Results from PFT

[QuickQuestion795]

Hi.
I am a healthy woman in my early 30s.  I have a history of seasonal allergies and for the past several weeks have been having a sligh tight feeling in my chest accompanied by mild shortness of breath.  I have no actual trouble breathing or wheezing or anything like that and I run 6 miles several days a week with no problems at all.  The symptoms are not brought on by exertion.  I had a PFT done this morning and the results said Borderline Obstruction and small improvement after Albuterol.  I do not have a history of asthma.  I have a follow-up appnt tomorrow to discuss results.  Is it possible to show a "borderline obstruction" on the spirometry test and be considered "normal?"  Can allergies cause this slight chest tightness?  Thanks.

[Tammy2009]

Defintely see what your doctor thinks.  A "small" improvement on albuterol might mean very mild asthma which you don't need to medicate unless you are having symptoms.  

If can get worse or time so just watch your symptoms.  Recording any increase in shortness of  breath or chest tightness and activity and allergy triggers from that day may help.  

Allergy shots are a god sent!!  I'm almost at my maintence dose (would already be on it if my arm would stop getting a 5-10" swelling from the stuid shot) but about 90% of my symptoms are completely gone.  I'm allergic to cats and dust mites.  After allergy testing when I found out it was my two cats and not the grass I thought I was reacting too, both cats got daily brushing, weekly water baths and weekly rub down with a product to get rid of the dander proteins.  If I tried to push their baths by a couple of days I would pay with sneezing, chest tightness, red swollen eyes etc.  My one cat I realized, was making me red and itchy everytime I petted her.

After 8 months of the shots, I can rub my face in both cats, who have not had a bath since July and only get mildly red and itchy eyes.  Totally worth the pain of weekly shots.  Now just to get the swelling down from them so I don't sleep the whole next day from a 20-40mg dose of reactine.  

[Victoireh]

I think it depends on what is "normal" for you. These pulmonary function tests use numbers that are based on population averages. My FEV1 numbers are often well over 120%, and the next person may have a FEV1 of 85% and still be considered normal. It depends on the size of your lungs. I have a huge set of lungs for a person my size, but my asthma gives me a great deal of trouble with outdoor running during the winter time (thanks to cold air). Considering you can run with no problems is certainly indicative of healthy lungs. It might be that you have smaller lungs, and are maybe experiencing some obstruction, just enough to feel some chest tightness and shortness of breath.

You would have to discuss this with your doctor to see what treatment is required or if further testing is needed to determine the cause of your shortness of breath/chest tightness. You do have a history of seasonal allergies which is strongly linked to asthma. Not saying that everyone with allergies has asthma, but there is strong connection between the two.

Yes allergies can also bring on the symptoms you are describing. If you are finding your seasonal allergies rather bothersome, then perhaps you should consider allergy shots as a part of your treatment plan. It is an excellent way to desensitize your immune system and as a result you can experience little or no symptoms. About 75% of people get relief from allergy shots. I found it worked excellent on my daughter's airborn allergies.