Any advice?? What’s the difference between hayfever and asthma?

[Aintnothinggonnabreakmystride1]

I’ve posted before asking about hayfever advice and a few people suggested it could be asthma- as stupid as I probably sound, I don’t really know the difference between the 2? When does hayfever become asthma?

for context- i have hayfever and take antihistamines and have an inhaler (blue) which was given to me because I was wheezy from the hayfever. The doctor never mentioned asthma so I presume it’s just hayfever? I take it occasionally but have to take it a lot when I’m around my horses. I don’t know if it’s the straw, the dust, the hay, the shavings, the sawdust, the horses themselves, the exercise… I’m not sure. For some reason the environment seems to irritate me - sometimes it’s not too bad but when it’s bad it feels like someone is sitting on top of my chest and it’s like breathing through a straw. I never stop breathing or have asthma attacks, and the inhaler always helps clear my chest, but sometimes I have to take it a lot at once- up to 10 times occasionally. Exercise makes it even worse- i showjump and try to keep steady breathing during it but sometimes i just can’t get a good breath and I ignore it until I feel my legs go like jelly and I have to use my inhaler mid-course. Definitely not ideal!

I always put this down to a mix of bad hayfever and me being unfit, hence the exercise making it worse, but I posted on here and asked for hayfever advice and a lot of people mentioned asmtha. I guess I was just confused- at what point does wheezy hayfever become asthma? I don’t want to take up a gp appointment or waste their time if it’s just hayfever and my blue inhaler and antihistamines are enough to deal with it, but at the same time I don’t know if I’m dealing with it the right way?

how many pumps were you told to use? 10 at once sounds a LOT I have used prescribed ventolin after an awful cough which left me fighting for breath caused by a winter cold and the amount was 2 puffs per dose and IIRC a max of 4 doses in 24 hours. Does your prescriber know you are using this much? For me the issue is not what the problem is but that you are needing to use so much med to control it. If my assumption is right that you are way exceeding the prescribed amount then deffo back to GP for advice.

You shouldn't be using the blue inhaler 10 times at a time. If I reported I was doing that to my asthma nurse they would call it a crisis!

I have asthma that is greatly exacerbated by allergies. It's not at all uncommon for the two to go together. You won't be wasting your GP's time. You might need a steroid inhaler to calm down the inflammation in your lungs. The blue one you have is not for that. The aim with asthma is to treat the inflammation, keep it from occurring and therefore minimise the use of the blue inhaler.

Asthma can be very serious so please make an appt soon. You could probably do with some allergy tests too, but your GP can prescribe a steroid inhaler and do the necessary lung tests without you seeing a specialist.

It could be allergic asthma. Are you allergic to horses and/or hay and/or dust?

if you are, or have never been tested, you might want to take advice. Needing 10 puffs of ventolin would be closer than I would be happy to get to collapsing. You don’t want to end up in anaphylaxis. Allergies can worsen over time or appear out of nowhere

Allergies (hay fever & animals etc) often go hand in hand with asthma. I have both. And allergies can trigger your asthma symptoms.

You also need a steroid inhaler, with the goal of only needing the blue inhaler occasionally. Taking you steroid inhaler regularly will keep your chest well. So you do need to go the doctor so get properly diagnosed & support, you should get an asthma nurse etc. I also find over the counter antihistamines not sufficient, the doctor has to prescribe me stronger ones which I am on daily.

Also, I used to think the same as you, being unfit won’t make you wheeze - you definitely have asthma. Good luck OP ❤️

OP I don't have asthma (although all my close family do, so I have a lot of experience) but I do have mild hay-fever which I take anti-histamines for.

I DO have an awful allergy to horses (and Guinea pigs) which has developed/worsened as I've got older, which gives me very similar symptoms as you're describing. There's no way I could exercise after holding a Guinea pig or even petting a horse.

Hay fever is seasonal, asthma is year ground but has some triggers. I think you have an allergy to something around your horses.

Oh, and see your asthma nurse if you're using your I haler so much, it's dangerous!

The plan that came with DS's inhaler said up to 10 puffs if he's having an attack, but 2 puffs is the usual dose. He's never had to do more than 2 since he got his brown inhaler.
They also recommended he see the doctor if he did have an attack or was regularly using the blue inhaler.

If you were unfit, exercise would make it better over time, not worse. Definitely make an appointment - I had a similar experience to you but dismissed asthma because I thought i was just unfit. I had an old school parent who didn't believe in doctors and told me I had weak lungs from being ill as a baby and I never questioned it!

At friends insistence I contacted my GP surgery who booked me in for a test with an asthma nurse. Apparently if you're asthmatic there is something that your lungs produce that can be measured, the test for it involves a steady blow into a tube. Nurse was sceptical when I arrived but on the test I was way over, and she was surprised I could actually finish it. Did a peak flow and my score was the equivalent of an 84yr old.

The tiredness I get from exercising now that I have a preventer is very different to the tiredness I got pre treatment. I used to think legs turning to jelly, tightness in chest, headache and vision going blurry was normal. It was an asthma attack, just not something I recognised as one.

the fact you need your inhaler x10 and it feels like you’re breathing through a straw means the antihistamines and the inhaler are not working and you are absolutely not wasting a GP appointment to have something potentially very dangerous checked out.
it seems like you have asthma, that this may be triggered by allergens (my case) and exercise. getting tested for asthma is the only way to know. It is possible that you might benefit from an inhaled steroid (the brown inhaler is the first step) that would bring and keep down the inflammation levels in your airways down.

I speak from experience and knowledge from having to advocate for myself with doctors - needing your blue inhaler x10 to be able to breath/feeling like you’re breathing through a straw are signs that an asthma attack could happen very soon - seek medical care now.

OP pre menopause my hayfever was really bad with all sorts of symptoms but I've never had the slightest difficulty breathing. Asthma is a separate condition though they often go together.