Upper respiratory infection vs. Reactive airway dysfunction

If someone has just recently had an upper respiratory infection, could they misdiagnose them next week with having reactive airway dysfunction? This person has shown no previous signs of asthma and has been very active their whole life.

[sue661902]

Twenty years ago I began to occassionaly (1 times a year) get shortness of breath several days after I started with a head or chest cold.   These colds mimicked what my co-workers were dealing with, not unique to myself.      

As I have aged the shortness of breath requires a more agressive treatment and three years ago required a hospitalization and that is when I received  the diagnosis of RAD.   I am now in the care of a Respiratory specialist.   We have tried to link the onset with exposure to some envormental irritant but can not.  

My Question: can my RAD be triggered by a virus and not an enviromental irritant?  

The onset of this ailment has remained the same over the last twenty years, (1) 3 days of a head or chest cold (2) day four no shortness of breath but presence of dysphonia (3) within 24 hours shortness of breath begins to appear and will take 7 - 10 days to return to full function