What is it like living with asthma?

[Wheezies]

I'd love to hear from people who were diagnosed as kids with asthma and how it has affected their lives. Both positives and negatives. Also, anything that you feel that has made your life easier or worse regarding asthma.

Warning. My original post is a self pitying indulgent rant but i'm keeping it up as well for a bit of a back story and in case someone can relate...

Ds is only 3 and therefore too young for a diagnosis but several doctors have told us now that in the future he will probably be diagnosed with asthma.

Aibu to be terrified and feel so bad for him? I know it's not the worst illness possible but I just wish he didn't have this hanging over his head. My cousin and his dad have severe asthma and in both cases it has affected their quality of life though my uncle lived to age 90 and my cousin said that with current treatment options the impact on your life is minimal.

I just feel so bad for him. He's such an active, happy little boy but he picks up every virus going, gets extremely ill with every infection and starts wheezing or working heard to breathe several times a day even without any known cause. (This apparently is one of the reasons why they suspect asthma). He's also got a severe nut allergy, which apparently is often comorbid with asthma sufferers.

I'm also fed up of lying awake trying to figure out if he's wheezing or not and needs his inhaler, cancelling events because he's ill every weekend, missing work, having to work nights to make my deadlines, making him take his inhaler, when he resists, etc. I know in the large scale of things this is all super minor but I don't want this for him. I just want him to be healthy. I don't want to have to worry about him all the time.

A few years ago a little boy I kind of knew died because of an uncontrolled asthma attack and though I know that is very uncommon and there were fundamental failures in his care it Still worries me. And then I think back to 2020 and how asthma was one of the underlying conditions that could make a covid infection more serious and how if he had died then of covid he would not even have figured in the number of people who died without an underlying cause.

I've never had any chronic health condition (yet) and the thought of requiring life long treatment even if it's just a couple of inhaler puffs twice a day worries me. That and the nut allergy. Where ever he goes he Will always have to take his epi pens and his inhaler.

Rant over. You don't have to vote. I know I'm being overly dramatic and unreasonable. And I know that something like 1 out of 3 or 4 kids in the UK are diagnosed with asthma so it's not uncommon.

I've been asthmatic all my life, was particularly bad as a child, vanished mid teens to early 30's, had a rough year then disappeared again until I got Covid 2021 and it's lingered. Nothing particularly terrible, just annoying.
Prior to Covid you'd never know I had asthma, in fact I didn't have inhalers for years, to the extent that the GP took me off the list for the flu jab!

DS1 is asthmatic, he also has a lot of allergies. His asthma was bad as a young child, a few hospital admissions. Touch wood, now 20 and only real triggers are sport (takes a puff before Rugby) and if he's got a cold/allergy flare. Significantly better than when he was little though

I am asthmatic, not diagnosed until my thirties. It is obvious to me now that I was asthmatic as a child - was on antibiotics, antihistamines, and cough suppressants etc etc constantly.

Turns out I am allergic to cigarette smoke, and to cats, both of which I lived with.
It would be great if you could see an allergy specialist to see if your child has any allergies, also. Removing or reducing contact with allergens helps asthmatics.

These days, I have well-managed asthma. It is still an occasionally scary condition - cold viruses really exaccerbate it for me, so Covid has not been a fun pandemic.

I hope your little boy is one who does grow out of it.

The biggest things for me were exhaustion and fear.
I was regularly exhausted from trying to breathe all night when sick, putting pillows under the mattress and Vicks are huge help. Get rid of carpet and other dust holders and opt for wooden floors, blinds etc. breathing exercises and yoga are great, as is DIY physio on the back lung area.
The fear is a little harder to get hold of. I think yoga and breathing help, as well as being able to talk about it. It can be a lifelong struggle though.
It's almost like the meds and management are the bit that's controllable.

By the way, my asthma improved markedly when I started working on my gut health (eating a greater variety of plant foods, more vegetables, beans, legumes, whole grains, etc) a few years ago. It is a common benefit, apparently.

I'm have severe asthma now after many years of being poorly controlled mild in childhood awful as early teens, it's settled with inhalers and 2 different tablets daily. I didn't let it hold me back too much and tried to stay as active and healthy diet wise as possible. My Mums asthmatic too again reasonable control now with trail and error with newer inhalers. My youngest now 16 was so ill as a baby/toddler hospitalised countless times and it has seemed to have vanished from around the age of 8. I don't there is Any typical of asthma but the newer medical care is life changing.

As a child it was quite hard sometimes, I have memories of my dad sitting on the bed with me in the middle of the night helping me through asthma attacks. He had asthma as a child in the 50s and spent a lot of time in hospital so was very, very good at understanding how I felt. My dad always made me feel safe and that it would pass and I feel this was very important as an asthma attack can be very frightening, even as an adult.

The main thing is to get your preventor inhaler right and keep on top of it, no skipping doses. And, always, always have your reliever inhaler (and a spare!) On you. Also learn the breathing techniques that will help until the attack passes.

please NEVER panic in front of your child. Be aware and ready to call for help but keep calm and dont crowd.

It was tough sometimes being teased at school and kids can be cruel.
I was told I would grow out of it but I never have and so have grown used to it, I very rarely get worried by attacks but my husband has never got used to them and does tend to flap (quite funny on a couple of occasions when dtd!)

I was and, still am, likely to catch every cold going and often had chest infections.

If it is asthma its not the end of the world and it just becomes part of your life that you live with. I understand that you would not want this for your child but there is good medication and it could be a lot worse!