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About 10 years ago, when I was in my mid-50s, I had
this chronic cough that refused to go away despite bottles after
bottles of cough syrup and antibiotics. Finally, our family
physician advised me to see a specialist on pulmonary medicine and
that was when I discovered I had asthma.
The first thing that my new
doctor asked me was if I was a smoker. When I said “No,” he
asked me if my parents had asthma. When I also said “No,” he
told me that I could have acquired my asthma from passive smoking or
from other pollutants in the air.
My doctor explained that when you
have asthma when you are young, chances are it will disappear when
you grow older. But in my case, since I became asthmatic when I was
already old, he said that this could no longer be cured and I have
to live with it.
What is asthma?
Asthma is a chronic lung disease
characterized by difficulty of breathing, wheezing, coughing, and
increased mucus production. These symptoms can cause death depending
on the severity of the amount of allergens involved and the extent
of the blockage in the airways to the lungs.
Asthma sufferers like me have
very sensitive bronchial tubes. Foreign molecules or particles can
inflame and tighten these tubes due to allergens or irritants. As
the tubes tightened, extra mucus is produced that makes breathing
difficult. Symptoms can be so severe that breathing is labored. This
is when asthma becomes life threatening.
I don’t know if this is a
consolation but according to the World Health Organization there are
from 100 million to 150 million people worldwide suffering from
asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
In the Philippines, asthma is the
eighth leading cause of death. There are now approximately 5.5
million Filipinos affected with asthma. Unfortunately, I am one of
them.
My first attack
During my first severe asthma
attack, I was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night
because I was gasping for breath. I thought I would not reach the
hospital alive.
But thank God I was still
breathing, although heavily, when we reached the hospital. I was
immediately attached to an oxygen tank and injected with steroids. I
was also asked to inhale fumes from a Nebulizer (a machine that
pumps air with anti-asthma medicines into your lungs) every 15
minutes. It was only after the steroids and with the aid of the
oxygen that my breathing became less labored. I stayed in the
hospital for three days.
I had five other severe attacks
that required hospitalization. In other instances, my doctor would
just prescribe antibiotics and Medrol for early symptoms.
Asthma as allergy
From a medical point of view,
asthma is a type of allergy. Allergy is defined as a change in the
body’s biological activity due to the presence of one or more
types of allergens, or substances that trigger the attack like dust,
fumes, certain chemicals, scents and odors, and abrupt change in
temperature.
There are a lot of misconceptions
and myths about the disease. A medical report posted in the Internet
listed the following:
1. Asthma is a psychological
problem. While it’s true that emotional stress may aggravate your
asthma, this doesn’t mean you should dismiss your condition as
simply psychological. Asthma is very real and can be serious enough
to kill you, if you don’t consult your doctor.
2. Asthmatics should maintain a
strict non-allergenic diet. Since very few attacks are caused by
food allergies, there’s no need to starve to death. Simply observe
what foods trigger an attack and avoid them. Eat the rest.
3. Asthma medicines make the
disease worse. Modern medications prescribed by your doctor are safe
and designed to help you live a normal life. You may even need less
medicine in the future.
4. Eating lizards will relieve
asthma. Although lizards have ephedrine, a bronchodilator once used
for asthma, you shouldn’t eat them. This drug has many serious
side effects such as blood pressure elevation and nausea and is no
longer recommended.
Any physician would tell you that
the best way to avoid an asthma attack is to look for the source of
allergens and to avoid it.
My doctor has prescribed a
maintenance medicine for me, an inhaled steroid, which, according to
him, is harmless because it is goes direct to the lungs and not
through the blood vessels.
My last asthma attack, although
mild, was about a month ago brought about by the cold weather. At
the moment, I live like any normal person but I know it will only be
a matter of weeks until my next attack. I guess I will just have to
accept this fate.
opinion@manilatimes.net
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