Expert: Kevin Smith - 12/30/2009

Question
Hello.i am 27,male. For some years i've been having cough that is always with whistle sound,especially at night.it's always bad when i sleep on my back facing up.my mum used to give me a drug,which i now realise is for asthma.i once told a doctor and he recommended erythromicin.i do get tired easily.what i know is that asthmatic patients do gasp for breath and even fall down and the likes,cuz i once wittness one. Another problem i've is that i sneeze a lot,especially after waking up.what i want to know are:1,i mine an asthmatic patient? 2,how can i permanently cure the cough and sneezing? 3,what are the kind of job i can do.i've just recruited for a paramilitary job,will i be able to cope with d training?

Answer
Hello D good,

Ok, let's see what we can do for you:

First off, just to clarify, erythromycin is actually an antibiotic - so it seems the dr. thought you had an infection when he prescribed it. I take it that was a sort of short-term thing - a week or so you took that for?

1 - Are you an asthmatic - the only real answer I can provide you with is 'maybe' - testing for asthma can be a tricky thing at times, and is pretty well impossible to do just over the net like this. I do think you COULD be asthmatic however, based on what you're saying to me. It seems likely you are suffering from allergies due to the sneezing, and often asthma and allergies can go hand-in-hand. By far, the best route to take to get a diagnosis will be going to the dr. - s/he may want to do allergy testing, breathing tests, etc to see what is really going on with you. Sneezing alot after waking up is pretty common for allergies, for instance. Do you notice it any other time? You could, possible, be allergic to your bed, for example.

2 - Again, I won't be able to give you a definitive answer on this one. If you are asthmatic, there is no know cure of the disease, only the ability, in some people, to fully control the symptoms. Once you have your diagnosis, it will be possible to select a treatment plan that will minimize your symptoms - for example, say you are diagnosed with allergies and have one to the dust mites in your bed - by using anti-allergy cover sheets, you may find that your morning sneezing decreases or even goes away - but if you stayed in another bed, you may find the symptoms return. There is, unfortunately, no black-or-white answer in what works to make a certain person feel better, and it's going to take exploration and trail-and-error to find out what works best for you.

3 - While I'm not sure what your recruitment laws will be, you will, likely, have to have a physical. In that physical, they will determine your eligibility for recruitment. Be honest and answer the questions as well as you can for them. I honestly can't tell you, however, if you will be accepted or not. As for jobs outside the military, once you are diagnosed, again, you will have a much better understanding of your triggers - those things that set off your problems, and will have to tailor your job around them. For instance, if you happen to have an allergy to wood dust, obviously then, a job as a carpenter might not be realistic depending on the severity. However, with the right medications, if you have allergies, you might also find they are fully controlled and you can do whatever you wish.

So, in the end, my only true advice to you is to visit a dr. and try for a good diagnosis. After that, work on identifying your triggers more fully - pay attention to your day and see what might 'set off' your issues. With the proper diagnosis, medication plan ( possibly ) and ever-increasing awareness of your triggers, I suspect you'll find you are able to control your symptoms quite a bit better.

Good luck to you and happy new year!