Not another statistic: The story of living with Asthma

By Yolanda Romero
Staff Writer

There is no air coming through my lungs. My chest feels tighter and tighter, and finally I panic.

My awakening call came in late January, just doing a little too much in the house and of course worrying about everything. Asthma attacks me hard. It was so hard that in my mind I wasn’t going to make it back home to my daughters. I was hospitalized for a couple of days and that’s when I said to myself, “If I don’t control my asthma, it will get me one day.” What is asthma? Asthma is a chronic disease in which the lining of the airways in the lungs become inflamed and swollen. Attacks occur when certain factors trigger a reaction (see sidebar, “Asthma triggers”).

My first attack occurred when I was 8 years old. My parents thought it was pneumonia and were very worried. But when the doctor told them it was asthma, they were even more concerned because they didn’t know too much about the disease. I had attacks every three month until I was 15. After age 15, asthma came and went. As I got older, it seemed to become more permanent. Asthma is very common in New York City, and even moreso in neighborhoods like the South Bronx, East and Central Harlem, and Central Brooklyn. A survey done in 2002 by the New York City Department of Health found that about 700,000 adults and 300,000 children in New York have been diagnosed with asthma. In adults, it is more common in women than men, and Hispanics have the highest asthma rates in New York City.

The symptoms of asthma can be either mild or severe. If an attack is not taken care of quickly enough, it can be very dangerous—even resulting in death. Attacks start with a cold, coughing, wheezing, or tightness in the chest. If you do not have any medication, the faster you can go to the emergency room, the better.

Personally, this disease has limited me from doing so much, and the inability to do what I want is very depressing at times. Of course, there are treatments and ways to prevent asthma.

First of all, work with a doctor to make sure you are taking the right medication. Preventive medicine helps stop asthma episodes from occurring. There are many different types of asthma medication, from those that prevent attacks to those that quickly manage attacks, such as inhalers. Second, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, advises that the best way to manage asthma is to avoid triggers.

Third, avoid common asthma irritants such as dust, smoke, and cold air. In summary, do not let asthma control you. Instead, manage your asthma. Ask your doctor about any local support groups, or call or visit one of the following resources: Allergy and Asthma Network/Mothers of Asthmatics (800)878-4403, http://www.aanma.org/breatherville.htm American Lung Association (800) LUNG-USA.