On Mon 17 Apr 2006 10:01:43p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it -L.?

>
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> On Mon 17 Apr 2006 08:06:05p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it
>> Christine Dabney?
>>
>> > cough-variant asthma
>>
>> Christine... How does one recognize this?
>
> I'm not Christine, but basically you cough as your only symptom (or
> nearly only symptom). Your lungs can inhale the air but have trouble
> expelling it, so you cough...and cough...and cough...to try to expell
> the air. It is often misdiagnosed as bronchitis or URI (viral) and
> doctors don't know that what they are looking at is asthma.
>
> For me, I get triggered by normal "asthma" triggers - smoke, perfumes,
> hot or cold air, etc. Then I cough my head off until I can do a couple
> of puffs of albuterol. I also am on Advair prophylactically during
> cold season. When under the spell, I wheeze at night but not the
> gasping wheeze of a normal asthmatic - it's more like a whistle. I
> also am short of breath and tight at times, but not normally - normally
> I just cough. My spirometry tests show almost normal patterns, but
> trouble expelling air, especially at the end.
>
> When I had my fist extended bout with it, the only thing that
> eventually cured me was nebulized lidocaine, 10 minutes, 4 times
> daily. Numbing the airway caused the coughing to cease, and the
> inflammation eventually subsided. It took 6 weeks or so for it to
> resolve competely. That's a treatment I never want to do again.

Thanks for the explanation. I asked because I have wondered if I have a
"mild" case of it. (That is, if one can have a "mild" case of it.) My
symtoms sound familiar but not as severe. I've not been tested, and I've
never had regular asthma. I know to the extent that I *may* have this
that it's really an awful condition. I can't imagine how a case as bad as
yours must feel.

I do hope you're feeling much better very soon.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
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