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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Asthma / January 2007lag period in asthma symptoms?
I am systematically trying to figure out what causes my asthma by - withdrawing different foods - discontinusing usage of gas stoves/heaters - travelling to places with different climates - not going to work for several days (christmas helps) to exclude occupational hazards - etc THe question is, how long should I spend under a certain environmental condition to see no changes, and to conclude that this given condtion does not matter for my symptoms? Or, is it possible for certain types of asthma to screw up the airways so badly that withdrawing the trigger will not cause an improvement anymore? A reference to a rsearch paper would be appreciated. this is a good question asthma is caused by different things in different people Only one reason I know that causes mine: particulate pollution. Ozone a tad For some people its cold weather ( that never bothered me). Only recently have people started to equate and measure the air near where they work and play but by and large particulate pollution and onset adult asthma has a correlation and why I go crazy about not doing enough. However there is one contradiction I can't figure. they say ( whoever they are) that kids from Hawaii have large asthma problems..considering Hawaii has great low particle pollution other factors sometimes are in play obviously. I never though met anyone who was affected by particulate pollution who didn't feel relief once out of the conditions. So to answer your question, if you know the pollution level in your area and your in acity at a low pollution count day and you don't react favorably immediately you should know its not causing your problem. One of the pleasures for me has been when people actually told me I helped define why they had asthma to begin with. Of course these newsgroups rarely represent a majority of the people . News casters might have a fit if I gave them too much reality. > this is a good question > asthma is caused by different things in different people > Only one reason I know that causes mine: particulate pollution. Do face masks help for the partiuclate pollution? Are commerical filters good enough to filter out, say, 90% of them from a room in a reasonable time (1 hr?) "cold weather allergy" could be allergy to the wood smoke that people burn to feel cozy. There was a study based on Santa Clara, CA ERs where they found a correlation between temperature drops, wood smoke, and asthma visits. I live in the Bay Area; the sources I've checked claim that it's one of the best metro areas for air pollution. But this is where I deceloped the asthma. Before I lived in NYC and (yes) New Jersey, and was just fine there, yet, those areas are supposed to ones of the worst. Perhaps, whatever they are measuring is not relevant to my particular ("particulate") case. Also, the forcasts for air pollution are really lame: wheather channels reduce them to 4 categories, while official stations show numbers, but provide little explanation what the numbers mean. E.g. we are having a spare the air day today in San Fran, but the numbers of particulate pollution don't look much different fro non-spair-the-air days. Exercising could be another thing. When in NY/NJ, I would travel to the country to exercise, while in the Bay Area I exercise (ride my bike) right where I live (not as much free time). I was also thinking that metro areas that are surrounded by mountains should be worse, b/c the stuff gets accumilated in the valleys, while a relatively open, windy metro area (NYC?) would get blown through. >> this is a good question >> asthma is caused by different things in different people [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > filters good enough to filter out, say, 90% of them from a room in a > reasonable time (1 hr?) I tried it and to be honest with you, the answer I will give is purely a guess. I think the air you ultimately end of breathing that way ( exhaled trapped air) isn't really that good for you cause its basically carbon dioxide isn't it? > "cold weather allergy" could be allergy to the wood smoke that people > burn to feel cozy. There was a study based on Santa Clara, CA ERs where > they found a correlation between temperature drops, wood smoke, and > asthma visits. Wow now I am talking to someone who probably has the same sensitivities and the reason the epa made the charts and graphs at their website to begin with. Yes the smoke or pollution or particulates and understanding when and where is is, becomes a learned science you must decipher if you want to live healthy . Unfortunately I learned this much too late in life. The bay area is relatively decent place to be. I think there are many ways to comprehend particle pollution at any time or place .: The website, your bodies eventual sensitivity to the air by your breathing or labored breathing, ( I can often give you exact numbers wthout looking at website) and weather and wind conditions. There is a sure fire way to tell where particulates are but email me if your interested. I have my reasons lol > I live in the Bay Area; the sources I've checked claim that it's one of > the best metro areas for air pollution. But this is where I deceloped > the asthma. Before I lived in NYC and (yes) New Jersey, and was just > fine there, yet, those areas are supposed to ones of the worst. > Perhaps, whatever they are measuring is not relevant to my