Asthma Flare Up after 20 years

[stoocake]

Hey all, looking for some suggestions, ideas and a bit of advice if anyone can help.

I've had asthma all my life, but for 20 years I've barely noticed I've had it. Maybe had to take an inhaler once a year and usually only if I'm away from home.

I moved house 4 weeks ago and since then I've been showing symptoms every day. Last night I had a particularly bad nights sleep and really need to get it sorted.

Before moving in we shampood the carpets, steam-cleaned the laminate floors, sugar-soaped the walls, dusted everywhere and used a HEPA hoover throughout. The house is showing no signs of damp, and I contacted the previous owner who assured me there is no damp. I also have a dehumidifier which I move from room to room and run intermittently throughout the day.

However every night from about 9pm onwards (heating doesnt go off until 10pm) I start to feel wheezy and usually need to take my inhaler before going to bed.

Has anyone got any advice or ideas on what to do about curing the symptoms? I can't think of anything else to try.

Any ideas, help or advice will be well received.

[JackP1]

I found that after moving into my home, having to take my blue one every day, sometimes more than once and eventually went to using the Becotide daily to get a decent defence on it( brown ). I put it down to the house being sat idle for a while, stuffy and dust build up. After about 4 weeks it cleared.

Saying that i'm feeling it today ( its man flu, honest ) so could be down to the weather as well?

[jmorgan]

Long term we binned all carpets and went wooden floors. That made a huge difference for me but I miss the carpets.

But. Short term and long term. I found a huge difference in using a hoover with a proper filter on the exhaust. Whatever the merits, it was Dyson and now Miele. Sod the wars on what is best for sucking up, for me it was what they threw back out so heap filters all round whatever the make for me.

I find that I get issues with certain hotel chains and I put that down to the type of hoovers they use for the same reasons. One chain is guaranteed to get me all nose flared up and wheezy. I try to avoid that one where possible.

[Petrus1983]

This may sound silly but I thought I had an asthma flare up after a long time too, I'd always had a blue inhaler at hand but had hardly used it - went off to my doctor who prescribed me pirotin!! I was a little dubious but it totally worked and hasn't got any side effects. It's worth giving a go (I just use the off the shelf non branded stuff now).

[TwistingMyMelon]

Im the same, I get the odd flare up

Could be:
Stress of moving
General Stress
Cold Weather
Your body reacting to the new house, this sounds odd but last week my sister moved into a new place and I found my asthma kick in and lungs "close" off a bit when i was building furniture in her spare room . The room was spotless and no damp, nice tidy newish house, but my asthma kicked in!

I suffer with asthma, never through exercise though (I do a lot of) , its occasionally lieing in bed! My lungs just close up, my daughter is the same. I can cycle up the steepest hill flat out when it is -10 degrees and be fine, lieing in bed and it kicks off!

Also when my asthma kicks in, it is always this time of year. Never in summer or later in winter

On the plus side modern inhalers are very good, I use sabutimol every day

As per the antihistamine advice above, I also use a prescription hayfever sparay all year round, this helps relax my asthma as well

[AmiableChimp]

Did the previous owners have a pet cat or dog?

[maxxy5]

TwistingMyMelon said:

On the plus side modern inhalers are very good, I use sabutimol every day

I don't want to be annoying, but at my asthma appointments they told me if I was using salbutamol - the blue one right? - several times a week, my asthma wasn't controlled properly and I needed a more powerful preventer inhaler. I use that everyday instead and I never need to use salbutamol. I never had proper asthma attacks but I used to suffer from symptoms in the morning and now I don't.

[Joratk]

Do you have any allergies? Dust, pets, etc. Go to tesco and buy a pack of their cheap antihistamine and take one of them around dinner time to see if it helps keep your chest clear in the evening.

[TwistingMyMelon]

maxxy5 said:

TwistingMyMelon said:

On the plus side modern inhalers are very good, I use sabutimol every day

I don't want to be annoying, but at my asthma appointments they told me if I was using salbutamol - the blue one right? - several times a week, my asthma wasn't controlled properly and I needed a more powerful preventer inhaler. I use that everyday instead and I never need to use salbutamol. I never had proper asthma attacks but I used to suffer from symptoms in the morning and now I don't.

I use the red Sabutamol morning and evening and blue one before exercise

[spats]

OP, it might not be the house itself.

Whats around the house outside?

My asthma is much better than it used to be. I used to get attacks when on holiday, turned out it was down to where the place was built, marsh land, or reclaimed land I think?

Also my friends old house I found in the evenings there trees seemed to make me worse. Sadly I cant remember what type they were as they moved not long after that.

[King Herald]

maxxy5 said:

I don't want to be annoying, but at my asthma appointments they told me if I was using salbutamol - the blue one right? - several times a week, my asthma wasn't controlled properly and I needed a more powerful preventer inhaler. I use that everyday instead and I never need to use salbutamol. I never had proper asthma attacks but I used to suffer from symptoms in the morning and now I don't.

I suffered hay fever related asthma from the age of 13, miserable summers, sleepless wheezy nights, miserable... Then age 21 I discovered the inhaler, a friend offered me one, but my doctor had never even mentioned such a thing, just gave me various Piriton related tablets, that never worked. Life was better with a bluey, but still not right.

At the age of 48 I spoke to someone who told me there was asthma specialist in our local GP clinic, and she told me more about asthma than anybody else every had over those long years:

Take a hay fever pill every morning from before when the hay fever season starts, until it is over.
Take a puff on a brown inhaler every morning without fail, it is a steroid, improves your lung function.
Tale a shot of Beconase up your nose twice a day, every day.

I followed that regime for several years and never needed to use my blue inhaler more than a couple of times a summer.

Five years ago we left England and I don't really get asthma where we live now. I think grass dust was my enemy in England as taking bike trips to the South of France, my hay fever went away.

[stoocake]

Cheers for all the replies guys! Sorry I've not responded til now. I've been back and forth to the Dr a few times and turns out I had a virus, as well as normal symptoms from moving to a new house, and unknowingly changing the brand of hay that our pet rabbit (indoors) has in his cage!

I'm on a steroid inhaler now, over the virus and been 100% better!