What does it mean when a doctor tells you your chest is tight?

[Bran_Bran]

I had asthma as a child in elementry, but when we moved cross country it stopped bugging me. 10 years later my family and I have moved back across the country to where I did elementry. Now that we are back my asthma has also returned. The climate is much dryer here then where I spent the last 10 years.

Today I saw specialist about my asthma and he told me my chest is tight and gave me Symbicort Turbuhaler. I looked all the information I could on the inhailer, but I am still unsure what he means by my chest is tight.

When my asthma bothered me as a child I was too off in my own world to understand what it meant. I just knew my mum told me I had to use this puffer. So my self knoweledge on asthma is not that great.

Thank you in advance for your responce.

[Tammy2009]

If you are still having problems after the week go back to the doctor and ask for advice.  This is what they did to me too, possible asthma so I got advair inhaler to try .... Problem was I didn't get the ventolin rescue and needed it during a test, got very light headed and couldn't breathe.  

So keep a close eye.

You might even want to go back in after that week and get the doctor to double check your lungs sound better before you stop the inhaler.  

[Bran_Bran]

The inhaler he gave is helping thankfully. But I am only suppose to use it for a week so what I am suppose to do after that I am unsure, hoping to be able to ask him. He did not give me another inhaler. I did do some form of breathing test at the beginning of the appointment though.

[Tammy2009]

"Tight" tends to be more of symptom an asthmatic feels - normally due to the inflammation in the lungs making it a bit harder to breathe.  The doctor probably heard very mild wheezing and that is why he said "tight".

I hope he also gave you a ventolin inhaler to use when you are symptomatic, you will need this if your asthma is indeed back.  You should start to breath easier with the symbicort, if nothing changes I would ask for a methacholine challenge to prove that is indeed asthma that is back.