particular > ("particulate") case. Well please realize if particulate pollution is causing you asthma ,it should do it immediately or within a short time from exposure. Having said that I lived in Philly for long time and had no reaction. It develops over time. You still could be sensitive to particulates now because of accumulated damage unfortunately from past pollution that didn't affect you overtly. The best way to tell is be in asthma symptom mode when particulates are bad. Almost certainly if your affected there you will be affected anywhere now that has particulates. Once you become sensitive I don't believe you can ever undo that.So if you were to come back to Jersey on a bad particulate day you will be affected if your affected now. This is another reason I get upset, this is permanent and it creeps up on you. I think gov should better protect people if only for that reason.Its also why some people can't perceive where I am coming from. People perceive asthma symptoms differently and at different times for different reasons. Whats interesting is I don't think studies have begun to show the overall damage to people over time in my diseases from this. I can tell the way they ignore it thats its cause for alarm if that makes any sense. > Also, the forcasts for air pollution are really lame: wheather channels > reduce them to 4 categories, while official stations show numbers, but > provide little explanation what the numbers mean. E.g. we are having a > spare the air day today in San Fran, but the numbers of particulate > pollution don't look much different fro non-spair-the-air days. spare I don't know what that is. Go to airnow website, they give particulate and ozone > Exercising could be another thing. When in NY/NJ, I would travel to the > country to exercise, while in the Bay Area I exercise (ride my bike) > right where I live (not as much free time). Well Like I said if your smart and I have talked to some very bright people your probably in a good area although allot of traffic. The good thing is your near a bay and winds go from west to east. most times. Can you imagine what pollution we have to deal with back east? Find us a cheap room and I will be eternally grateful lol don't matter really its probably too late here. > I was also thinking that metro areas that are surrounded by mountains > should be worse, b/c the stuff gets accumilated in the valleys, while a > relatively open, windy metro area (NYC?) would get blown through. It all depends on what valley. I read about a place in Montana that doesn't have almost any particulate pollution Twin falls or something like that, my memory is going but I don't think I would look good in cowboy hat or get along well for other reasons...lol plus its very very cold . >I read about a place in Montana that doesn't > have almost any particulate pollution Twin falls or something like that, my > memory is going but I don't think I would look good in cowboy hat or get > along well for other reasons...lol plus its very very cold . Hey, for an extra breath I would trade my high-tech job for a cowboy hat. > >I read about a place in Montana that doesn't >> have almost any particulate pollution Twin falls or something like that, [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Hey, for an extra breath I would trade my high-tech job for a cowboy > h Ok Great Falls , not twin falls. I think you have to first define what environs make you sick more. San Fran can be a good place. The only down side is because of China and trade winds one day California coast may get pollution from west . I truly understand what your saying though. If it came down to it and it was just a matter of life and death I would. and then probably be homeless and apply for aid YOur fortunate you have a good job to fall back on. My asthma has limited to a great degree what I could or could not do anymore. I have a home here if I move I won't. Its just the way it is and or but I have told everyone i know the correlations of what I think particulate pollution or regular pollution does to one and I truly believe the same negative effects are mulitiplying in some towns because of the higer gases from global warming. Try proving it, they don't even make it easy to show correlations or who is number one in asthma or why so I don't pretend to see more help for people who are affected anytime soon. Till then intelligent people just move or get to places where they are lest affected. > mulitiplying in some towns because of the higer gases from global warming. > Try proving it, they don't even make it easy to show correlations or who is > number one in asthma or why so I don't pretend to see more help for people > who are affected anytime soon. Till then intelligent people just move or get > to places where they are lest affected. Perhaps cases of severe asthma are not that common, and the disease can be controlled in most individuals. I am sure if some politician's daughter could not breathe b/c of air pollition smh would've got rolling. But I guess chances of that are statisticaly low. today is the 15th "Spare the air day" in San Fran this winter. I get email notifications on this, but most people don't even know that they are being asked not to burn wood and not to drive their cars. Oh yeah, there was an electronic sign on the freeway one day. Right, best place, as if people will exit, turn around, get home, and take the subway instead. I don't expect anyone do anything until most of the people (or the right people) are drectly affected. Until then, those who are sick are just SOL. The cost of a given human life is not that high, afterall. I did not give a damn about CO2 and air pollution until I got sick. >> mulitiplying in some towns because of the higer gases from global >> warming. