Any asthma remedies other than an inhaler? I can't sleep :(

[Parm]

I haven't had trouble with asthma since I was really young, and even then it was mild. Starting playing up this evening though and I've woken up at 3 in the morning with a wheezy chest!

Can't get back to sleep cause it's annoying me, and I don't have an inhaler. Any other ways to make it pass?

[Emirzan]

Sorry to hear that. My mother used to struggle with mild asthma quite frequently. One thing that worked for her other than an inhaler was coffee. Not sure how this works or if it has any kind of proven medical worth and obviously it's not great if you're trying to sleep.

If it's suddenly affected you tonight then I'd guess it might be a reaction to dust/dust mites (even very small levels can have an effect). Get some fresh air and maybe try sleeping in another room when you feel better.

Good luck!

[bsodmike]

You don't have an inhaler ?!? If I were you, call NHS Direct and have an ambulance pick you up. If you speak to the nurse I'm sure they'll class this as urgent as asthmah only gets worse without medication.

I just woke up this am (4am in Geneva, Switzerland) with my wheeze acting up. The weather is VERY cold here and it has not been helping.

What you can try though is to rub your chest down with Vicks Vaporub or something with Menthol in it. I've found that helps wonders!!

Try stay calm till help gets there. How come you have no inhaler? I always keep spares around me...it's a pain but I'd be breathing through a straw without it. I'm on Symbicort 200/10 and Ventolin. Ask you Dr. if you can get put on Symbicort - I've found it to be great since my previous mix of Becloforte/Becotide and Ventolin.

Don't wait to call 999; when I needed them they took an HOUR each time to get to me and drilled me with a list of questions including postcode/DOB/street address and loads of other bits. Makes you wonder if they'll come for you if you're unable to answer their 'dummies' questionnaire.

NHS Direct: 0845 4647

All the best mate...
Cheers
Mike

[bsodmike]

Sorry to hear that. My mother used to struggle with mild asthma quite frequently. One thing that worked for her other than an inhaler was coffee. Not sure how this works or if it has any kind of proven medical worth and obviously it's not great if you're trying to sleep.

If it's suddenly affected you tonight then I'd guess it might be a reaction to dust/dust mites (even very small levels can have an effect). Get some fresh air and maybe try sleeping in another room when you feel better.

Good luck!

Coffee would be worse TBH. You're making your system more active, and hence needing to breath more. Lie down, and slow your breathing into a sleep and slow your pulse. The wheeze feels worse when you try to use your entire lung capacity.

Btw, I'm no Dr. but am just saying from my experience with asthma.

[Emirzan]

Coffee would be worse TBH. You're making your system more active, and hence needing to breath more. Lie down, and slow your breathing into a sleep and slow your pulse. The wheeze feels worse when you try to use your entire lung capacity.

Btw, I'm no Dr. but am just saying from my experience with asthma.

Well I'm no doctor either and I don't have asthma so also lack first hand experience. I only wrote that since I remember it being one of the few things that helped my mother.

A quick google search for asthma remedies throws up a lot of variation so I guess it's a very personal thing.

http://www.total-health-care.com/hom...ies/asthma.htm

That website actually lists coffee amongst the common things likely to worsen the condition.

[bsodmike]

Well I'm no doctor either and I don't have asthma so also lack first hand experience. I only wrote that since I remember it being one of the few things that helped my mother.

Emirzan, no hard feelings mate; hope you didn't feel that I was jumping down your throat; it wasn't my intention.

Various foods can also set of an asthma attack. I personally find enjoying something above moderation usually does it for me, for example having lots of chocolate milk or the MSG in chinese food and the likes of preservatives in cheeses such as camambert and Brie. That doesn't stop me from enjoying them either but I tend to be a bit more cautious if i happen to have forgotten my inhalers.

One time I had this terrible chest infection and I went into Sainsbury's to get some food and asked for Strepsils...ok it may have just started to get to my chest that point. They didn't have any. Instead they had this sweet/candy called 'Tunes'. It is a methol sweet and I started taking loads of 'em and found the constant methol allowed me to breath clearly...definite lifesaver!

Take care Parm; I just added you to my MSN as well

[Mr Flibbles]

This wont help you now but for a longer term help try schizandra, I've been using it for about six months now and it has dramatically cut down my inhaler use. I used to take it several times a day, if I take it more than five or six times a week now I'd be surprised.

[xiphrex]

Bsodmike thats some good advice mate, nice one. You would be surprised how asthma still kills people even though its a very common illness to have and relatively easy to control!

[0iD]

Inhalers all the way, there's absolutely no substitute for a shot of steroids when having an episode. Don't wait till it gets worse, always act before.

As an alternative therapy & prevention, look into the buteyko method of breathing exercises.

[TheAnimus]

Red Wine. Works every time, relaxes you.

But if your having an attack, without an inhailer, head on down to A&E, its not worth taking chances, the reason people still die is because they get cavalear about it.

