Asthma......did you know?

I was reading this on the home page of Healingwell and I was astounded at the statistics for Asthma related deaths. Here is a sample of the article:

More than 5,000 asthma deaths were reported in the United States in 1997, according to the American Lung Association (1997 is the most recent year for which statistics are available). Most of the deaths occurred in patients who misjudged the severity of symptoms or failed to reach a hospital or clinic in time to prevent respiratory failure.

https://www.healingwell.com/articles/post/controlling-asthma

So all you asthma sufferers out there, don't take your asthma for granted! Get checked out before your attacks become worse.

Yes thank you for the information, alot of that sounds like my son Sean who is only four, and its really scary, and i can barely sleep at night, im afraid he wont make it too me , with his attacks like that..

Thank you for your support, And yes it is very scary, Im a stay at home mom with three kids, and he is the middle child and the only boy, so when my husband is gone to work he thinks he is the man of the house, and he yells at me if he wakes up and thinks im checking on him, because he claims i just need to go to bed and stop worrying he is fine, He is my brat child all the way, and asthma is very scary....... And i feel so worthless when i cant help him anymore than a breathing treatment, five or six times a day....... But i appricate the support and i hope you daughter is doing better than my son, I cant stand the fact that children have to deal with something as scary as asthma taking their breathe way and all the coughing, Its horrible.  I wished i could take his place everyday....

 

Thanks

Jessica Weber

 

wow, wonder what the statistics are in the UK, but it is very thought provoking!!!

i too have asthma, and thought it was well controlled, till this year, in the past 3 months have had a bad flare and have had to have 2 courses of steroids, this might not seem a big deal, but it is the first time in the 15 years i have had asthma, that i have had to have any "extra" help!!!!

it certainly opened my eyes up to be more aware of my health!!!

tc you guys, especially as the weather is turning colder for many of us


sandra xxxx

A large forum can be intimidating especially to someone that has never visited a support forum before. That is exactly why I am grateful to be part of the HW family, to help ease the fears of our members, answer any question that I can, and have mine answered in return. Hw is truly a friendly and open forum thanks to it's many volunteers and wonderful members.
I was just astonished that the fact that in this day and age that asthma can still be so life threatening for people because they underestimate the severity of their attacks. I have only known one person with severe asthma and he would "push the envelope" to the point where it would take a long time before his emergency inhaler would work. Now I realize that is a very dangerous thing for him to do.
Luckily my son never had life threatening asthma but any kind of asthma can seem severe when you suffer from it. So take care all!

At three weeks of age I was hospitalized and diagnosed with asthma.  Now, 38 years later, just when I think I've researched all about it on my own as well as the continued care of a good pulmonologist, allergist, and my wonderful family doctor, there is still more to learn.  When I was 25 I became disheartened that I "still" had asthma.  My pulmonary specialist informed me that despite what many people believe, a patient just doesn't grow out of asthma, like an old pair of shoes.  Presently I take Advair 500/50, Singulair 10, Albuterol Rescue Inhaler, Albuterol/Atrovent Nebulizer Breathing Treatments and Prednisone 10.  For the past 3-4 years my husband and I can count on a trip to the e.r. with hospitalization for 4-5 days almost every 3-4 months.  I hate the course of aggressive treatment of IV Salumedrol (and IV Levaquin, breathing trts q 4 hrs, along with my home meds) for those 4-5 days.  The r.n.'s and respiratory therapists are friends of mine of course and laugh with me with my phrase "on the altar of salumedrol".  Side effects include induced type 2 diabetes, relentless migraines of the worst kind, nausea, water/weight gain, uncontrollable appetite, joint flare pain especially in both knees and both elbows which is debilitating in itself.  When you can't breath, you can't breath, and I am thankful for the medication which improves my accute asthma symptoms and constriction but I'm wondering if anyone out there has any substitution for the dreaded iv salumedrol?