I want to get rid my mom's constant asma attacks?!
Question: My mom has developed a constant asma attacks that has us frieghtened every night we sleep. She says all of a sudden she begins to chock on her salavia. Drinking hot water nor the inhaler help. She cannot swollow well so that blocks her breathing abilities. Can some one help us finds a way to help her. She also begins to chock in her sleep as well as when she eats.
Answers: My mom has developed a constant asma attacks that has us frieghtened every night we sleep. She says all of a sudden she begins to chock on her salavia. Drinking hot water nor the inhaler help. She cannot swollow well so that blocks her breathing abilities. Can some one help us finds a way to help her. She also begins to chock in her sleep as well as when she eats.
Make an appointment with a physician or clinic, mentioning that she has difficulty swallowing and choking during meals when she is awake. Don't use the term asthma attack and wheezing unless asked, that may cause you to see the wrong service. If they ask for more information mention the choking also while sleeping.
When she sees the doctor you can discuss while sleeping part but KEEP THE FOCUS on the swallowing problem.
If you do not emphasize that she has choking problems while eating and awake they may focus on the sleep choking problems and send her for a "sleep study". I think that might be a good idea, but not be the best place to start. A Speech Therapist deals with throat and tongue movement problems including swallowing and it sounds as if she needs to see one and have a swallow evaluation.
If you went to the Emergency Room or Urgent Care they would not have had a speech therapist or have been able to do the type of x-ray study to evaluate a swallowing problem. Bits of food getting into the windpipe frequently would tend to cause wheezing, so she got an inhaler to deal with the "emergency" part of the problem. Nothing wron with that.
I am a Respiratory Therapist, not a Doctor, but I think she needs to have first the swallowing problem addressed, then the sleep problem.
Asthma is caused by overbreathing or hidden hyperventilation, which messes up your carbon dioxide levels (Carbon dioxide is essential to your body for absorbing oxygen.) This causes you to overbreathe even more, which leads to asthma. Check out this link:
http://www.vitalitymagazine.com/node/967...
For more info, or to find courses in your area, google "buteyko."
The Buteyko method retrains your brain to breathe properly.
Asthma usually does not come on by choking on one's saliva. I would suggest that she see a specialist.
Well try getting a pllow called a body wave it a triangle looking pillow which allows a person to sleep amost sitting up. ANd also an old family remedy that works real good is buyu her a baby chihuahua and have her be with her all much tiume of the day that she can. The dog will get teh attacks but she will be all right. It; sjust scary watching it but it will help alot. SO go get her a chihuahua and give it to her.
I've had asthma for years and it is under control with my meds, you mentioned that she chokes in her sleep, she may also have a prob with sleep apnea, it causes people to stop breathing while they sleep. you need to tell her doc these things,I assume she has one, medical attention is what she needs, be honest with the Docs.Good Luck!
I would really just recommend seeing a doctor; with symptoms as serious as the ones you've listed, that is probably the best idea - you said her inhaler isn't doing the trick? (I have had chronic asthma my entire life, and though I've been lucky enough to have few attacks, my inhaler always helped.)
Though, I must say, choking on saliva doesn't sound much like asthma...
She needs to see her doctor and get him or her to prescribe one or more Asthma Controller Medications. Her rescue inhaler should only be used when absolutely necessary. I recommend calling an ambulance the next time this occurs because the paramedics can administer albuterol via nebulizer which allows the medication to reach deeper into the lungs and will open her up better, but this is still only a stop-gap measure. However, once at the ER, the doctor can order additional treatments for her to open her up even more and can also prescribe controller meds such as Advair, or Flovent. She should still see her family doctor to get refillable prescriptions for these and her family doctor may also want to prescribe a home nebulizer for her as well. Also, many people think that their doctor should prescribe home oxygen for them when they have asthma. This is usually not the case because a person with asthma has what is know as a "Hypoxic Breathing Drive". Normally what triggers your drive to breath is the level of Carbon Dioxide in the blood. When the CO2 level gets high enough, you breath. For people with a Hypoxic Breathing Drive, it is the level of Oxygen in the blood that triggers the breathing drive. When the O2 level drops low enough, they breath. If Oxygen is being administered, and the levels become too high, a person with a hypoxic breathing drive will stop breathing completely. For this reason, such people are usually only given Oxygen under direct medical supervision.
A cough that is not relieved with Hot drinks, nor inhalers. This cough especially becomes troublesome during sleep....
Ok, let me say that breath retraining is NOT going to help your mother. And all that stuff about oxygen and C02...ignore that...doesn't apply to your mother's case.
She's gonna have to see a doctor...That chocking and getting phlegm up is a symptom of Asthma. WHEN she decides to see a doctor, make sure she gets that nebulizer with one of the following drugs-
Albuterol
or
DuoNeb.
Use the drug(s) every 4hr while awake and MAYBE once inbetween [that means that she may use it every two hours over a 6 hour period; for a total of 3 treatement in a 6 hour stretch]. If she needs it every 2 hours PAST the 6 hour period, she needs to let the Doctor know. If she needs something else beside the above meds, she may beneifit from a drug called flovent or Asthmacort. Or the doctor may Rx her a tapering script of prednizone.
That maybe too much information. But if you go to your doctor, they will give you the above info, albiet slightly altared....
Hope this gets your mom better.