I was contacted by a young lady (31 years) who had experienced
asthmatic problems since her childhood.
In the main these were allergy kinds of problems and severe hayfever.
For the past few years her problem had become progressivley
considerably worse to the point where she was unable to continue with
her work circumstance. (Public relations kind of thing) She was to the
point of desperation. Her specialist doctor had kept her on various
strong asthmatic drugs including moderate dosage pred for the past
three years.
Inspecting her home really showed virtually no apparent contaminant of
any description that might explain her situation. The entire area was
free of problem pollen producing plants and no pets were involved.
She was not under any major stress apart from worry about her
situation. Her general health was not very good and she commonly
suffered with bronchial and ENT infections.
Her antibiotic useage history was in the order of at least three times
a year for the past five years and she mentioned that she always caught
everything going around.
Sitting down with the family and discussing possible food intake or
diet indicated nothing odd and it was suggested to try an entirely
different diet for a short while also trying no gluten substances. The
rest of the family were asked to pay strict attention to any scents or
aromatic substances they may have brought into the home for an interim
period.
She also tried the cold showering method for fourteen days and had no
appreciable benefit.
Previous situations like this have been found to be chlamydia related
so it was suggested to try another specialist doctor looking at a
bacterea or blood related kind of problem.
Some weeks later she saw a new specialist, he immediately hospitalised
her and began running tests.
She was diagnosed with Churg-Strauss Syndrome which was significantly
advanced, and she had a mild stroke at about this time.
She is currently not doing all that well and is undergoing some kind of
chemo-therapy treatment plus prednisone and targetted antibiotics.
She did advise the result to me, but I had never heard of this
particular problem, so it was certainly interesting for me.
When I actually saw her and checked her home I could not believe that
anyone could be so ill without any obvious apparent reason.
Her previous doctor had simply given her differing prescriptions, but
it was mentioned that it was likely that the Prednisone dosage she had
previously been on had actually saved her.
Her actual symptoms were exactly the same as really severe asthma.
The current situation is "touch and go", prognosis "wait and see"!
It certainly brings home the fact that asthma may not be asthma in the
normal true sense.
This is information only and no proof is given.
Cheers, Merlin.