Growing into my asthma?!
Question: I know there's such thing as growing out of asthma (my mom did that), but is there such thing as growing into it? There's a lot of it in my family, and from a young age, if I pushed myself too hard when running and weird stuff, I'd weeze and and have a little trouble breathing. I had Upper Respiratory Infection when I was about 10 or 11, and I needed an inhaler with that. That's the only time I've had one. I think I'm going to need to get one for everyday now. I'm 16 now, and just the slightest thing like running up and down the stairs makes me weeze really badly and I feel like I'm suffocating, and it lasts for a very long time. I want to know...is there some way that I grew into my asthma?
Answers: I know there's such thing as growing out of asthma (my mom did that), but is there such thing as growing into it? There's a lot of it in my family, and from a young age, if I pushed myself too hard when running and weird stuff, I'd weeze and and have a little trouble breathing. I had Upper Respiratory Infection when I was about 10 or 11, and I needed an inhaler with that. That's the only time I've had one. I think I'm going to need to get one for everyday now. I'm 16 now, and just the slightest thing like running up and down the stairs makes me weeze really badly and I feel like I'm suffocating, and it lasts for a very long time. I want to know...is there some way that I grew into my asthma?
Short answer, yes.
Asthma can change during times of hormone changes. At puberty it often improves, but can also get worse. Some women note changes during pregnancy and menopause .
If there is a very strong family history of it you may have had it all along but without an acute attack. You could have developed an allergy that is now triggering it. It is also possible you have bronchitis, with or without asthma. Bronchitis alone causes airway swelling that acts like asthma and responds to some of the same medications.
Try to get to the doctor and have it evaluated. If he decides it is asthma, and this is your first problem in five years, it might not involve any long-term medications. A rescue inhaler like albuterol would be common. He might try an inhaled steroid for a while, then stop it after a few weeks to see if the problem still exists.
I would strongly advise you to have an ENT examination. A deviation of your nasal septum, a history of untreated allergy, or adenoid hypertrophy all may lead to asthma. These consitions can be cured relatively easily, and it worths the price!
I had adult patients whom had their deviated nasal septum removed and since that time they did not have to use their asthma sprays!
Good luck!
What i know is from personal experience. My father had childhood asthma until he was twelve.He suffered with it as they did not have good meds back then. After age twelve he never had another attack. I developed asthma at age thirteen and have had it since and I am almost 50. So it is true you can develop asthma later in your life. You need to get an assessment done on your lung health and start using puffers to help you control it. What-ever you do if you are smoking quit now. good luck and remember to take deep breathes and exhale them slowly.