severe asthma attack

Read and learn more about severe asthma attack. For more, visit the Asthma website MrAsthma.com

Q: Is social withdrawal normal during a severe asthma attack?
I had a severe attack the other day and had to be taken to the ER. While I was having the attack and waiting for the ambulance, I seemed to socially withdraw and only stare as I was gasping for air and wheezing. I didn’t make eye contact with anyone.

Is social withdrawal normal during a severe asthma attack?

A: Um…how the hell do you plan to be ’social’ when you are having an asthma attack? Aren’t you going to be more concerned with being able to breathe again rather than the dude with the broken ankle sitting next to you in the emergency room? If you were attempting to be social in the midst of an asthma attack, I’d think you were downright nuts. Last time I had one I didn’t care about one damn thing but getting oxygen to my lungs and my brain. Of all the things to worry yourself over…

Q: When a severe asthma attack hits and nebs are needed?
If you’re having a severe asthma attack, are you always able to set up your nebulizer by yourself in time? Or do you ever need to get a family member to help you b/c the attack has hit so hard? Does anybody live alone and if so, what would you do?

A: I keep it by my bed and before I go to bed (its always worse at night) I put my medicine in my neb.

that way when an attack hits i take it right then all you have to do is hit the power switch, if not its there for the morning when i regularly take it.

my husband works nights so he cant fix it up for me and this seems to be the best way. Always have it ready

Q: What goes on mentally/psychologically while you’re recovering from a severe asthma attack?
A shy coworker had a severe asthma attack and you watched her fighting for each breath until the ambulance came to take her to the hospital. She was out for a few days and then returned to work. She’s always been quiet and fairly shy, but her first day back she was even more so.

What goes on mentally/psychologically while you’re recovering from a severe asthma attack?

A: Mainly embarrasement afterwords, its hard for all your coworkers to see you at your most vulnerable.

Q: Why do vital signs change during a severe asthma attack?
Why would temperature, blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate increased during a severe asthma attack?

A: A mild 1-2 degree temp increase is from an inflammatory response.
There are several reasons for the increase in heart and resp and bp.
All these things increase with anxiety and fear as adrenaline is released throughout the body.Not being able to breath right always causes severe anxiety..
The other reason is because the oxygen content of the body goes down during an asthma attack. Pulse gets faster to move more O2 throughout your body.While oxygen goes down the waste product carbon dioxide builds up. The faster breathing is the body’s attempt to blow off more carbon dioxide and return to a normal state. Your body gets acidic from all of this. It’s called respiratory acidosis. If all the increase in vitals signs work it is called compensated respiratory acidosis and means your body has returned to it’s normal ph by the above means. It’s a fairly complicated process and can be a little difficult to grasp at first. In other words your body changes in a bad way during an asthma attack and is trying to correct itself.
If the heart rate is up and resp. are up but BP goes down that means someone is loosing blood fairy quickly but it is one of the last changes.

Q: What to do in case of severe asthma attack?
I don’t have any inhaler available as it has been ages ago since my last asthma attack. I have nobody here with me right now as it’s already 2 in the morning. I feel my throat closes up everytime I cough. I’m trying to stay calm but my chest hurts.

A: My wife has severe asthma. If you don’t have an inhaler breathing into a paper or paper-like bag will help a lot. It regulates your breaths and helps relax your airway.

But make sure you can phone help if you can’t get any air, asthma can be fatal if you are alone.

Q: is it anaphylactic shock or just severe asthma attack?
a few days ago, i feel like drowning. i could not breathe and almost collapsed after i ate grilled chicken. i was wheeze and my fingers turned blue. thank god, after i being resuscitate in ER, i was able to breathe again. because i have asthma, the medical officer thought that i might just experienced severe asthma attack. but i never experienced asthma attack like this. usually the attack is gradual. but this time around, the attack was so fast and i could not do anything to stop it. is there any chance of me to have anaphylaxis?

A: Anaphylaxis can be one of the possibilities but it depends on the time your symptoms started after having chicken or any other food as the case be. Sometimes it might not be grilled chicken, it might be some other food that you have taken but in small quantities which you might have not taken notice of. Also anaphylaxis will have other symptoms associated like * Abdominal pain or cramping
* Abnormal (high-pitched) breathing sounds
* Anxiety
* Confusion
* Cough
* Diarrhea
* Difficulty breathing
* Fainting, light-headedness, dizziness
* Hives, itchiness
* Nasal congestion
* Nausea, vomiting
* Sensation of feeling the heart beat (palpitations)
* Skin redness
* Slurred speech
* Wheezing
etc.

Though not compulsory, with such severe cases where fingers turned blue, some of those symptoms should have been present if it were anaphylaxis. As to the sudden onset of attack, diseases can manifest differently in different persons, only few will have typical textbook presentations. Symptoms like that of yours might be very rare but not necessarily rule out acute severe asthma.

Q: I had another severe asthma attack so I think it’s the heat , what can I do?
I live in the south so there’s no escaping the heat & humidity but just going out to the store when(w/ the heat index) it was 110 degrees fahrenheit caused me to have another severe asthma attack. I’m also babysit my niece & she was with me when it happened. I had to go to the hospital when I mean severe.