Actually i get somewhat about mine, i know my peakflow during the winter months is 700 to 750. If i lose 80%, i'm still going to be conscious.

Its worth trying to figure out what set you off? Stress or contact with a trigger?

[j.o.s.h.1408]

you should ALWAYS carry an inhaler. i got asthma as well and never go anywhere without it even though mine is mild.

Also, always take the brown one 2-3 times a day. its to help prevent from a asthma attack from happening

[pollaxe]

Another wheezyboy here so my sympathies.
Sounds like it's an allergic trigger of some sort as Oid says Buteyko methods can really help (though my Doc was always very suspicious of it!) Some details here.
I find sitting up, breathing slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth helps me. It's only a mild form that I have but it's a pain in the.. chest..
I am an asthmatic and a doctor - but a doctor of History unfortunately!

[mart_haj86]

I dont suppose you have recently changed your pillows? I used to be really wheezy as a child when I slept at my nans she had a goose down pillow which would set me off.

[Parm]

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions everyone, and I'm now going to read up on the Buteyko Breathing Technique!

As for the asthma, what a night. I was diagnosed with asthma when I was very young, but it never troubled me and I'd never used an inhaler. So this was completely unexpected and out the blue.

I should have seen it coming though. My gf and I are moving house soon, so we spent most of the weekend packing. Lots of boxes, and moving around lots of old dusty stuff - that I'm guessing was the trigger.

She has two small dogs, too. They won't be coming with us - thankfully - but I'm sure they don't help my case. Last but not least, her mom and dad are avid gardeners so their house is surrounded with roses and various other plants. Probably another factor.

So, Sunday night I go to sleep feeling a bit bunged up. Wake up at 3am and I'm wheezing, not so bad yet so I just sit up and use the laptop for a bit (and post on HEXUS!). At around 4:30 it still wasn't too bad so I thought I'd go back to sleep and try to sleep it off.

That didn't work, wheezing got worse and it woke the other half up. Admittedly, and as Animus says, I got cavalier about it - figured I'd be ok. Gf wasn't having any of it, took me to A&E. Got there just before 6, and got seen just before 9!

Doc gave me a good ol' check up, and found that my breathing was restricted (I also have a below average lung capacity) and that I'd had a mild attack. However, with no prior cases of attacks, they didn't want to give me any severe medication. I've been given a blue inhaler and my breathing feels better now but I'm still tired from the whole "experience".

What really annoyed me was that we were initially fined £40 for parking at the A&E without a ticket displayed!! The hospital (Telford) has no barriers to the car park, and arriving in the dark it's a) hard to see where you're going and b) hard to tell it's pay and display - particularly when you're struggling to breathe! Fortunately, the missus had a go at the attendant before we left and he/she took back the penalty.

On a more positive note, what made the whole trip worthwhile was the hospital doctor. Took an age to see her, but when we did she told my other half that "prevention is the key to asthma". Suggested that my gf make sure everything is clean and wiped down to keep dust away. Moving to our new place, I now always have an excuse to make her do the hoover. Lovely jubbly.

Thanks again for all the advice, everyone.

[Behemoth]

I was diagnosed with Asthma when I was 9, was given some inhalers but it was never really a problem. Never really bothered me that much unless I was ill, and from about the age of 16 - 21 it didn't bother me at all.

It was about 5 years ago that I found it started to creep back on me, annoyingly. Although things got a bit better last year when we changed my carpet in my room for laminet flooring.

Glad you got it all sorted, it's just one of those things that grabs you when you least expect it.

[TheAnimus]

I should have seen it coming though. My gf and I are moving house soon, so we spent most of the weekend packing. Lots of boxes, and moving around lots of old dusty stuff - that I'm guessing was the trigger.

Last three times i moved, i've had asthma attacks. A combination of stress, dust and physical exercise (often even the most gental carrying up/down stairs can really exhaust you if you've got no long capacity left!). So even if its freezing cold, have the windows open to create a nice breeze.

Last time i moved i had such a big attack the Dr gave me 2 weeks off!

If you can, get your partner to vacume/dust whilst your doing some other chore before you get into the new place, thankfully the bloke i bought our flat off was very house proud to the point of having the curtains dry cleaned, and the carpet industrially shampoo'd. Problem is industrial shampoo and asthma aren't best of friends.... In the end my 60 year old dad had to do most of my moving for me, and my flatmate when she wasn't at work... She mostly just complained how heavy my stuff was and played 'packing box' tetris!

Good luck, and a nice half bottle of red wine before you sleep. Don't let yourself become an alcoholic, but it will really relax the lungs. (and apparently it does bring down the lung inflamation, i was told this by a guide a vineyard so it must be true!)

Also on the vacuuming, buy one of the allergy friendly dysons, i can always use them myself no matter how fecked up my lungs are that day. Emptying them, i can't do. But i can use them.