MountainReader

So I have been diagnosed with Asthma for 6 1/2 years. Up to now, I thought I knew what my asthma symptoms were. I have done a lot of reading up on asthma over the years and thought I knew what I was watching for. For me, a chronic cough some shortness of breath have been my main symptoms that I am having asthma problems. I am not a wheezer and my peak flow is usually OK until my asthma gets really bad. I do also have problems when I get sinus infectons as well. I never have asthma problems in the summer unless there are fires or the ozone is in the red zone.

Anyway, on Monday, I started having a stuffy runny nose, runny eyes, sneezing and just feeling bad. I assumed I might be having some allergies that were kicking up. On Tuesday, these symptoms persisted and later in the day I developed a low grade fever and a facial and head ache. I assumed I had developed a sudden sinus infection. On Wednesday morning these symptoms persisted and I started with a minor sore throat and some minor coughing. I was heading out of town for vacation and was worried about suffering with a sinus infection while I was gone. I went to the doctor at that point fully expecting to be put on antibiotics for a sinus infection. Instead, the doctor listened to my symptoms and said it sounded like I was having an asthma flare-up. He then listened to my lungs and confirmed it. I have now added Prednisone for the next week to my regimine of Advair, Singulair and Albuterol for the asthma. These symptoms were just my warning signs that my asthma was getting worse, by Wednesday evening and Thursday, my cough had really set in so I was 'lucky' to start treatment before it got horrible.

The doctor said I was the 3rd person he had seen so far that day for asthma. Evidently we haven't had rain in over a month and that combined with the heat and really low humidity has set the conditions for alot of heavy particulates to be sitting low in the air. There are no current air warnings though so I had no idea how bad the air was.

So I did an internet search when I got home on asthma symptoms and found alot of sites with the same basic stuff: shortness of breath, wheezing, cough, low peak flow, etc... I did another search on Asthma early warning signs and that really opened my eyes. I thought I would share a summary of some of the information I came across during my research. I hope it might help others.

Asthma Early Warning Signs:

• itchy chin
  itchy or sore throat
  dark under eye circles
  stuffy, runny or congested nose
  tiredness
  mood change--grouchy or extra quiet
  itchy, glassy or watery eyes
  thirst
  sneezing
  stomach ache
  headache
  fever
  restlessness
  eczema flare-up
  sweating
  heartburn
  change in face color- pale or flushed
  throat clearing
  restlessness
  heart beating faster
  trouble sleeping
  yawning