Alastair

Age at interview: 31

Age at diagnosis: 10

Brief Outline: Alastair, age 31, was diagnosed with asthma at age 10. He is white British, married and works in the police force. Before diagnosis, Alastair found himself getting breathless during or after playing sports. The doctor prescribed a preventer and reliever inhaler. He only experiences symptoms during the summer and describes his asthma as mild.

More about me...

Alastair was diagnosed with asthma when he was 10 after finding he was getting breathless when playing sports. He was prescribed a preventer and reliever inhaler which worked well to relieve the symptoms. He only ever experiences symptoms in the summer months between June and August and he is aware that his asthma is hay fever related although he doesn’t know what the actual trigger is. He usually finds that symptoms appear in the mornings and evenings. He uses the inhalers during the months that he experiences symptoms but has tended not to use them all year round because he never gets asthma during the winter months. He describes his asthma as mild and an annoyance, rather than something that interferes with his life too much. When he wakes up in summer he will often have difficulty breathing and so takes his inhaler on waking, and at night time before bed and will additionally use the reliever inhaler as and when it is needed. He doesn’t have asthma ‘attacks’ but just a general feeling of discomfort until the medication kicks in. Exercise is another trigger but still only in summer. He isn’t prevented from taking exercise by his asthma, but may have to take the reliever inhaler half way through.

Alastair goes for a regular asthma review on an annual basis with the asthma nurse, but generally these days he feels in control of his asthma.

Alastair has mild asthma that only affects him during the summer months. He treats it with an inhaler.

I’ve never had an asthma attack as such. You hear about people have like a heavy asthma attack and not being able to breathe at all. Mine is just annoying. You know, it will sort of graduate up to the point where it’s just uncomfortable and without an inhaler that uncomfortable feeling lasts, you know, it could be a, you know, a couple of hours. But using the inhaler will stop it and until the next either dawn or dusk when it comes back on again. Or exercise during the summer as well.

Will make it worse?
 
Yes, but that’s usually a strange one. I’ll exercise for say ten minutes and also running for ten fifteen minutes and I won’t have a problem but as soon as I stop my asthma will kick in and then I have to use the inhaler and then I’ll be able to carry on again.

Alastair got very breathless during cross country running at school.

I think we did, we did a run sort of once a week at school, a sort of cross country run for sports, and I could keep up with everyone until a certain period when I started having problems breathing. I didn’t obviously have a clue what it was. I think there was another kid in my class that did have asthma, but his appeared completely different. It was a case of he’d have asthma attacks. Obviously I didn’t get those so I had no sort of knowledge that’s what it was. But I do remember sitting with the doctor and my parents and the doctor telling my Mum well it looks as if he’s got asthma and you know, describing the medication.

When Alastair’s asthma was diagnosed he was given medication and asked to record his peak flow measurement for a period of time.

Well the first thing I knew about getting asthma was I was ten years old, and I was having trouble, we were doing cross country at school and I was having trouble with my breathing. So after about six months of this happening my parents took me to the GP and from what I can remember I was told that I had asthma. I was given two pumps. I think one was Beconase and the other one was Ventolin. And at being ten at time I can’t really remember too much about it. I remember being given a... it measures the volume of your lungs when you blow into it.

A peak flow meter.

A peak flow meter yes, and having to do a graph and chart and things like that.

Alastair’s asthma is triggered by hay fever. He uses a preventive inhaler from May onwards, and it never gets really bad. Exercise can trigger it too.

Generally what happened was, my asthma came about in the summer and tapered off towards the end of the summer and was nonexistent through most of the winter until sort of the end of the spring time. At which point I was told that it was hay-fever related. And ever since then, over the years it’s got better and got worse, its fluctuated without the need of sort of apparent sort of any reason. But it’s always stuck to sort of about mid June to mid August, I’ll get asthma and it will be at dawn and the dusk. So during the middle of the day it’s probably fine. But as soon as the sun rises essentially, as soon as the sun rises and the morning when I’m asleep I have difficulty breathing, I have to use an inhaler. I usually try and use the, the brown inhaler sort of a month before I know I’m going to get the symptoms, so you know, May. I start using it then and try and use it all the way through. I’m probably supposed to use it on an annual, you know, all the time, but kind of when it goes away you think you don’t need it. So… I stop using it when my asthma stops and then I start using the brown one when it kicks in again the next year. And use the blue inhaler as and when I need it. So it’s quite mild.

I’ve never had an asthma attack as such. You hear about people have like a heavy asthma attack and not being able to breathe at all. Mine is just annoying. You know, it will sort of graduate up to the point where it’s just uncomfortable and without an inhaler that uncomfortable feeling lasts, you know, it could be a, you know, a couple of hours. But using the inhaler will stop it and until the next either dawn or dusk when it comes back on again. Or exercise during the summer as well.

Will make it worse?

Yes, but that’s usually a strange one. I’ll exercise for say ten minutes and also running for ten fifteen minutes and I won’t have a problem but as soon as I stop my asthma will kick in and then I have to use the inhaler and then I’ll be able to carry on again.

Alastair has told his employers that he has asthma, but it hasn’t affected his work life.

Does your asthma ever interfere with your work life at all?

No, not at all.

You just take your inhalers to work with you do you?

No. Yes, I’m office based so no it doesn’t affect working life.

Sometimes people have to have fitness test or health checks for work. Is it something that you would tell your work place about?

Yes. Yes. I always tell them. I don’t see any, you know, reason not to. I think quite a lot of people have the same thing. I think it’s reasonably well understood. Although I am a mild sufferer so I don’t know if it is for more severe sufferers but may be for sick leave and things like that. I’ve never had to take sick leave because of asthma.