.

The feeling of having an attack is very frightening. I can feel my throat start to close up and a tightness come across my chest. Sometimes I get heart pains too. I think the most frightening part is the wheezing I make. I know I physically acn't breathe, but add that on top is awful.

Thankfully the medication I'm on releives the symptons very quickly. I'm also very lucky that I've never had to be rushed to hospital with a really serious attack.

The worst case I've had is where I lost my sight. It was after a race on sports day, and as I crossed the finish line, everything went white and I started to feel dizzy. I was probably the lack of oxygen in my body. It was partly my fault as I'd felt the attack creeping on, but I ws so determined to win the race I kept on. And yes I did win!

I'm nearly twenty-one now, but sadly like many people, I've not outgrown my asthma. I thought maybe I had, but under a few stressful situations lately, I've had a couple of attacks. They don't seem so bad now, but that could be because I'm older and so don't panic so easily. Thankfully, these attacks are few and far between.

If you or anyone you know is diagnosed with the disease, don't panic. There is a lot of help out there to manage the problem. A new medication for children upto about eighteen months old has just beem released. It's a granulated form that can be added to food or drink to help it go down easy. So if you baby has asthma maybe ask your GP about it. I only found out because of my profession.

Thanks for reading my blurb.

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