Can bronchitis return once it's gone?

[Dark Stranger]

And if so, can it come back being triggered by different elements than before?

A brief history...I developed an allergy to cut grass when I was about seven or eight, and this allergy triggered bouts of bronchitis during which I had issues breathing and coughed incessantly. The bronchitis disappeared before I hit puberty and now I can roll around on a freshly-cut lawn to my heart's content and still feel fine. I used inhalers and a vaporizer to help me breathe easier at night.

Now, at age 20, I have begun having breathing problems. They began with me having mild chest pain, an inability to breathe normally and a shortness of breath that worsened at night. I went to the local outpatient clinic and was told that my lungs and heart sounded healthy (I guess that ruled out bronchitis and pneumonia) and I was put on an antibiotic called Biaxin. I felt noticeably better following medication, but the problem was not entirely gone. I notice I have slightly more trouble breathing when I come home on breaks from college than when I'm at school, so I am inclined to believe that perhaps I have developed some kind of allergies to my cats, since that is the only possible allergy factor different from my dorm. I won't get rid of my cats for any reason, but I'm wondering if that's the cause.

This was about four months ago, and I still have my days where I'm gasping a little more than usual. No grass has been mowed around here for a while, so that can't be it. Is it possible that my childhood bronchitis has returned under new circumstances? Or is it possible I may have adult-onset asthma, regardless of my 'healthy' lungs? Should I see if an outpatient clinic doctor will give me a referral to an allergist?

[gardenandcats]

I think you should be checked for Asthma...

[_mystictiger_]

Hello,

Healthy lungs doesn't rule out Asthma. I think by "healthy lungs" the doctors mean there isn't no sign of any obvious lung disease. If it was a infection and so on the doctor would tell you hun. But definitely get checked for Asthma.

It may be allergies to cat hair. I have this myself and it does cause my chest to be tight and I experience pain as well along with breathing problems. For this I take Telfast and a OTC Antihistamine which works brilliantly. Telfast you can only get on prescription but the other Antihistamines you can buy from your Pharmacist. Give these a try and see if it helps.

[Dark Stranger]

Since I posted this, I've been doing a little research on asthma, especially adult-onset asthma. Of the 'five most common symtpoms', I have all but one (coughing); I also don't really wheeze too much, but is it not true that adults don't wheeze as much when they develop adult-onset asthma? I have also read that being an overweight woman over age 20 increases my chance of having it, all of which I am right now. Reading a description of asthma symptoms, I felt as though I could have written about 90 percent of that particular article myself.

How is testing done for asthma? Tomorrow I plan on trying to go to the local acute care clinic to see someone - if I suggest being tested with one of those peak flow meters, can this be done by a family medicine doctor (the one I hope to see is a family medicine nurse practitioner)? Or would I need to see an allergist specifically to use a peak flow meter? The only reason I know about those devices is because a good friend of mine has asthma and I've seen him use his.

I really don't know if my cats are causing this to happen. I actually felt fine earlier and I was rolling around with my cats and brushing them, and then the shortness of breath came out of nowhere when I was sitting at my computer. There's literally cat and dog hair all over my mom's house, so I can't imagine why only at random times do I feel short of breath when I am surrounded by cat hair.

I should also add that I experience this shortness of breath even when I am at rest or exerting myself minimally (like walking slowly up a flight of stairs) and I get worse at night, which impedes my ability to fall asleep normally.....both of which, from what I have recently learned, are symptoms of asthma. But are the symptoms of adult-onset asthma and 'regular' asthma different?

If I see a doctor tomorrow, I'll update with any new findings. Thank you for your replies

[Isitjustme2]

Originally Posted by Dark Stranger

And if so, can it come back being triggered by different elements than before?

A brief history...I developed an allergy to cut grass when I was about seven or eight, and this allergy triggered bouts of bronchitis during which I had issues breathing and coughed incessantly. The bronchitis disappeared before I hit puberty and now I can roll around on a freshly-cut lawn to my heart's content and still feel fine. I used inhalers and a vaporizer to help me breathe easier at night.

Now, at age 20, I have begun having breathing problems. They began with me having mild chest pain, an inability to breathe normally and a shortness of breath that worsened at night. I went to the local outpatient clinic and was told that my lungs and heart sounded healthy (I guess that ruled out bronchitis and pneumonia) and I was put on an antibiotic called Biaxin. I felt noticeably better following medication, but the problem was not entirely gone. I notice I have slightly more trouble breathing when I come home on breaks from college than when I'm at school, so I am inclined to believe that perhaps I have developed some kind of allergies to my cats, since that is the only possible allergy factor different from my dorm. I won't get rid of my cats for any reason, but I'm wondering if that's the cause.

This was about four months ago, and I still have my days where I'm gasping a little more than usual. No grass has been mowed around here for a while, so that can't be it. Is it possible that my childhood bronchitis has returned under new circumstances? Or is it possible I may have adult-onset asthma, regardless of my 'healthy' lungs? Should I see if an outpatient clinic doctor will give me a referral to an allergist?

Any Doctor will tell you that Bronchitis is mostly seen in older people and very,very rare in children.It sounds to me as though you have some allergies and may have overcome some of them.It sounds like you may have had mild Asthma as a child.Asthma has a few characteristics that only happen with Asthma.Asthma attacks can be triggerd by hormonal changes or upsets such as puberty,menstruation,ovulatioin(more episodes in the last 14 days of your cycle),and menopause.People with Asthma also tend to have more trouble breathing at night,waking in the night,and in the morning.Good chance you have Asthma.You should explore this possibility some more.