To go to A&E about hayfever problems

[peachesandpears3]

Please don’t judge me for this!

I’ve had horrendous hayfever over the last few days. I can tolerate the eye watering and itching but what is really making me struggle is the symptoms in my chest. Hayfever usually makes me a bit chesty but this feels more severe this year.

it’s like a tight feeling and it sounds husky/whispery when I breath. But I CAN still breath, it just feels challenging and I have to open my mouth really wide and use my shoulders to get as deep a breath as possible.

I have asthma but was only diagnosed with it a few years ago so it’s still all relatively new to me. But this is how my attacks and flare ups usually feel. Im on 4 puffs of luforbec everyday which usually keeps it bay. I also a use a spacer for it. I have my blue inhaler but until recently I rarely used it because the luforbec was controlling it. But I’ve had to use my blue inhaler so much over the last few days especially tonight. It seems to help slightly but then the symptoms start again.

but I don’t know what to do- this is still all new to me and I’ve never had a ‘flare up’ like this. When do you go and get help for it? Or do I just keep taking my blue inhaler intermittently to keep the symptoms at bay and go to the GP tomorrow. If my blue inhaler wasn’t helping I would obviously go to a&e but it is helping which makes me think a&e isnt appropriate, I’m just unsure as I’m having to take it a lot for it to work and then it wears off and I have to use it again. But it’s the hayfever causing this so would it be unreasonable to go to a&e for this? I don’t want to be a timewaster and if I was having an attack and my inhaler wasn’t working I would know to go to a&e but because it’s hayfever causing it I’m really unsure!

I’ve been on fexofenadine for the last 2 weeks too which has been the most effective AH I’ve found so far

any advice would be gratefully received 👍🏻

Please take your concerns seriously, I have lost two friends to asthma, one linked to hay fever/pollen. Weather (esp thunderstorms) and air pollution can also make it worse. These are both additional risk factors at the moment.
Make sure you have a clear plan with a doctor or specialist nurse of what to do, including when it starts to get worse and what your trigger point for seeking help is. Take no notice of anyone saying ED is emergencies only - Uncontrolled worsening asthma is an emergency. You can also call Asthma and Lung UK for advice:
Pollen, hay fever and lung conditions | Asthma + Lung UK (asthmaandlung.org.uk)
Hopefully you can talk to someone soon, but please don't struggle on trying not to be a timewaster.

Don’t hesitate to go to a&e if you’re ever struggling to breath. I would definitely suggest (if you haven’t already) ordering one of those oxymeters off Amazon just to be sure of your oxygen levels. Hope you’re feeling better soon and manage to get it sorted.

don't fuck about with lungs.

uncontrolled/badly controlled asthma is life threatening and a&e is absolutely the right place if you can't breathe properly.

ideally you should not need the reliever inhaler at all. it's for those emergency situations where the normal treatment is not enough or when allergies suddenly get worse.

make an app with the asthma nurse for a review.

@greenacrylicpaint I love the way you put it!

Using the flowmeter everyday should quantify your feeling of your asthma getting worse. That, along with your use of the blue inhaler, is a very good measure of whether you need a review (at least annually, but sooner if your symptoms are worsening). You can get an app that lets you record that along with shortness of breath, eg. I use one called Asthma Tracker.

I have in my plan for example to increase my steroid inhaler to 3 puffs 2x day if I need the blue inhaler more than 3x a week. These are the things that your plan should include - what to do in case of slow increase in need for the reliever, and what to do if it’s not working ( another eg, I had a pack of rescue oral steroids at one point when things were very tricky, until we found the right dose of the maintenance meds).

once your maintenance meds are on the right dose it should become much easier to manage and you’ll feel much better. Best of luck