Reader question: With asthma to Thailand

Hello Pat,
I have had asthma for 40 years and have been coming to Thailand for 10 years now. In the first years I did not experience any difference with Holland. I just had to make sure my puff stayed cool (below 25 gr). The last 2 years, I am now 71, I have to double my puffs, 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening (seretide 25/250) can now function normally..up stairs, cycling, good seesaw. (100 m in 13 sec is not possible, but that was not possible in the past either). That is my experience, but it may be different for everyone.
Regards Adrian

pat,
I myself have COPD (similar to asthma), have been living in Thailand for 6 years and have
not bothered by anything. Don't even take my medicines every day, something I do in the Netherlands
had to do every day. Of course it depends on where you are going.
A month in Bangkok does not seem advisable to me.

Of course I cannot judge the nature and seriousness of your asthma, I myself have had asthma for years.
We stay in Thailand 2 months a year, and I feel much fitter there than in the Netherlands.
I use inhalers daily, of course on the advice of the doctor
Bangkok is not healthy for asthma patients, too much smog, so fly directly to the north or south. My advice is to consult a doctor or pulmonologist for the right medication and look carefully where you are going in Thailand. (avoid cities with a lot of hum and car traffic)
Asthma is not pleasant, but fortunately it is not the end of the world.
You can still enjoy beautiful Thailand.

Hi Pat,

I've been an expert on this for years. (almost 56 years of asthmatic bronchitis) My personal experience is that the max first day you will have a feeling of extra pressure on the chest and a little more shortness of breath than at home. Yes, the humidity can also play tricks on you, but it doesn't have to. I myself have had a pump for years that I (deliberately) use incidentally to prevent habituation.
You actually don't have a shortage of air at all, but "too much" because you can't blow out enough through that thin straw, but this aside.
My asthma was such that I spent a lot of time in sanatoria and hospitals until I got a pulmonologist who taught me a trick (which worked perfectly for me) when I had an asthma attack again, actually just as simple as logical.
Comes to set up an attack, leave the situation you are in, find a quiet place and focus on one point on the ground, for example. Put your 2 hands on your stomach, concentrate only on your hands and a spot on the floor, for example, and start breathing in and out slowly at one pace as best you can. You have to get the hang of it but it really helps.
I was taught this “trick” when I was 33 years old….this was also the last time I had a severe asthma attack. It is of course smart to do this exercise if you do not have an asthma attack, for example. I do this exercise daily for 30 minutes benefit of clear head and better breathing. Since then I have traveled everywhere including countries with high humidity.

Don't let that stop you and enjoy (and you know we from the asthma club almost all have a strong mint candy with us structurally.)

I wish you a lot of fun in Thailand

Also asthma myself. Bangkok is tough for me. Notice the pollution from day 3. In Bangkok I use double the dose. A few days at the seaside and I feel better again. No problems with humidity. But that can differ per person. Don't let asthma stop you from visiting beautiful Thailand.

I am quite severely asthmatic, I live in Asia, but not in Thailand (a country I do know).

Allergy and asthma often go hand in hand. Since it is often impossible to determine what someone is allergic to, asthma attacks can occur at the most unexpected moments. If and how you respond to Thailand regarding this part of my answer, probably no one can answer. You will be dealing with other substances in the air, with other foodstuffs. That can be right there for you

In my opinion, it is not so much the heat that makes an asthmatic's life more difficult, but the humidity and temperature fluctuations. In asthma, the lungs have a hard time getting the oxygen from the air. Understandable because the lungs are full of mucus in asthma. In a climate with high humidity

I also have asthma on the Jomtien coast, wonderful here. Sea air, from November to March wonderful.

Hello, I have COPD (a form of asthma named after asthma for (ex)smokers). I normally have an air inhaler that widens the airways. I also have a special inhaler for when things suddenly go less well. Everything is available from your pulmonologist (general practitioner). I don't know exactly where you will be staying in Thailand, but in large cities such as Bangkok or Pattaya you have, or can suffer from shortness of breath, due to the hot / humid climate and very polluted air from mopeds / buses, etc. ( you also see a lot of mouth caps so as not to get too much polluted air in)
Definitely worth asking your doctor what you can get for medicines. I just take it easy outside of my medication (it's vacation) so adjusting is a first requirement. I go back every year, so it's doable. (I have a total lung capacity of only 40%)

have fun in beautiful thailand.

pat,

I also have to puff Symbicort daily (besides even more). It does help me. So good, in fact, that the puffer is often sufficiently effective even in emergency situations. In that case I take a puff or more. They are small grains that you ingest. Sit quietly, and inhale as deeply as possible while puffing. By the way, you don't feel those granules enter.

It is advisable to always drink, eat or simply rinse your mouth after puffing. This is to prevent white spots in the mouth (especially on the tongue). Furthermore, Symbicort gives me very easy bruises even if I have only slightly bumped myself.

Finally, I advise you to ask the pulmonologist what you can do best if you really get into trouble. I was given the necessary Predniso(lo)n at the time. That in itself is a horse remedy. I hate it because it gives me panic attacks, but sometimes there's just no other way. Necessity then breaks law. However, the pulmonologist must clearly indicate how much of it you can swallow and – this is incredibly important – how you should reduce the dose of Prednis(ol)one. This is never allowed all at once (unless it is an extremely low dose, which is never the case in an emergency situation).