Would you call in sick with asthma?

[Aparecium]

I’m currently on leave until after NY, so it’s not an issue right now, but I’m in the middle of an asthma flare.

I normally take 2x2 puffs Symbicort daily and my PF is normally 450-480. My asthma plan is that PF<400 and Symbicort > 8 puffs daily for 3 days triggers intervention.

I reached that point today, but as my need for Symbicort is reducing, and I haven’t had to take any Salamol for 48h, I’m giving it another day.

If you were at this point, would you be at work?

You need intervention as per your plan, the question about work can wait until after you've been seen.

As above. If the intervention means you're hospitalised then you won't be at work. If they ok you for a higher dose at home and you have a sedentary job then I'd go to work.

Agree with the first 2 posters.

get it under control and see where you are at in the new year.

Are you on a MART regime? No salamol required.

I would, and I have in the past.

You need to action your asthma plan

Yes, I believe it is MART, but I have also been told to use Salamol under specific circumstances.

Although when I got up this morning I was blowing 350 before my first dose, I've stayed at 400 all day and am coughing much less. I haven't needed any extra puffs in between my 4 x 2 puffs. So I'm pretty sure I'm on the way up. Obviously I won't mess around, and will call the GP if I do not continue to improve.

The intervention will be Prednisolone and/or Montelukast. I'm nowhere near poorly enough to warrant hospital.

My job is not sedentary, but neither is it physically demanding.

Does this happen a lot? I am on montelukast all the time, I didn’t realise it was available as a short term option. Might be worth talking to your GP about it as it has really helped get my asthma under control (and I’d say mine is fairly mild). I hope you feel better soon 🙂

I have.

Mine is consultant-led care, I have a nebuliser at home as well as prednisone and antibiotics. If my peak flow is below 400 and ox dips under 94% I have to start the intervention plan, and even though the majority of my job is sedentary (& I can work from home) there’s no way I can until my breathing is better.

They’re currently reviewing my meds and checking my lungs again but I don’t risk it if they’re bad, asthma isn’t something to mess about with.

No, very rarely. Last time was three years ago.

And that time was an asthma attack and I clearly could not go to work.

You need to consider your symptoms, what your job entails and are you able to cope …

for me, whilst I wfh so in theory can work whilst ill, my job entails lots of video calls including customer facing, and my symptoms usually include severe coughing fits caused by exertion, talking etc, so working is difficult, and also the fatigue this causes means I find it hard to keep going as well.

so, in previous flare ups I’ve ended up signing myself off and occasionally signed off for longer where I’ve needed multiple courses of steroids and ABs.

look after yourself- work will still be there when you have recovered.

I started feeling a bit worse, so I ended up calling 111, who sent me to Urgent Care, who took me through to A&E, and I stayed there for 6h on nebulisers and various oral meds. I had driven myself there, feeling like a bit of a fraud. I expected to be poked and prodded, and sent away with prednisolone pills, so I was astonished at how seriously they treated me, even being cannulated while the doctor discussed with the consultant whether I should have intravenous steroids. Feeling as I did, I was also surprised to blow less than 350 before they started treating me.

I really do not know how to judge this. And of course I now feel so good on the oral steroids (albeit still coughing a bit) that I still do not know whether I would call in sick, were I not already on holiday.

I've had this with my son - left our stuff in the waiting room as usually they assess and send us back out, and they whizzed us straight from assessment room to ward and I had to run back and get our bags! If oxygen saturation is low they don't mess around. Do you have a pulse oximeter at home? Nice easy check you can do to help inform decisions. Glad you're feeling better for now at least!

O2 sats were 99-100 all the time.

Wow, you were compensating really well! But that's always the concern - that you compensate well until your body is knackered and can't do it any more. Hope things calm down for you. As for work, I'd honestly just play it day by day. I'd let them know you're having a flare up but are being treated, but things can change fast so you may need to leave suddenly even if you're fine in the morning x

Please explain 'Compensating' - maybe it explains why I felt so good until now . I'm suddenly shattered, even though everything
else is improving.

It relates to o2 sats…. Sometimes your o2 sats will stay high as your body compensates for the inflammation affecting your airways.

it is recognised that your sats might not change but actually you are quite unwell.

Think you have been minimising from the start of the thread, which is a risky way to approach asthma.

If you have been admitted for 6hrs in A&E, you would be wise to take some time off work to give yourself time to recover - you only feel so well because you've had emergency treatment AND are not working.

Pulse oximeters are risky with asthma as they can encourage delay in seeking treatment.

I think you’re right. I think I do minimise. I lived with these symptoms for so many years before I was diagnosed with asthma, that episodes of breathlessness were normal for me. I was just a person who coughed sometimes. I struggle now to think of myself as ill just because I’m a bit breathless.

At least I recognise the cough now, and I know my triggers, so I do respond appropriately to them.

And I am thankful that I have Mumsnetters to set me straight!

You have (I think) a few days left before returning to work so could make a decision nearer the time but when my asthma flares up, it can be really tiring and I do need a period of recovery. If you are on a rescue pack of drugs, it seems reasonable to not rush back to work.