Allergy-induced asthma - Asthma Message Board

shelovescliche · 08-13-2008, 09:39 PM

I've only recently started to have allergies (trees, grass, dust mites), and I've been on several different kinds of OTC antihistamines (which did nothing), and two kinds of nasal sprays (which again, did nothing).

I thought the Veramyst I'm on was helping, but since this second wave of pollen started hitting, I'm back to the headaches and everything else. My main concern, though, is the asthma.

I've had this cough for several days at least, maybe a week, and at first it was just once or twice a day. Today I've had multiple coughing fits that pretty much have me on the floor struggling to breathe. They're extremely painful, and they sound similar to the coughs produced by whooping cough (there's that awful wheeze at the end). I saw my doctor today, and she's positive it's asthma caused by my allergies.

I'm not sure what my options are, here. She gave me Advair to take (which helped for a few hours, but then it starts up again) for the asthma. Is there anything else I can do to calm the asthma down (I'm going to schedule an appointment with my allergist, but this cough is really bothersome)?

I've always had VERY mild asthma, in that it really only showed up when I was sick (hard time breathing, some coughing, but nothing like this).

gcsjr · 08-14-2008, 05:05 AM

Which over-the-counter antihistamines have you taken? You might try Zyrtec (if you haven't already), but it's important to take it every day to get the best results - you might try it daily for a couple of weeks to see if it helps.

The same is true with Advair. You really need to take it daily for a couple of weeks before you'll get the full effect of the medication. It has two components, one that works for about 12 hours and another that is long-acting but that takes a couple of weeks to really be effective.

Typically controlling allergic asthma requires a consistent daily regimen of asthma and allergy medications (usually an antihistamine, an inhaled steroid and a nasal steroid spray) along with some kind of rescue inhaler (albuterol) that you can use every 4-6 hours when you have a flare up.

The other thing you might ask about is Singulair - it's can help with both allergies and asthma, but again has to be taken every day for a couple of weeks before it has much effect.

MountainReader · 08-14-2008, 07:32 PM

gcsmith is right on target with his answer. Let us know if you are trying any of these other strategies.

shelovescliche · 08-19-2008, 09:20 PM

I actually went in to see my allergist today, and after doing a spirometer (I think that's what it's called?) test, he said it's drastically different from the one he did a month ago. He took me off of the advair and switched me to Symbicort (2 puffs twice a day), along with a different nasal spray, because Veramyst obviously wasn't doing a great job (I've also been getting headaches from the allergies, which the Veramyst was supposed to prevent).

They also gave me a prednisone shot to help me breathe easier, and it's really helped, along with the Symbicort. I'm starting allergy shots on Monday, which they said should really help my asthma in the long run. I'm hoping this'll all work better (I know the symbicort works better than the advair/albuterol combination that I had--I didn't cough as much after I took it), and if not, there are still other options (different choices of meds, for example, or different combinations) that I can try.