What made asthma go from mild to really bad?

[BettyBoop3]

Hello,

I have a friend who is quite sick from asthma and has recently been hospitalized twice. I'm wondering what made his asthma get so much worse?

How does it go from being fairly mild and not a problem to being so bad that he needed to be hospitalized and put on oxygen?

He is a smoker, will that affect asthma? Can it be from inhaling something like chemicals or fiberglass? Once asthma gets bad like this, is it permanent or can he get better?

Thanks very much for any information you can give me.

[National Jewish]

Asthma is a variable disease.  The basic problem is a chronic inflammation that gets better and worse at different times.  Even though people can be relatively "mild" most of the time, they can have rather severe attacks after specific triggers.  An infection is a common trigger.

There are many things that can trigger an asthma attack.  Some examples are smoking and the odors from chemicals.  Smoking can make the asthma more difficult to control.  Also smoking can cause other lung problems such as emphysema.

[starion]

Asthma & all lung conditions ARE affected by exposure to lung irritants.  Cigarette smoke is a POWERFUL lung irritant.  The other inhalants you mentioned can also irritate airways if inhaled, especially a large exposure and/or over a long term.

With proper treatment, it is possible for asthma to improve, but continued exposure to lung irritants makes it possible it will worsen.

Your friend needs to discuss these issues with his/her doctor.  S/he can get helping quitting smoking & minimizing exposure to lung irritants.  S/he can also identify other triggers which are worsening asthma & figure out how to minimize them as well.

Best of luck!
Aloha,
Starion

P.S.  You can get LOTS of good free info at www.NationalJewish.org, particularly MedFacts, AsthmaWizard and Understanding series.