Diagnosed with Reactive Airway Disease today without prior history of breathing !
Question:
Diagnosed with Reactive Airway Disease today without prior history of breathing problems. Any help?
Started three weeks ago with severe sinus infection and swollen face. Antibiotics and steroids prescribed. Last few days had trouble breathing and left emergency room with a breathing treatment, steroids and inhaler prescription. Anyone have advice?
Answers:
You've come to the right place, hehe. I'm a Reactive Airway Disease frequent flyer. They usually give me a shot of epinephrine (fake adrenaline) to calm the reaction, then a few breathing treatments of albuterol/atrovent, sometimes a bit of IV magnesium sulfate and some Solumedrol (IV steroid) or Prednisone (oral steroid) and they send me on my way.
Reactive Airway is just a fancy way of saying you're allergic to something that makes your respiratory system go nuts :)
Try to figure out what it is, (they'll probably schedule you for an allergen test or lung biopsy/bronchoscopy) and then treat you with preventive medicine.
My doc usually gives me a prescription for an epi-pen, which is a dose of epinephrine you administer to yourself when you start to exhibit symptoms of reactive airway.
Hope I answered your question. If you want to chat some more or want to ask me any specific questions, I know a lot about it since I've been battling this and a couple of other chronic respiratory problems for the past five years.
You can email me here or add me to IM as eternallycharmed.
Get some rest! :)