So I've been having shortness of breath since 5 years ago. It hasn't gotten "worse" or anything, I'd say better..or the same, but not worse. To me, it's easier to exhale than inhale. I don't cough......at all. But when I do, which is very rare, it's has a weird rough sound and it sort of scratches my lungs. I don't wheeze, ok I lied, but it's not very loud, actually, I can BARELY hear it (I have to be really quiet and listen very carefully), and I don't wheeze every time I breathe, only after I run, but like I said, it's very faint. I'm 15, and my dad smokes around me a lot. I have no allergies whatsoever, not one. Also, in gym class, I sort of get a little bit more tired than the other students, maybe that's because I don't exercise much (I stay on the computer 24/7) but it could be because I have asthma. I don't know, I'm just really scared because I don't want to have asthma. Also, I can't go to the doctor, no insurance. I've told a lot of people about this, they say I'm fine.
2007-01-31 11:48:50 · 9 answers · asked by Alterna 4 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Respiratory Diseases
Also, I know none of you are doctors, but I asked a somewhat similar question here before and people said I might have asthma. But I don't believe them, it really doesn't seem like I do. My friends tell me that I could just have breathing problems because of 2nd hand smoking, but not asthma. I mean my dad coughs all the time and he wheezes when he laughs, he doesn't have asthma, he's never even had an attack, and he breathes perfectly fine.
2007-01-31 11:53:38 · update #1
Thanks jag, hey that actually DID help.
2007-01-31 12:03:48 · update #2
No it does not sound like you have asthma.My 2 year old has it and if he went without being treated he would not make it.Your gym teacher would notice your breathing if you had asthma.Asthma is not something you can hide from others and if you really had it you would know.As far as no insurance I can not believe your parents has neglected your health for 5 years.Get checked then you will know for sure.
2007-01-31 12:18:08 · answer #1 · answered by darlene100568 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-07-26 17:11:24 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Asthma can be triggered by various things and does not have to be the classic cases of needing inhalers to cure. I discovered I had asthma when I was 35 years old and I should have known better as I work as a Male nurse. My asthma is triggered by laughing too much, really, and on rare occasions when I inhale dust that has been lying around for a long time. I thought that I was irritating my wind pipe by laughing so I ignored it. It was when I was doing a project on Asthma that I discovered that it can be triggered by laughing among other things. Shortness of breath occurs usually at sleeping time when one is lying down. So check if by sleeping on raised pillows could help. Also try to check what is causing your shortness of breath, such as exercise, stress, crying, laughing, dust, your father's smoke or something else. If you find the cause then you can be sure that you have Asthma and try to avoid whatever it causes it. Otherwise take an x-ray and have yourself examined. I am not saying this to frighten you but you can have a mild form of TB, so take care and good luck.
2007-01-31 20:09:52 · answer #3 · answered by Amante D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Considuring you do not have insurance there's no point in being diagnosed with asthma because you probably wont be able to afford the medication. But, yes, it sounds to me like you have asthma but not a bad case of it. I'm on 3 different medications for asthma and i still get shortness of breath from it and occasional weazing. The only thing you can do if you having trouble breathing is to stick your stomach out as you inhale so you can take deeper breaths and then pull your stomach in as you exale to get all the air out of your lungs. I found this out on the news and found it to be very helpful.
2007-01-31 12:01:15 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok you are very wise to ask questions. Of course the smoke from your dad is horrible for you. If you ave to be around dad when he smokes. Please open a window or go outside. Yes you need to go to the doctor to have this checked. You should go to an internal medicine doctor and also have a complete physical and blood work done. Can your dad pay for it? Have you ever had a chest x-ray? I would sggest that too just to be cautious. It is probably something minor. But you need to checked out. Do you have a p/t job or a relative I am sure would take you to their doctor.Good luck.
2007-01-31 16:19:53 · answer #5 · answered by dorothy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm a respiratory therapist and i deal with those with asthma on a daily basis, and i have to say it sounds like you do not have asthma. the main reason i think so is that you say that it is easier to exhale than inhale. well with asthmatics the exact opposite is true. they have difficulty exhaling. also when you say that you never cough. when an asthmatic is having an attack, or even a flare up, they will cough quite a lot. i think you are sensitive to your dads smoking and you really need to encourage dad to stop.
2007-02-01 22:57:08 · answer #6 · answered by Tammy S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds more like COPD from second hand smoke
Hopefully you can find the right Dr to tell your Dad to quit smoking, because he is killing you.
I know it's tough love
2007-01-31 12:58:34 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Were you in an accident 5 yrs. ago?You might try placing a tennis between your shoulder blades while lying on the floor and see if it helps.
2007-01-31 14:13:01 · answer #8 · answered by (A) 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you have access to a window a/c unit it would be the best thing for you since you don't insurance to check it out. the a/c will help a lot
2007-01-31 12:44:06 · answer #9 · answered by maez 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