1. Community
  2. Chest and lungs
  3. Asthma

My chest infection has triggered asthma

Posted , 3 users are following.

maggie34
maggie34

HI all, In my twenties I did have some hay asthma but it went away. I am fit at 69 years old, normally playing squash etc. but in mid April I caught a cough infection which wouldn't go away after 3 courses of antibiotics and 2 courses of steroids (predisnolone). I was producing incessant white or clear mucus but no wheezing and had very little energy. They tested me for everything including cancer as an xray showed a nodule on the lung but it disappeared and a CT scan showed nothing. My lung function test said asthma and 62% of normal for the diffusion coefficient, which explained the awful tiredness. Now I am on a purple steroid inhaler every 12 hours permanently and with a blue inhaler for any problems in the day. My energy levels aren't normal and my chest feels a bit tight; I have to pace myself to do anything. Is there anyone with a similar story? My Dr also wants me to try omeprazole every day to see if that would help? I haven't tried this yet as I am wary of having to use it permanently and am not sure if it would help either. Well I am now also very wary of being near anyone with a cough in case it gets worse. I haven't got rid of the mucus or the tight chest. I would like to hear from anyone with a similar peoblem

Maggie34

 

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Aschm32186
    Aschm32186 maggie34

    Posted

    Hi sorry you got sick...but it takes time for your body to heal, hence the tiredness. It took me awhile to get rid of my cough and my chest tightness. But believe me after getting sick like this a few time. I totally stay away from anyone that is in the slightest sick !!! 
    • maggie34
      maggie34 Aschm32186

      Posted

      Hi, yes I totally agree about staying away from anyone slightest sick!!!! My friend came round and mentioned as she was leaving that she was recovering from a cough, my heart sank!! Three days later I was ill. I wonder how long it took you to get rid of the chest tightness?
  • green881
    green881 maggie34

    Posted

    Hmmm.  Well I am 48 and I don't think I can play squash any more due to various ankle and knee issues.  But I do miss it.  Consider yourself lucky you can do that at 69!  Unfortunately it's quite common for asthmatics to have asthma re-triggered or aggravated by some kind of chest or nose/throat infection  Yours sounds quite bad - are you sure they ruled out pneumonia with an X-ray?  Friend of mine recently had walking pneumonia, maybe they don't suspect it because you are "walking".  But it was eventually confirmed on Xray even though doctor refused to believe it.

    Strangely she was also left with a cough for a long time (wake up at night), given omeprazole by an ENT, and after a bit it worked.  Silent reflux apparently.  It's a tough one because silent reflux is controversial.  I don't see the harm in trying omeprazole for a couple weeks and see if it knocks the asthma, but you would need to taper your purple one to make sure that is the drug and not the steroid that is suddenly working.  The problem with asthma is that your sensitivity to the drugs and response can fluctuate, so to find out if it's working you gradually taper to zero and see how your ventolin use goes.  It's kind of standard for regular asthma folks.

    • maggie34
      maggie34 green881

      Posted

      Hi and thank you for your thoughts. I looked up walking pneumonia but don't have the symptoms and the 2nd xray showed a nodule but the CT scan was clear so that eliminated the cancer scare, phew. They did test me for so many things, armfuls of blood too!! By the way, I did wear a knee support when playing squash and one day hope to play again but this illness seems to have taken away my energy, big time.

      I don't wake up at night now, haven't done for quite a while so the purple inhaler is helping.

      Great to hear about the omeprazole and glad your friend has been helped. I am improving slowly but have to pace myself to avoid chest tightening and going to the blue inhaler. Thank you for all the information; I really appreciate that!!

  • green881
    green881 maggie34

    Posted

    Hmm - the asthma part sounds like asthma. But for me loss of energy is not something I associate with asthma.  Certainly you are a bit down when wheezing but it never made me not want to do things (just me).  All I can say is keep tweaking the preventer - in my book you should show major improvement after 7 days of taking it on schedule (and correctly, spacer etc).  You may need to up the dose and/or go to a combination preventer this is standard.  I would say after 2-3 weeks of adjustments if you can't lick it then the asthma is just a side effect of something else.  There are some really bad viruses that will lay you low for 2-4 weeks one of them has been going around but it comes with a really sore throat for at least 3 days in the beginning.

    • maggie34
      maggie34 green881

      Posted

      Hi again. Well this started mid April and they have tested me for everything they can think of as I wasn't wheezing but loads of clear mucus and a cough and tight chest. I have improved since taking the preventer, 2 weeks now, but I will take your advice about adjustments after perhaps another week. The actual virus laid me low for about 10 weeks initially but nothing quite cleared. I agree there are some horrible viruses around!!! The lung function test came out as asthma with diffusion coefficient 62% of normal so oxygen wasn't getting through, I guess which explains energy level.I didn't know about combination preventers

    • green881
      green881 maggie34

      Posted

      Combination preventers like Symbicort and Fostair seem to be popular in the UK.  I really don't know about diffusion ... but it seems to me if you have mild asthma hitting it with nebs (which I assume they did in the test) should get that number way up.  Honestly if they thought you had serious asthma you would already be on combination, it's still in the mild-medium zone.  Pred is the serious step.  That is why it sounds like something else is primary.  Ask the doctor again.

      Hang in there, you can easily have lingering infection for months that is flaring everything.  Hopefully when it clears you will clear the asthma as well.

    • maggie34
      maggie34 green881

      Posted

      Thank you again, I'm going to see how this week goes and then go back to the Dr!! I will hang in there and hope for things clearing!! About to stay with friends for a couple of days and hopefully feel normal!!

    • maggie34
      maggie34 green881

      Posted

      Hi again

      Well as an update, I am on a combination inhaler (seretide) and I do think it is helping. I agree with you that the infection is lingering and I did go to the Dr again and have had more blood taken to check for electrolyte balance and inflammation. So they are trying everything and being helpful too. I am improving but not as quickly as i would like(surprise, surprise) and I definitely have to pace myself but feel a bit more optimistic. I definitely wouldn't like to get a virus like this again and will be getting a flu jab and a pneumonia jab too. 

      Thank you for your advice though. This forum is helpful!, Maggie34

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.