Asthma Attack: What is your warning sign?
When my son was diagnosed with asthma, it was all new to me. No one I knew had asthma. My only experience with it was from what you see in movies and on TV. You know, how they portray the asthmatic as wheezing so loudly that the guy down the street could hear it? I never hear my son wheeze. He does, because the doctors can hear it with their stethoscopes. But I can't hear it. It's not that loud wheezing of the TV and movies. If we got to that point, he'd be in severe distress!!
Since he was diagnosed before he was two years old (only they called it R.A.D. [Reactive Airway Disease] ) and he was unable to speak and tell me how he felt, I had to look for clues that he was having trouble with his asthma (or R.A.D.). It wasn't easy. Yes, he got extremely fussy, but that could have been his allergies, or ear infections which he got every few weeks with no accompanying fever, or the asthma that had no wheezing. But what he did get with his asthma was coughing. It started out as a light cough and as his asthma got worse so did the cough. There would be nights we'd be up together until dawn and he would be coughing so hard that he would vomit. His albutrol nubulizer helped, but only for so long and then the coughing would start again.
__kerri: @chupieandjsmama @amyanaruk i wheeze neverrrr
As you can tell by the conversation, wheezing isn't a big symptom for anyone here. But most people think of wheezing as the one to watch for. If you are new to asthma, would you notice coughing as a symptom? Would you treat the "coughing" or wait for the "wheezing"?
According to WedMD the following are symptoms of an asthma attack:
Severe wheezing when breathing both in and out
Coughing with asthma that won't stop
Very rapid breathing
Chest pain or pressure
Tightened neck and chest muscles, called retractions
Difficulty talking
Feelings of anxiety or panic
Pale, sweaty face
Blue lips or fingernails
Or worsening symptoms despite use of your medications
Since he was diagnosed before he was two years old (only they called it R.A.D. [Reactive Airway Disease] ) and he was unable to speak and tell me how he felt, I had to look for clues that he was having trouble with his asthma (or R.A.D.). It wasn't easy. Yes, he got extremely fussy, but that could have been his allergies, or ear infections which he got every few weeks with no accompanying fever, or the asthma that had no wheezing. But what he did get with his asthma was coughing. It started out as a light cough and as his asthma got worse so did the cough. There would be nights we'd be up together until dawn and he would be coughing so hard that he would vomit. His albutrol nubulizer helped, but only for so long and then the coughing would start again.
amyanaruk: Coughing, not wheezing is the #1 symptom of asthma. Exhibit A: RT @ __kerri Holy coughing spasm batman. Evidently I am late for symbicort. 1:52pm, Jul 08 from Web
chupieandjsmama: @amyanaruk My son doesn't wheeze until things are beyond severe. He's main, and for the most part only symptom, is coughing. 1:56pm, Jul 08 from HootSuite
amyanaruk: @chupieandjsmama Here, too. If we waited for wheezing, we'd be waiting on an ambulance.
As you can tell by the conversation, wheezing isn't a big symptom for anyone here. But most people think of wheezing as the one to watch for. If you are new to asthma, would you notice coughing as a symptom? Would you treat the "coughing" or wait for the "wheezing"?
According to WedMD the following are symptoms of an asthma attack:
Severe wheezing when breathing both in and out
Coughing with asthma that won't stop
Very rapid breathing
Chest pain or pressure
Tightened neck and chest muscles, called retractions
Difficulty talking
Feelings of anxiety or panic
Pale, sweaty face
Blue lips or fingernails
Or worsening symptoms despite use of your medications
All of the above ARE symptoms of an asthma attack. They can also be symptoms of a heart attack, stroke, or any number of other things. If you are a new asthma patient or are a new asthma care giver, these can be a bit vague. I know when my son first started having asthma attacks there were times I waited too long to treat because "I wasn't sure what the coughing meant". Now I don't wait. I treat it. And if he's still coughing with no other symptoms or no worsening symptoms, then I assume that the coughing isn't asthma and it's being caused by something else. If I treat it and the coughing gets better, then I know he's having trouble with his asthma and we need to keep an eye on things to make sure they keep improving and they don't get worse. And if they get worse? Call the doctor or head to the ER.
What is your main symptom of an asthma attack? Do you or your children wheeze, cough or both? Did you recognize your cough as an asthma symptom?
For more on asthma and coughing see:
Tips To Remember: Cough in Children from AAAAI
Calming Your Cough from Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics
Chronic Coughing: on YouTube
For more on asthma and coughing see:
Tips To Remember: Cough in Children from AAAAI
Calming Your Cough from Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics
Chronic Coughing: on YouTube
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Comment by kerri on July 9, 2010 at 2:12am -
My main symptoms are coughing or dyspnea. I don't have big, dramatic flares, my breathing usually slowly goes downhill and my peak flows settle into the 60-75% range and I know something's up. I also notice I breathe shallower and slower because if I'm tight or short of breath, probably cause it's just less work;
I also try to be good at paying attention to my symptoms, but . . . that's coming from the girl who walked around for probably a week with a fever and a brewing lung infection and didn't realize it and then when she realized she was sick STILL had to be forced into going to the doctor by her internet friends ;-). Because . . . I'm the LAST to admit I'm sick . . . Finally the night before I called the doctor I was trying to walk around with my friend and he kept getting REALLY concerned and I kept telling him I was fine, and then he insisted on picking me up and carrying me . . . not a good sign when I say I'm okay and he doesn't believe me. Oops. The thing is, when I've been feeling bad for awhile, I just kinda get used to it . . . which is BAD when I get worse and I think I'm not too bad. Case in point: ignored lung infection above. Perception fail.
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Comment by Janeen on July 9, 2010 at 8:43am -
Thanks Kerri! I think with those who have asthma or allergies that "feeling bad" kind of becomes a way of life and you almost become used to it. Sometimes you think "Well, it's not that bad" and then it takes a turn quickly into an area where it can become scary and either require emergency care or more meds than normal to get you back to a healthy state. My son gets that way with his asthma. He doesn't complain at all until it's really bad. That's why I have to listen to the coughing. He's been coughing on and off all summer and because we've spent more time this summer at the pool than we ever have I'm wondering if chlorine is an issue for him. I think I'll be taking him to the doctor sooner than later to get that checked out. As his caregiver, listening to cues is my best defense. For you as the asthma patient, listening to your body is your best defense (and friends seem to be a second line of defense - good for them!!). I hope you are doing better and that your breathing has come back to normal levels. Feel better and thanks so much for weighing in on this topic!
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Comment by Ellen S on July 11, 2010 at 2:21am -
Janeen, My asthma isn't bad. I have been having more of an issue with it lately though. My family can sometimes hear me whistle as I breathe. When my son was little, he would cough. He rarely wheezed, but that coughing symptom was a dead give-away bad things were headed our way.
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