Expert: Marc Rubin, RPh Asthma Educator - 10/25/2011

Question
Hi,
  I am being treated for a bunch of things but my doctor says I have ashma and gave me albuteral.  I have not used it because I don't know what ashma is.  I only seem to cough all the time at certain times of year. But I have had a few scary episodes where I start coughing and I can't get my breath.  It has only been a few times but it is really scary.

Answer
Hi Don,

Asthma is an inflammatory ailment of the lungs, generally beginning in childhood and related to allergies, but it can also begin later in life, and it may be a recurrence of childhood allergies, or workplace/environmental irritants.

What occurs is that the inflammation causes swelling in the lung tissue, narrowing the airways, and, additional chemicals are released causing the muscles around the airways to constrict.

Although wheezing (a whistling sound made when exhaling) is thought to be one of the most common signs, actually, coughing, especially at night, may be the only obvious symptom. There may also be shortness of breath, chest tightness (like someone giving you a bear hug), fatigue from poor oxygen exchange and poor sleep.

Depending upon your "triggers" (the things that set your lungs off causing this problem), it may be seasonal depending upon pollens and mold ( early spring: tree pollen, late spring/early summer: grass pollen, fall: weed pollen and mold). But it can be due to pets you have, or if none, going to someones house with cats,dogs or birds. It may be work: a change of cleaning chemicals. It becomes very important to determine what are those things that bring this on because, half of treating asthma is the avoidance, if at all possible, of the triggers, or pre-treatment before you go where there may be a problem.

The albuterol, relaxes the muscle of the airways within a couple of minutes, and is primarily used as a quick reliever of symptoms. It may be the only treatment if symptoms occur less than twice a week, but, if more frequent, a daily medication needs to be used. Keep in mind, if your issue is found to be truly seasonal, you may only need to treat during those months that bring on the problem.

By the way, who made the diagnosis, and what did they do to determine it? Family doctor, allergist or pulmonologist? There is a saying in my field: "not all that wheezes is asthma", and getting the correct diagnosis is critical for success.

I can provide you with a free course explaining more about asthma if you wish, but first, I'd start at the website of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. They have extensive patient education materials there:

http://www.aaaai.org

Also, the proper use of the albuterol inhaler is critical for success. Did they take the time to explain as well as show you the proper method, as well as verify your understanding of it by watching you do it? If not, get back to me, and I'll take you through it.

Hope this helps.Let me know if you have further questions.

Sincerely,

Marc