What can I do to avoid the heat causing me to have a severe asthma attack? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

A: I eat a very large amount of freezer pops and try not to think about it. I would recommend looking into allergy testing also if you haven’t already.

Q: i have severe asthma, and i was playing football at the beach and had a severe attack causing me to stop…?
my question is, is there a relation to muscles being sore as a result of being deprived of oxygen due to an asthma attack? Is the lack of oxygen in anyway related to causing more build up of lactic acid or causing the microtears that lead to soreness? or does it simply mean im out of shape and need more excercise?

A: Oxygen deprivation can definitely cause it from exercise causing the flare. Being out of shape can also do it. However asthma does not cause microtears. Neither does lactic acid. Exertion, like lifting weights, causes microtears

You need to get the asthma under control, first. Then worry about getting in shape.

Q: Is there anything like an Epi pen for a severe asthma attack?
Other than inhalers, which I’ve found NOT to be very effective in a bad attack
Ugh, i was hoping it would be like a steroid type thingy as that’s what we go to the ER for.
Thanks Avon, we’ve got the nebulizer, 2 actually, as she needs twice daily meds with one, looking for something faster

A: When I was young, I received shots of adrenalin (but that was at the hospital). It’s too bad that you can’t get something like that through prescription (at least I don’t think you can)

Q: How can I help my boyfriend recover from a severe asthma attack?
He’s just got home after three days in hospital

A: Other than reassurance and ensuring he continues his medication there is little you can do.

Q: During a severe asthma attack?
During two severe asthma attacks I’ve had, I’ve noticed that while struggling to breathe, I tend to grab onto something very tightly and clench my fists around it. The first time, it was my car keys that were on the table near me, the second attack it was the chair I was sitting on. I apparently was clenching it so tightly, my veins were popping out of my hand (or so I was told).

Is this a normal thing when you’re having a severe attack? Why do we cling on to something so tightly?

A: A severe attack yes you will grab on to anything, you are suffocating. I have really bad Asthma too but I am controlled by Advar 250. I don’t freak out like that anymore. Have you talked to your doctor? Do you carry an Epi-pen? If your attacks are that severe you need to speak to a Doctor they have medication for that. Don’t take it lightly Asthma is a bad thing it constricts your lungs and you don’t get the air-flow you need, your entire body suffers. Please don’t mess with it, see your Doctor, trust me you will breath so much easier and those horrible attacks won’t happen anymore.

Take care of yourself Hun….

Q: How do I look after my boyfriend following a severe asthma attack?

A: It is so refreshing to see a question show concern for someone else.

I have to consider whether he used his medication or not, whether it failed, etc.

A back and chest rub is a good idea, not using palms, but pushing fingers into his rib areas, front and back. ( Make sure your nails are trimmed short before you do this) . This is because those muscles, involved in breathing, have been stressed severely and are very tense and exhausted.

A tall glass of fresh water is helpful.So is a neck rub, grabbing and squeezing the sides of his neck.Then he needs rest. He might fall asleep easily, as if he just had an epileptic. seizure.

He needs to pant like a dog, rather than trying to take in deep breaths. Asthma is often an attempt to inhale too much, and to exhale too little. Like a panic attack.

Q: Have you ever witnessed someone having a severe asthma attack?
What happens and what do you do?

A: An asthmatic person suffering an attack will be gasping for breath and wheezing. You need to have the person sit down, check to see if they have their inhaler and if not call an ambulance for them right away. Severe asthma attacks can be fatal and they require immediate medical attention!

Q: I am allergic to cats. Why is it when I am around some cats I immediately get a severe asthma attack?
that requires steroids, and others I just get a few coughs or at worse a slight weeze that my inhaler takes care of.

A: it is not so much the cat itself that you are allergic to but rather the cat dander. The more dander a cat has the worse your allergic reaction will be and in turn set off you asthma. Dander is relatively easy to control through regular washing and grooming of the cat. I have found, since i am also allergic to pet dander cat more so than dogs that regular grooming of the animal and washing of bedsheets and other things if the pet lives indoors that the symptoms can subside, but if the animal remains dirty my allergies set off my asthma.

Q: During severe Asthma attack does your blood pressure rise or fall from normal?

A: Arshi, my wife has asthma. During a severe attach tremendous stress is placed on the heart. I’ve seen her pulse rate an blood pressure go real high at times on the monitors.
Watching the heart monitor have seen it fluncate up an down. This 1 the reasons its best to try an control asthma with a plan. Do you use a peak flow meter to check your peak flow regulary. The benefit of that is to help you an your Dr. to determin what activites you can safely do.
On a chart your Dr. sets up based on your peak flow when you have no breathing trouble, he can determin what you can do an when to increase your meds, or stay unactive, or head for emergency room. That can help you take control of your asthma so you can lead a better life an not get in severe distress.
Wife has had asthma about 40 years an we have learnt a lot about liveing with it. The chart I’m talking about is called== A action plan== Please talk to your Drs. about it. It will be a great benefit to you. I added you as a contact.E-Mail me if you want.
JIm

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