The Asthma

Salt Lake locals, have you seen those billboards talking about asthma with a goldfish on a white backdrop? It has the caption: I feel like a fish with no water. It is a good description, frankly. People who have asthma, holla, know all too well exactly what this billboard is talking about. Having asthma is rough, but having asthma during January in Salt Lake City is near impossible. The inversion in Utah during January can be unbearable for a person with asthma. For those without asthma, please allow me to fill you in on what it can be like.

A well controlled asthma patient will be able to function as well as almost anyone on a typical day. But when asthma is not controlled walking up the stairs can feel the same is one might feel when jogging for an extended period of time in cold weather might feel. The chest is tight and can burn when taking the slightest breath.

Taking a deep breath can be impossible. Imagine putting a thick cloth over your mouth and nose and breathing hard for a minute. After a while you will feel kind of suffocating... then you take the cloth off and breath deep where all of your lung will actually fill up. See the difference?

Controlling asthma can mean that you take a daily pill and/or use an inhaler more than once a day. Not having asthma under control means that you might do all of that PLUS use your rescue inhaler every 4-6 hours. The chemicals used to help one breathe better can also make one light headed. This is of course preferable to not being able to breathe at all.

Now take all of this and add the crappy air of a January inversion. I pray daily in January for rain or snow to clean out the air. Most people without asthma will feel a little ill during the January inversion. People with asthma have so much more to look forward to. Since our respiratory systems are already compromised it is so much worse. In some instances the gunk gets into the lungs and people with asthma cannot get enough intake of breath to cough it out. So it sits and festers (for lack of a better word.) Since the gunk does not get out the lungs they are susceptible to infection.

The way to fix this is a course of antibiotics, a steroid, and typically an albuterol breathing treatment. None of these options are particularly nice, except the breathing treatment which feels so amazing. Sometimes people with asthma have to visit the hospital more than once to clean out the lungs when this happens. It really is like being a fish out of water and trying to breathe.

So I think the solution is for insurance companies to pay for everyone in Salt Lake who has asthma to fly to Hawaii during the month of January. Clean, fresh, warm air. Just saying it is a win win win situation.