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > daughter could not breathe b/c of air pollition smh would've got > rolling. But I guess chances of that are statisticaly low. Well my whole thing is people don't relate their asthma or respiratory illness to pollution be it particle or ozone pollution. Why? How many people you know read the air ratings from airnow websites. How many newscasters promote the links? The result is people will correlate the air to their asthma cause they have no references. In fact I went to three asthma doctors. The first one told me the reason I had asthma is the same reason many people get asthma as adult..: the air. Since that time , he moved to another state cause he said he had asthma ,, and the next two doctors just look at me strangely. But the upshot is the EPA made the website to warn people who are sensitive so they can somehow monitor their activities. I am grateful for that but if they are going to warn you and not do much to change it , then whats the point ? So when they tell everyone of the possible associations and then everyone with adult onset asthma measures the connection wlll we really know for sure how many people are affected. I am also in an areas where we are number one in metro area for asthma so I am sure I am not alone. More people in this region die from asthma also. Should I not be surprised this is happening here knowing how often I have complained since four years ago. To this day I have people denying the damage exists. People told me its not that bad and I knew it couldn't be true. I saw how many days we got moderate levels of particulates or worse and finally I found the link that said we were number one. Still if there was really a conspiracy , that publication would not have gotten out. Still I cringe literally to think how many kids or adults with asthma don't or doesn't know the air pollution asthma connection simply because the news media refuses to deal with it. What they do deal with is treating you by pumping meds for it without telling you why you need them. So many people are spooked when you tell them something that they don't hear from our press. They expect our news media to tell em the truth or whats important in it but in general if its about making a buck and they could get away wiith it, they are right behind the polluters in allowing this whole scenario to take place. If I am wrong I am waiting for proof. Most proof I have is every link that shows the dangers of moderate or worse pollution that has been made and I can assure you they can do many more correlations and comparisons between peoples health in good air states with those in bad air states. Don't expect to see in our life time though. > today is the 15th "Spare the air day" in San Fran this winter. I get > email notifications on this, but most people don't even know that they > are being asked not to burn wood and not to drive their cars. Oh yeah, > there was an electronic sign on the freeway one day. Right, best place, > as if people will exit, turn around, get home, and take the subway > instead. If your really sensitve you know when the area is polluted from wood stoves or exhausts or or just a combination of things. Air can be rated excellent but if you run along a highway thats still going to be bad especially in rush hour. I have seen people run in rush hour in traffic with ozone and particulate warnings. I would love to see how well they are or are not doing. I would surmise that kind of exercising is deadly. How many kids who our govt says don't get enough exercise has to do it in polluted air? These questions are no concern to tv execs who ignore you when you ask too many hard questions. > I don't expect anyone do anything until most of the people (or the > right people) are drectly affected. Until then, those who are sick are > just SOL. The cost of a given human life is not that high, afterall. I > did not give a damn about CO2 and air pollution until I got sick. well they are starting to do things but its slow. The places most affected like some parts of Calif and my area in Ne has varying degrees of changes and law suitsg going on but if it were up to me would i love to find a good laywer. I would without doubt think all t people who are downwind from pollution at certain levels are going to suffermore then others in a number of ways. Stats have shown indirectly all this. : >> this is a good question : >> asthma is caused by different things in different people [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] : > filters good enough to filter out, say, 90% of them from a room in a : > reasonable time (1 hr?) <Remainder snipped> I almost hate to break in like this because I have nothing new to offer, only some recent personal experience. I am 76 years old, diagnosed as an asthmatic, adult onset, at about 40, the trigger clearly cat dander (we had two cats at the time). From that time until a couple of weeks ago I was completely free of all serious reactions. No food allergies, no aromatic allergies, no pollen allergies, nothing. I know now my lung capacity is limited which restricts me from real exercise or strenuous yard work. I was so highly encouraged by my ability to breathe free and clear that my wife and I accepted an invitation