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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask why is dh's asthma OK in Corfu?

91 replies

Tuddlepops · 21/09/2024 12:39

We're here now and dh hasn't used his inhalers at all. Been here since Thursday. We've been before and dh didn't then either. We thought that must have been a one off?

It's mild asthma but he is a but wheezy at home. It came on very late in life.

Any ideas? It's rained so not been dry every day.

OP posts:
CocktailsAtNoon · 21/09/2024 13:42

Gcsunnyside23 · 21/09/2024 13:36

For me it's my allergies not being flared. This sounds like your husband does also if he's wheezy at home while using inhalers. I use inhalers but also tablet medication, montelukast, to manage the allergy aspect and it really helps

How do you get on with montelekust? I had a very bad reaction to it, but have very 'sticky' saliva which is what it was prescribed for. I can't get a GP appointment to change the prescription to something else as yet.

iwfja · 21/09/2024 13:55

I moved to Austria many years ago, never touched an inhaler since. Asthma just disappeared. I'd noticed on holidays there that my asthma was better and that was part of the reason I moved.
In my case it's the drier air and the lack of pollution.

sunsetsandboardwalks · 21/09/2024 13:56

When we moved to Cumbria from Suffolk, my mum stopped needing her inhalers almost overnight.

Filamumof9 · 21/09/2024 13:58

I think it is the heat and the air. I used to be terribly asthmatic but since moving to the Caribbean, I have not had an attack. Only time I experience it is when I am back in Europe for visits.

Chessfan · 21/09/2024 14:01

iwfja · 21/09/2024 13:55

I moved to Austria many years ago, never touched an inhaler since. Asthma just disappeared. I'd noticed on holidays there that my asthma was better and that was part of the reason I moved.
In my case it's the drier air and the lack of pollution.

Interesting some family friends moved there a few years ago, they are way mor outdoorsy now. Is it a very outdoorsy culture?

Tuddlepops · 21/09/2024 14:13

We live by the sea and often walk along the cliffs. We don't have any pets. Wooden floors except the bedroom. Maybe we need to get rid of the bedroom carpet?

He is ok with using his inhalers at home. But can wheeze a bit sometimes.

Interesting how many have noticed the same.

OP posts:
bigTillyMint · 21/09/2024 14:17

I sneeze a lot at home, itchy sinuses, etc, but while we were in Western Canada in the summer I didn’t sneeze once.

Must be air quality and temperature?

Tuddlepops · 21/09/2024 14:19

I wonder if there's something I can buy to improve air quality in our house? I'll have a Google.

OP posts:
MonsterasEverywhere · 21/09/2024 14:29

I bought a dehumidifier last year which also works as an air purifier. I noticed my hayfever wasn't half as bad this year, so maybe have a look at those. Mine is a MEACO Arete One 12L Dehumidifier & Air Purifier.

TigerRag · 21/09/2024 14:36

My mum said the same - her chest is better when they go to Malta. I went to Malta once and really struggled with the heat.

Firenzeflower · 21/09/2024 14:39

Not sure but when my brother went to Australia for what was meant to be a years travelling he had so many asthma attacks he gave up and came home. He spent more time in the hospital than he did anywhere else.

Freshersfluforyou · 21/09/2024 14:42

Tuddlepops · 21/09/2024 12:39

We're here now and dh hasn't used his inhalers at all. Been here since Thursday. We've been before and dh didn't then either. We thought that must have been a one off?

It's mild asthma but he is a but wheezy at home. It came on very late in life.

Any ideas? It's rained so not been dry every day.

Do you have a pet at home and on holiday you are away from the pet? Could pet dander be making it worse.

SensibleSigma · 21/09/2024 14:47

Humidity?

ShortyWentLow · 21/09/2024 14:48

I only have it when the air is cold. I wouldn't know I had it if I lived in a hot country.

boulevardofbrokendreamss · 21/09/2024 14:53

I joke that I need a prescription to live in Ibiza. No wheezing, hayfever, rhinitis. My eczema clears up in a couple of days, my eyes don't run, don't need any histamines.

I live in London I actually think a lot of it is due to pollution.

Plippleton · 21/09/2024 15:04

Are you sure he has asthma and not wheezing caused by an allergy such as dust mites or pollen? Get a skin prick allergen test.

candycane222 · 21/09/2024 15:05

My asthmatic mother replaced the carpet in her bedroom - housedust eas her problem. She has a hard floor plus machine washable rugs and she is sure it has helped

mychilddeservesaneducation · 21/09/2024 15:10

What sort of climate to you live in at home? We live on the west coast which is a very damp climate. DCs' asthma is always better when we're abroad in the dry, or even in a less damp part of the UK tbh.

sunshinechaser · 21/09/2024 15:11

OP do you mean his blue reliever inhaler? If he's using g this more than twice a week at home he should be on a preventer inhaler. Sorry I know this is missing the point of your post!

mushypaperstraws · 21/09/2024 15:14

It's the damp UK climate, causing mould everywhere.

Remember in the old days dr's used to prescribe holidays to warmer climates for patients with lung conditions.

MiaFeysImprobableBosom · 21/09/2024 15:19

All the things other people have suggested along the lines of different pollens, lack of mould spores, cleanliness of/lack of soft furnishings, maybe different/newer pillows, temperature, humidity, and maybe things like different exercise patterns or less stress — plus one more left-field suggestion:

Is he having more caffeine than usual?

I ask because, a few years ago, I had to give up caffeine for medical reasons (well, I gave up all but my first coffee of the day, which you'll have to pry from my cold dead jittery hands, but as long as I keep it consistent it's medically fine).

A while afterwards, I realised I was getting wheezy every evening, and had to go back on the steroid preventer inhalers I hadn't needed for years.

Initially, I didn't make the connection, but then I discovered that caffeine acts as a bronchodilator, and realised that all these years, I'd been unknowingly medicating my asthma with coffee. It's described as a "mild" bronchodilator, and my GP didn't even know it was a thing, but for me, taken regularly throughout the day, it was startlingly effective. When I drank caffeine all day, I had almost no asthma symptoms. Maybe once every few months, I would react badly to an environmental pollutant and need to take my salbutamol reliever inhaler, but other than that, no symptoms at all.

mycatsbestfriend · 21/09/2024 15:23

I was going to suggest that about the carpets. I noticed my son's asthma just stopped around the time I moved house to a place with hard floor down everywhere

Stressybetty · 21/09/2024 15:25

Possibly humidity. I have CFS and felt energetic and fantastic in Corfu heat a few years ago but awfully hot and sweaty in similar temperatures in Portugal

twomanyfrogsinabox · 21/09/2024 15:30

Tuddlepops · 21/09/2024 12:39

We're here now and dh hasn't used his inhalers at all. Been here since Thursday. We've been before and dh didn't then either. We thought that must have been a one off?

It's mild asthma but he is a but wheezy at home. It came on very late in life.

Any ideas? It's rained so not been dry every day.

Allergies, my DD has asthma but it only happens when triggered by allergens. If the allergens aren't present in Corfu they will be fine.

The ones I know for my DD are some preservatives in food, some very specific pollens and fungal spores from rotting wood, walking in the woods in Autumn is very likely to cause an attack. Could be almost anything for different people.

Ophy83 · 21/09/2024 15:32

I find sea air really helps. And conversely being in cities exacerbates it - my asthma was bad in London and at its worst when I lived in Bath which is surrounded by hills so car fumes etc sort of settle in the city