It only happens when an event occures that I would find traumatic and would normally cry-a big fight, a pet's unfortunate death. Never had this until a couple years ago. Very scary.
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Q: What is "stress induced asthma"-what causes it-why does it start?
Answers (3)
2/28/09 4:23pm
Hello,
In reality, asthma is a condition of the airways, where they become inflamed and narrowed, sometimes having spasms. The most common cause of asthma is allergic, but some adults have asthma that is more related to other environmental causes. Stress, however, can not be a cause of asthma by itself.
However, if you already have asthma, no matter how mild, you may find that stress or emotional highs/lows is a trigger for asthma symptoms. The difference is that stress does not cause the underlying changes in the airways that signify asthma. But, it can irritate your already inflamed airways, setting off asthma symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath.
And yes, an asthma attack can be quite frightening. Are you on medication for your asthma? Most people should be on some kind of daily or twice daily preventive, or controller medicine, often an inhaled steroid, as well as a rescue inhaler that can be taken when an asthma attack begins, if necessary.
Be sure to talk with your doctor about any concerns you have about your condition, OK?
Take care,
Kathi
3/ 2/09 11:00am
Kathi, I don't have asthsma symptoms at ANY other time and these episodes might happen twice a year. In the instance where I was 'on the spot' when my cat was killed by a neighbor's dog I did have a rescue inhailer in the car near by, but couldn't breath it in...just didn't seem to work...I went into a panic mode and it was like trying to breath around a block of wood. I believe these are happening less because I now frankly avoid situations I suspect might trigger an episode. I'm confused because I don't seem to "fit" anywhere, and really, it seems more mental than physical. Either way I wish I had some answers. Thanks. Pat
3/30/10 12:31pm
this really sounds like a panic attack...they can even be triggered at the thought of something bad happening, my very first panic attack came when I was an adult and it was brought on purely by a thought of something horrible happening. Since then I've had others...although now, 10 years later, I can control things significantly better and can recognize the potential for one to begin before it actually does, and I can thrwart it. I hope this helps, panic attacks can be extremely painful and so scary.
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By patm— Last Modified: 12/25/10, First Published: 02/28/09
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Hi Pat, You are describing exactly what happens to my daughter when she is feeling extremely emotional or stressed. We first noticed that these type of attacks only happened with a combination of exercise and emotional upset but the last one was all emotional. She witnessed a close friend lose a finger in a horse riding incident and she was the only other person there. Anyway the only thing I can find about stress induced asthma is that the thing to do is practise breathing techniques and other stress management things. The yoga breathing seems to be helping a bit but I think its something that takes a bit of practise. Geneen