Asthma & little hairs on end

Factual Questions
1

Here’s one I’d like to take a poll on! My wife is asthmatic, and she says she can feel the little hairs on her back stand on end just prior to an asthma attack. Anyone else experience this or something like it?

More fun than two centipedes at a toe-counting contest - Foghorn Leghorn

2

I haven’t noticed but I will see next time I get one.

3

I don’t know of any association, but can specualate:

The parasympathetic nervous system secretes acetyl-choline to cause the effects (slower heart rate, narrowed airways, increased GI motility, goose bumps/hair on end, among many others).

If an asthma attack is triggered by a general activation of the parasympathetic system, I could understand why both wheezing & hairs-on-end would occur more or less simultaneously.

Your wife should mention this to her doc, and might want to inquire if a blocker of acetyl-choline called Atrovent might be useful in preventing her asthma attacks.

Sue from El Paso

Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.

4

No, it’s never happened to me. Might it be that the fear of another attack makes her hair react so? It could be anxiety on her part.

But trust Dr. Sue’s professional opinion before resorting to my amateur one.

Do you know what brand of inhaler she uses? If so, how effective is it?

5

She uses Preventil inhaler which typically is effective, but not always. This is NOT meant to endorse or refute any product! There are soooo many variables involved here that invoke a wheeze to start.

Stick with your doctor’s advice!

I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy - Hawkeye 4077th

6

A person having regular asthma attacks should not be treated with an Proventil inhaler alone. Combivent, a combination Proventil/Atrovent inhaler has been available for some time. However, this is intended as a “rescue” inhaler. Most asthma can be easily controlled with inhaled anti-inflammatories like Flovent or Aerobid, used with a Serevent inhaler.

7

Here’s some recent discussion on different kinds of inhalers from the Cecil’s columns forum:
http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000410.html

As always, what works for one person may or may not work for another person. If you have questions about which of many different types of asthma meds are right for you, please consult with your doctor.

Sue from El Paso

Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.