Asthma + A Cold - Page 3

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

On 1/17/2015 NoelSeven said:
On 1/17/2015 happy housewife said:
For me when i cough with a cold I cough a few min and stop - when I get bronchospasm from my asthma it starts out as a cough that I can't stop coughing and it escalates up to the point that I am actually choking and gagging. I have to sit up if I am lying down and the continuous coughing will last for several min. when I can barely get a breath in. The difference between coughing with a cold or bronchitis is mild in comparison to the bronchospasm from an asthma attack. When I finally stop coughing I am gasping for air , wheezing and usually my chest really hurts.

That happened a couple of times for me, too, with this bout. This is new to me, I've taken treatment for years and this is only the second time the asthma has been a real issue.

I'm drinking coffee today instead of tea, since coffee is supposed to help.

I'm sorry to read it gets so bad for you, HH ${#emotions_dlg.sad}$

My PCP started me on a nightly dose of Singular for my asthma and a steroid inhaler and I have not had a bronchospasm since - knock on wood. It would take many aerosol treatments and a large dose of steroids to get me out of this once it started. I have been asthmatic since birth and have had more emergency trips to the ER than I can remember because I could not catch a breath without coughing it right back out. a horrible feeling. Thank goodness now a days we have much better drugs for this. My DH had become an expert at whipping out that aerosol machine and having it up and ready very quickly.

Jova · ‎11-26-2014

Every single winter I get bronchitis that flairs up my asthma, and the cough lingers for weeks on end.

I know I have something more serious that an asthma flair when I have a productive cough, and pain in my chest that inhalers don't relieve, and I lose my appetite. I sometimes get fevers also.

Unfortunately for me, I have to get oral steroids and antibiotics. I have been sick for the past two weeks again, but this time it was one of the worst sinus infections I ever had. My doctor is watching me carefully because of my asthma, and because I started with a cough.

Jova · ‎11-26-2014

Oh geez I know exactly what you mean and how you feel. I have allergies and asthma. After so many years of dealing with the confusion, I gave up and would call my allergist right away and he would get me a script for the asthma and if necessary med for the flu/cold. I have learned to head off the horrible cough, choking, wheezing and lack of sleep. Hope you find a way to manage. It is awful.

Yup, I am learning after 3 decades of dealing with this, to call the doctor right away. I have wound up in the ER and two years ago missed a month of work.

OP, make sure you take some vitamins to support your immune system, and rest. I always get worse when I think I am better, and head out or go to work. I now know to stay home. (

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

I am learning all about asthma through my husband and daughters, and absolutely anything respiratory is going to bring on an asthma flare with them. I immediately start listening for the tell tale wheezing, along with the increased coughing, which quickly turns into the bronchospasms hh refers to. My youngest daughters asthma is a result of lung damage from the swine flu. Oldest daughter was diagnosed with allergies at a very young age, and had bouts of exercise induced asthma with sports activities in high school. Her allergies worsened during her 20's, as did her asthma, to the point of needing medication. My husband has smoked since he was 14. worked in a coal mine, and has a diagnosis of COPD. He is at the stage where he must seek medical treatment ASAP as soon as the wheezing starts, as he needs steroids and an antibiotic to prevent bronchitis and pneumonia. My husband has 2 inhalers, and uses a nebulizer 4x a day (with 2 medications) in an effort to keep his lungs clear. My MIL had COPD, and during the last years of her life, when she started wheezing, she needed immediate medical treatment, or else she would be in the hospital within 24 hours.

To answer your specific question, based on what I see from my own family, a common cold is not common in someone with asthma; you do not casually take OTC meds and wait for it to clear up. When your lungs try to fight that cold virus, it is going to cause an asthma flare. At the first sign of illness, you think about your asthma, not a cold virus, and go into protect mode for your lungs. You need to be treated immediately, as that flare has great potential to lead to a diagnosis of bronchitis or pneumonia. Learning to deal with asthma, means you have to look at absolutely everything as the irritant that can set off an asthma flare. That can mean smoke, fumes, and dust, as well as the unseen viruses and bacteria. Best wishes to you.