Do you think this could be asthma? Please help?

Question

I decided to join cross country at school this year. I began running in the summer before school to prepare myself. Every time i ran i had to stop after like 15 minutes because i started breathing really heavy. 2 days ago at our first cross country practice i started breathing so heavily after only about 2 or 3 minutes of running. We only ran for like 10 minutes. I had to walk most of it. I had really bad shortness of breath and it got to the point where i would breath in then out and i would make this squealing sound when breathed out. I got some chest pains. I finished last. Same thing happened at my 2nd practice yesterday. I know just getting over a cold can cause that but i haven't had a cold in at least a year. I wasnt born with asthma but can't you develop it over time? I do have allergies and they are pretty bad. I heard that allergies can cause the development of asthma. I'm 13 years old. I weigh about 105lbs. im like 5'4. I've tried to tell my mom so she can take me to the doctors but shes not getting the hint. And if i told her i thought i had asthma she would flip on me and say i didnt. So, Do you think it is possible that i have developed this or no?

Answer 1

you might have asthma, or a heart condition, you should go to the doctor and get it checked out.

Answer 2

Okay, several questions there. I will try to answer each one. And I will also answer a question or two you didn't ask. :-)

Does what you have sound like asthma? Yes it does. Specifically, that squealing or whistling sound when you exhale is a pretty strong signal you have asthma, since most other lung diseases don't cause that sound. It is called "wheezing," and it is usually louder when you exhale.

In fact, people with asthma often have a harder time exhaling than inhaling. You might keep an eye out for that.

Can you develop asthma over time? Yes you can. I developed asthma when I was about nine, but other people develop it in their teens or even when they are adults.

Here's a bit more info about asthma. It is not caused by germs, and it can't be spread from person to person. So your teammates have nothing to worry about. When it gets hard to breathe and you make that whistling noise, that is called an "asthma attack". (But if you have asthma, you have it all the time, whether or not you are actually having an attack at the moment.) That condition is also called "bronchospasm". (There are tiny muscles in your lungs that control the size of tiny little passages called "bronchioles." When those muscles tighten up or "spasm", that is what makes it hard to exhale.)

Attacks can be triggered by exercise (especially sudden exercise), cold air, air pollution, allergies or a cold. So to prevent attacks, people sometimes warm up a bit before exercising, wearing a scarf or something over their mouth, wearing some kind of filter mask on their face to keep out pollution or pollen, and that kind of thing. And by the way, it turns out that "impact" exercise like running, tennis, soccer and the like are more likely to cause asthma attacks. Sports like bicycling or swimming might be better (but the chlorine in pools sometimes bothers some asthmatics. It is better in outdoor pools.)

There are also drugs that work very well to prevent or deal with attacks. The drugs are usually inhaled from a little device that looks a little like a tiny spray can called an "inhaler." Some people just take one drug that helps get rid of the wheezing when you are having an attack (it is called a "bronchodilator"). But many people (like me) also take a second drug that helps prevent the wheezing in the first place. That second drug might be a "corticosteroid" or something called "cromolyn sodium." Both are very safe, even if you take them for years, but since you are young, they might give you cromolyn sodium.

Lastly, since allergies can trigger asthma, they might give you something to deal with your allergies. They might give you pills or a nasal spray.

You can read more about asthma here.

http://www.webmd.com/asthma/default.htm

Asthma is really common nowadays, and nobody is sure why. But it isn't a terrible disease once you get it medicated, and many serious athletes have asthma (like myself!)

Now, about your mother. You are too young to go to a doctor yourself, so you need to get your mother or father to take you in. So how do you do that? Here are my thoughts.

First, you don't have to tell her you have asthma. You can just say you are having trouble breathing, or something like that. You don't have to tell her you need to go to the doctor. Just tell her every time you have trouble breathing. Eventually she might see that it is not something that will go away.

Second, it would help if another adult could report the same thing to her. So when you actually are wheezing, tell the coach or the school nurse, or any teacher or counselor. If you want, you can tell them the situation with your mother. Nearly every adult at school knows what asthma is, and they will see that you aren't faking it or anything.

Third, it might help if she could actually see you having an asthma attack. That might be hard to make happen, but at least you shouldn't hide it from her. If you are really in trouble, you can call her and have her pick you up. It will be obvious to her from the way you are talking that you are having some issues.

And just so you know, if you ever get faint or your hands start tingling, or if people say your lips or fingertips under the nails are turning blue, get help right away. Those are signs that you are running low on oxygen and are about to faint. You can call 911 and say you are having trouble breathing, and they will send somebody to help you. Don't worry about making a big deal out of it, or costing a lot of money. That situation is pretty serious, and you need help RIGHT AWAY. No kidding.

Well I hope that helps! Take care! Good luck!