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Original poster

Bit of a long shot - Anyone know an elderly person who had asthma as a child???

47 replies

Spagblog · 07/04/2006 20:58

I am struggling to finish off an essay for my college course. I need to discuss how public perception of asthma has changed. I can't find much on the internet and was wondering if I could ask someone who suffered from asthma as a child and how it effected them?

Long shot I know

OP posts:

Mercy · 09/04/2006 17:34

20 odd years ago my db was told by our GP (she was 60ish) that asthma/eczema/hayfever can 'fade' out at certain ages and that she had rarely seen someone in their 60s plus with all three - but asthma was the one which could last a lifetime.

My db's asthma has generally been controlled by salbutamol - but he is significantly worse during the hayfever season. Not long to go .

Sorry, not much really I know

Mercy · 09/04/2006 17:35

sorry, not much help

jmum6 · 09/04/2006 17:36

Spagblog - my mum was 40 when she had me - so you're theory didn't work for us!!

ruty · 09/04/2006 20:09

my mum was 41 when she had me! my sisters and brother who are much older than me don't have asthma.

Original poster

Spagblog · 09/04/2006 20:27

See I knew their theory was flawed!

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drosophila · 09/04/2006 20:36

I knew a guy who is in his 40's who had asthma as a kid. He told me how he think the treatments today are much better and how in his day he would often have to go to hosp and the only treatment was adrenalin. To him steroid are a wonder drug.

drosophila · 09/04/2006 20:43

Do you think thter is ny connection between the ise in asthma and allergies and the increase in immunisations. Just musing? Another thought I have had is the increase in births being induced. Apparently the last thing ot develop in the womb in the immune system and if we are pulling babues out before they are ready is there immune system going to be affected?

Original poster

Spagblog · 09/04/2006 22:30

According to what I have been reading there is a connection between vaccinations and asthma. Some childhood diseases like measles seem to offer a natural immunity to asthma.

OP posts:

Chapsmum · 09/04/2006 22:57

Asthma is a genetic condition which comes primarily from the immune system. Like many other things you are naturally predisposed to it depending on your genes. over the past 50 years asthma and eczema sufferer have increased dramatically, but then so has the use of aerosols, fosil fuels, cfc emissions, use of plastics/Additive preservatives in food etc.
As with most genetic conditions it has certain trigger factors, these trigger factors are mostly what I've just mentioned. However has this condition always exsisted or have we just become better at diagnoising it? We really will find it difficult to know.

Careful of the report that you have read and critique them wisely including looking at study numbers and transferability.

Original poster

Spagblog · 10/04/2006 07:54

LOL Chapsmum - I really want to have you in my references list!

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Chapsmum · 10/04/2006 08:57

the workld according to chapsmum. thats waht I'll call my book!
What course you doing spagblog?

Original poster

Spagblog · 10/04/2006 09:04

Access to natural science. I need to get a distinction in order to get on the Speech Language course at our local Uni.
How come you are the font of all knowledge - Is this your area of speciality, or are you "simply genius"?

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ruty · 10/04/2006 09:14

i know for my own asthma, if i stay by the sea or in the mountains where the air is clean, my asthma virtually disappears. i find it staggering that we don't do more about pollution, especially as we have the highest rate of child asthma in the world. Car fumes are an unavoidable part of daily life - just taking my ds to the shops in his push chair he is inhaling so much rubbish. And why don't cars ever switch their engines off in queues or at lights? Drives me crazy. Dusty damp houses are a big culprit for asthma, but the build up of pollution in the atmosphere is another. And as for vaccinations, well, they may be a trigger, but i really don't know, and of course you have to weight up the risk benefit ratio. More studies need to be done tho on all risk factors.

Chapsmum · 10/04/2006 09:57

doing a masters in specialist nursing. Just finished pathophyisiology at honours level, its all scarily fresh in my mind

Chapsmum · 10/04/2006 09:58

not asthma specialist, though. a+e

drosophila · 10/04/2006 12:55

Spagbol, have you any more details on the relationship between Measles and asthma? I ask cos DS had measles and still has asthma according to Doc.

Another point, DS always gets a really bad chest when he has a cold and sometimes needs nebuliser. He has never had an asthma attack without having a virus. Now what is the diference between a bad chest and asthma. I keep asking the Doc this but there seems no answer. He is severly allergic to a few things and when he consumes them (in hosp) he doesn't get asthma attack. COuld it be he just has a tendancy for a virus to manifest itself in his chest rather than Asthma. I wonder if cos of his allergies and horendous eczema as a baby they are happy to label him asthmatic.

Not sure if I am making any sense?

Jennypog · 10/04/2006 13:17

I never had measles as a child - despite sleeping in close proximity to my brother when he had it. I just couldn't catch it, so when I was 14 I had a vaccination against measles, just in case. I am very allergic to dust, but it has to be the type of dust that contains lots of dust mites. A dusty atmosphere on its own (ie, brick dust) makes no difference at all. I had mumps at two, at the same time as I developed asthma.

When I was young and living without an inhaler, I found I was better able to cope with my asthma. Since I have had an inhaler, the slightest wheeze makes me feel as if I need to use my ventolin. My mum thinks that I started to get asthma as a result of having a gas fire in my bedroom until I was around 6 = may be the fumes? Who knows. I was told I had a soft wind pipe and would grow out of it. All sounds a bit silly really. However, I feel that not using an inhaler in childhood and hence not being able to run about, has led to poor lung function. I have quite a poor peak flow thingamyjig now. On the other hand, I have been using an inhaler for 20 odd years now and I am glad I haven't been using it for 40 odd years.

Original poster

Spagblog · 10/04/2006 16:26

Some of the information I got was in a book (brostoff Gamlin)
But there's an article \link{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/718281.stm\here}

It is very interesting to hear about how people believe that their asthma started.
I had exercise induced asthma when I was younger. I always put it down to training in an over chlorinated pool.
Asthma UK says that Athletes have high rates of asthma which I find interesting.

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northender · 10/04/2006 16:47

My mum was born in 1939 and was diagnosed with asthma at about 3 I think (chronic rather than episodic where you get "attacks"). She didn't have any medication until she was pregnant with me (1971) when the first inhaled meds (Intal) came out. Up to then she was very disabled by it and had a very limited exercise tolerance and was worried that she wouldn't be able to carry a baby up stairs. The Intal changed her life and things have got better as more meds have become available. Unfortunately she has a lot of chronic lung damage from the time without meds, but she leads an active life now. She would probably be happy to talk to you if you wanted .

jmum6 · 11/04/2006 14:47

My mother wasn't given any medication as a child. She was diagnosed when she was 1, and told her mother to keep her warm.

When she was 11 it went, and then she was 26 it came back and was given ventalin tablets.

jmum6 · 11/04/2006 14:49

She was told to move out of the town and into the country. So the only advise or medication was to get fresh air out of the towns.

So they moved to the country.

She was off school such a lot and not allowed to go outside.

Her mother used to give her hot whiskey and sugar. Urghhhh

Original poster

Spagblog · 11/04/2006 17:28

Ick! Did she mention whether the hot whiskey helped, or was she too tipsy to notice!

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