Unfortunately, asthma can start at any age
Dear Dr. Donohue: At 33, I have been told I have asthma. I thought it began in childhood. My symptoms were coughing spells that left me breathless. I take two different medicines, both by inhalers. Why two? What’s the cause? — W.D.
Answer: Most asthma starts before age 25, but it can strike at any age. You aren’t the oddity you might have thought you were.
People with asthma have overly sensitive airways (bronchi) that react to things that leave the general population unfazed. An airborne allergen, such as pollen, dust or mold spores, can bring on an asthma attack. The touchy airways constrict and fill with mucus. That makes it difficult to draw air into the lungs and even more difficult to expel it from them.
Wheezing is a typical asthma symptom. Coughing is another. All asthmatics feel like they are being choked during an attack as they frantically try to draw air into their lungs. It’s not a pleasant experience.
Allergens are not the sole causes of airway spasms. Airborne pollutants can trigger attacks. When asthmatics get a viral respiratory tract infection, such as a common cold, they almost always expect to have an asthma attack. In winter, leaving a warm house and having to breathe cold air can lead to airway constriction, as can entering an air-conditioned store or theater on a hot summer day. Exercise provokes attacks for some.
Why two medicines? One is for the termination of an attack in progress, and the other is to prevent future attacks. Drugs called beta agonists can dilate the clamped-down breathing tubes quite quickly. Drugs that soothe twitchy airways, like the cortisone drugs, keep airways from suddenly constricting. They are used more or less on a full-time basis.
Answers to other asthma questions can be found in the asthma pamphlet. Readers can obtain a copy by writing to: Dr. Donohue — No. 602W, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.50 U.S./$6.50 Canada with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.
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Dear Dr. Donohue: I’ve been told that penicillin doesn’t work anymore. Now we are given expensive pills that take forever to work. In the past, a shot of penicillin would clear me up in three days. Why has this happened. — M.K.
Answer: Penicillin was and still is a miracle drug. It does not work for all infections. It never did. And it has lost its ability to cure some infections that it once was able to eradicate with ease. The reason for that is it has been used for illnesses that it should not be used for — viral infections are a case in point. That has caused the rise of resistant bacteria. Don’t pressure your doctor to give you antibiotics if the doctor does not feel you have a bacterial infection.
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