Paranoid about cold air asthma

Q

Quincy

New member
Hi...are you on any medications such as syrabicort? or even just a corticosteroid inhaler like Pulmicort?

Or just the rescue?

q
 
I think I post this topic almost yearly, but due to my past history I'm really paranoid this time of year. I have asthma that is, among other things, triggered by cold air and pollution. Our temperature and windchill the last week and a half has been in the teens down to the negative digits. Today we went up to red air quality again. This is our second major inversion of the year. There are no storms in sight until possibly Sunday so the air quality will get worse and worse all week. There are blue skies straight up, but down at our level, it is foggy/hazy/yucky and you can't even see parts of the huge mountains just a couple miles away.

I'm staying inside as much as possible. When I go outside, I'm wearing a facemask with a charcoal filter. Fortunately, I've been able to keep my asthma under control the last couple months (after a July through Septeraber flare). I live in fear that one of these times my precautions won't be enough. I haven't been using my inhaler the last couple months because I was doing ok. I've been contemplating pulling it out and using it prior to going out, but I don't want to over-medicate. I've had so many other issues lately.

I know I should feel good that I'm doing many things right and I'm doing OK now, but my last asthma flare wore my body down so much that I ended up contracting viral meningitis. I was off work for 10 weeks and just went back to work before Christmas. I can't afford to get sick again.

Thanks for listening.
 
Hi,

Thanks, I'm on Advair 250/50 and Singulair. I also have Advair 500/50 if things do get worse. I also receive Xolair shots for allergic asthma. I've tried Syrabicort and found it worked pretty much the same as the Advair.

Related treatments include: immunotherapy for regular allergies, allergra and Nasonex for allergies.

I have the Albuterol in inhaler and nebulizer forms and carry an Epi-pen for the asthma.
 
:D What a good day today! It is still only in the teens, but our air cleared out overnight!!! I could actually see the mountains and blue skies. You don't know what a relief it is not to be breathing all that junk. I'm still wearing my facemask due to the cold, but at least the air is of healthy quality. Let's hope it holRAB that way.
 
Hang in there. Just a couple more weeks, and then the weather will start to get warmer.

Well, a little warmer.;)
 
Glad to hear it!

Here on the coast, I am loving all these snowstorms. Every time we get hit with a foot of the white stuff, the temperature and especially the dew point shoot up, and I can breathe.

Which is useful when it comes to wielding the snow shovel.
 
I never used to have much trouble jogging unless it was in the 20's and the wind was blowing. But this winter, gosh, I just can't stand it in the 30's even. To all of a sudden have an issue when I haven't before has been frustrating....
 
Well, the clean air lasted about a day and a half before going back up into the red air quality again which is very unhealthy for sensitive people. It is forcasted to last into next week and they don't see an end in sight right now. We need a much larger storm to come in and clear things out. The storms we had lately only gave us a few inches of snow each time and weren't strong enough to help much.

I just read an article that said the top 5 cities with worst air quality in the US are in northern Utah. According to the article, anything above 35 units means air quality is deterioriating and we were at 142units. The next closest city city in the country was scoring in the 30's. Not a good list to be on.

Yesterday, the coughing started sneaking back here and there. So far, I haven't had the trigger while I was out wearing my mask, but when air is that bad, it gets inside as well. I have air purifiers at home, but not everywhere else I go. I do OK between coughs, so I need to figure out how often I should use my inhaler. I don't want to over-do. I'd prefer to be proactive rather than re-active though. I am using it in the am before leaving the house since mornings are always the worse for me. (Acid reflux irritates my lungs as well and mornings are bad after sleeping so the lungs are more sensitive at that time when I go out into the cold.) While I'm getting some occassional tightness, I'm not wheezing yet though so that is good. I just don't see any relief in sight and I know extended exposure makes it more and more likely my lungs will say "enough is enough" and let the air get the best of me.

Thanks for listening...again.
 
Yeah, this winter is beating me up plenty. Every time I go outside, scarf or no, I can feel my chest tighten up. At least the pollen-related asthma took an hour or so to start up, this takes two breaths!
 
I third that feeling. Cold air asthma for me feels different than other triggers when attacks begin. It is frustrating when you do "everything right" and still have issues.

I decided today to begin using my inhaler prior to going outside in the nasty cold air in the mornings. Mornings are worst for me and I'm really not wanting to take chances of anything triggering a long-term flare.

Our newspaper headline today all about our "purple haze". It is crazy seeing total blue skies above and at the tops of the snow covered mountains at times with the haze just below that all the way to the valley floor. Still having red "unhealthy" air quality until Sunday.
 
Back
Top