How Do You Know If It's Asthma?

I grew up with a diagnosis of childhood asthma. I decided to become a Respiratory Therapist to help others like myself. There are a lot of great allopathic medications and tests out there. The problem is, they treat the symptoms, not the cause. To properly diagnose asthma, numerous tests over 3-6 months need to be done.

After years of little relief, I sought out a Naturopath. Many of the foods that we eat weaken our body's natural defenses so we can't fight off normal colds. I followed the Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type Diet by Peter D'Adaamo and after 3 months felt like a NEW person. I'm a healthier adult X 10 years than I ever was as a child.

This part of the country has a high lung and colon cancer rate due to the stress and polution. Chest colds seem to take much longer to resolve in this area.

Wheezing can be a confusing symptom. It means the airways are constricted, but on the up side, it also means there is airflow.

The mucus is a side effect (another symptom) that his airways are irritated. The more he coughs, the more irritated his airways will become, thus producing more mucus- Yes, it's a vicious cycle. So, an effective cough suppressent is necessary. When it gets to the point where he's not sleeping and it's gone on beyond 2 weeks, he difinately needs a stronger suppressent; one with codiene may be necessary so he can sleep and 'heal'.

As a mom, you want to help, but he's also an adult and needs to listen to his own body and learn from his experiences.

It sounds like his doctor is competent, but he can only treat what your son tells him.

However, I suggest he get allergy testing done. Skin tests are not as reliable and often give false results. The best allergy test is via a blood sample. Your son will be given a variety of foods that he'll need to eat 3 times/day X 3-5 days and then have his blood drawn immediately after. It's not a cheap test (around $250) but will help determine which allergens are weakening his system. He's still young. This test might eliminate or reduce costly medical bills that will plague him in the future and justify the cost. If your son is not willing to do this at this time, see if he'd be willing to change on his diet.

Hope this helps.

I., I feel your pain. My son is 24, and we share an apartment. Many times I have seen him with a physical condition that I think he should take care of, but he doesn't always do that. If your son is seeing a physician, who may have taken some pulmonary function tests, and you have given your opinion, then it is time to allow your son to live his life. I know it is hard, but my goal always is to give my advice in a calm fashion, but to then step back and give my son the opportunity to learn from his experiences. I'm not saying that I'm always successful, but that's my goal.

As for the asthma, it is best diagnosed with pulmonary function tests, which many primary care physicians can perform, and all ENT or allergy practices can perform. If you want to encourage your son to investigate further, suggest that he get a referral from his doctor for an ENT group practice that includes an allergist. That way you are not saying his doctor is bad. Who knows, maybe his doctor already suggested that and your son rejected that course of action?

I also found that by following this low-key method, that my son was more open to asking my opinion, knowing that I would not pressure him to do what I wanted him to do. I try to leave him the freedom to make his own decisions. I'm not going to be around forever, and my task is to teach him to live a healthy life.

Asthma-like symptoms can be triggered by the residual inflammation from a bacterial infection. Since your son was given antibiotics, then this was not only a cold but a bacterial infection as well. So this really could be left-overs from that bacterial infection, and not allergic asthma. It's not a life-threatening condition, so waiting it out and treating it conservatively is not a bad course of action.

Hi I.,
Whether it turns out to be asthma or not, one thing that you can do which will help the symptoms is to use more naturally based household products in your home. Most of the regular products which people use from cleaners to shampoos contain chemicals which are known to cause irritation to the respiritory tract which add to any kind of asthma or allergy symptom making the problem making it much worse.
If you would like some advise about what to use instead then just message me because it is much easier and cheaper than people realise to convert your home to safer products.
I hope this helps.
L. P
Proud memeber of the M.O.M. Team

Hi I.,
I have had this problem twice in my life. It has both times followed the same pattern--I never got over a severe cold and the cough held on and I had wheezing and couldn't get my breath. Both times I was panicked enough to seek a physician--the 2nd time I even hauled myself to the ER at 3am when I couldn't sleep due to the wheezing and cough.

It was diagnosed the 1st time as "reactive airway," and the doctor prescribed a combination of inhalers, steroids and antibiotics (at the time I was an RN and a doctor I worked with gave me the prescriptions--they worked beautifully). The 2nd time was 5 years later and my primary care physician prescribed inhalers which helped in the short term but didn't solve the problem completely and it went on for weeks. I was told I had asthma and would be on medications indefinitely.

I was mad because I'm NOT asthmatic and knew this was something temporary but was frustrated because my doctor couldn't do anything for it except give me more pills. I finally did 10 weeks of accupuncture which finally did the trick.

Anyway, I think the doctor who treated me the first time knew the right combo. He is a fantastic ICU doctor and really knows his stuff. Others do not have experience with this "reactive airway" issue and don't know how to treat it. It will go away but it takes a LONG TIME. Let the doctor treat the symptoms of cough and wheezing and eventually it will go away. If you want more info please email me--I've been there and I know how frustrating it can be. Also, has he had a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia? When I went to the ER they found I actually had a small pneumonia which caused the symptoms, but the cough still held on for WEEKS.