to spend the holiday season near Chicago with our daughter, her husband, their three children and their three children, and -- here it comes! -- two cats. It didn't take 24 hours before I was gasping and choking trying to get enough air to breathe. Our son-in-law graciously provided me with some industrial face mask but it didn't seem to help at all. Albuterol (I carried an inhaler just in case) gave short relief but I ended up overdosing on it (because it did give some relief) and after two days had to be treated in a hospital emergency room. A prednisone alternative(forgot which one, but a less effective steroid) allowed us to stay out our vacation in our hotel room but I was floored again upon returning home, and another emergency room visit. The upshot: I can no longer trust my intuition as regards cat dander. I simply must leave the furry creatures alone and keep away from them. I understand that some juveniles seem to "outgrow" their susceptibilities around age 20-25 but I doubt that adult-onset cases ever get this reprieve. Ken Bland Hi Justin Give thanks that you are still here and found what triggers a reaction. I guess this means you and cat are not meant for each other although you might or might not be aware of a new allergy shot to protect people just like yourself who reacts to cats. I am not sure this applies to you but do a look up on that subject on the net. Just imagine if you couldn't escape bad breathing without extreme hardship. Thats what happens to some people. Thanks for your history. > : >> this is a good question > : >> asthma is caused by different things in different people [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > > Ken Bland A well-defined trigger like this one is a blessing. My allegen is "something in the air in the area I live, work, and play". > I am systematically trying to figure out what causes my asthma by > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > will not cause an improvement anymore? A reference to a rsearch paper > would be appreciated. I don't have the respiratory constrictions that is required for an asthma diagnosis but I have had to deal with a chronic cough, chronic bronchitis, Rhinitis, excessive mucus production, post nasal drip, and sinus infection. I had these chronic conditions for over a 3 year period. I took a vacation in 1985 where I took two weeks off. The first week I spent on the ski slopes and I was coughing and had all the mentioned symptoms. The second week I went to Martinique. I stopped having all my symtoms 3 days after arriving on the island. I finally figured out that the cigarette smoke in my office caused my conditions and/or weakened me so I would react with other allergens and have my respiratory problems. Within a few weeks of coming back from my 2 week vacation, I started having respiratory problems again. I finally had to quit a job where I had 10 years experience, benefits, and a good salary. This happened in the Denver, Colorado area. Now the only place where they allow indoor public smoking is in the gambling cassinos. I am not sure if this analogy holds for asthma, but it describes my allergy reactions well: The body has a fixed capacity, like an empty glass, for dealing with more and more allergens before an "overflow" causes symptoms. What causes an overflow today might not next week or vice versa. I would often be sick in bed the day after exposure to a moldy basement or extremely dusty house or long time outdoors on bright sunny day. My friends back then only understood the instant reaction (ie, runny nose and eyes water when enter house with cat) and could not understand how I knew I would be sick tomorrow from exposure today. >I am systematically trying to figure out what causes my asthma by > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > will not cause an improvement anymore? A reference to a rsearch paper > would be appreciated. > I am not sure if this analogy holds for asthma, but it describes my allergy > reactions well: The body has a fixed capacity, like an empty glass, for [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > will not cause an improvement anymore? A reference to a rsearch paper > > would be appreciated. There is a book that I read in the 80's called "An Alternate Approach to Allergies" that explained that a person could have a delayed reaction to allergens just as you described. You ger exposed on Monday, and react on Tuesday. The other thing mentioned was when you get a "critical" level of allergens in your system and you react. This is when your body will start to produce the histamines where you have the allergy/asthma symtpoms. I always had problems with cigarette smoke. The particulates would get into my sinuses and I would not immediatly react. If I sat down to read a book or do homework, my sysetm would slow down and I would produce less adrenalin. At this point, my sinuses would react and I would have problems with extreme drowsiness. I had problems getting punished at school, getting homework done, getting laughed at, cracking up a car, and getting fired from a job due to this uncontrollable drowsiness. Also, after being exposed to cigarette smoke in a bar, the next morning I would awaken to having one of my nostrils completly plugged and the membranes would be full of mucus. My parents were heavy smokers and I still have some resentment for the polluted environment that I had to live in and some of the poor performance when I was younger. |
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