Can asthma cause PTSD?

 

I think most people have heard of or know what PTSD is -  but for those who don't, Mayo Clinic describes it this way:

"Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event."

 How can you get PTSD from asthma? 

Well, for those of us with asthma, not being able to breathe is a terrifying event!

Over the last 20 years, we have had our share of traumatic events. Daughter Kitty and Son #2 were in the hospital 12 times for asthma - and two of those were ICU!

When you see the hospital staff panicking trying to take care of your child, you panic!

Most of the hospitalizations for my kids were caused by pneumonia, but there was an ICU admission for Son #2 due to smoke from a nearby forest fire. No matter what I did, nothing helped him. Breathing treatments weren't working, the air purifiers keeping some of the smoke out of the house, but  he was getting worse.

 I put on my flashers and sped to the regional hospital because I knew Son #2 was going to be admitted - and I wanted him on the pediatric ward. The look on the faces of the nurse, doctor and respiratory therapist was frightening. And his stay in ICU was a nail biter.

PTSD strikes!

Shortly after that time, we had another forest fire. I carefully watched the valley to watch for smoke. Slowly, the valley (and our house) started to fill up with smoke. Even with all of the air purifiers in each room, it wasn't helping. 

My heart started pounding as I remembered Son #2's last ICU visit. I dropped everything and threw supplies in suitcases and drove to the school to get my kids. I was shocked to smell the smoke in their schools too.

By this time, my asthma was acting up. My eyes were burning, I had a headache, my throat was sore, and I was struggling to breathe. 

I hopped on the interstate, planning to drive 5 hours to a family member's house. We were stuck in the smoke for almost an hour before we broke through - but the sight of clean air made my mama heart sing!

We made it safely to family's house and our lungs could recover in the clean air. Our lungs were still cranky, my heart was still pounding, and my hands were still shaking. But we made it!

PTSD strikes again! 

Fast forward 20 years and my kids are all college aged. We had another forest fire (not surprising with an ongoing drought.) We watched the water drops all day and were hoping the fire would move UP the mountain instead of down toward the valley. 

I went to bed feeling safe. The fire was moving away and the firefighters seemed to have the upper hand. Phew!

Not so fast - I woke up to smoke on the main level of our house the next morning. My heart started pounding and I was having flashbacks to having my son in the hospital. I gathered up all of the air purifiers and put them on the main level of the house. Within an hour or so, the smoke was gone. 

I checked on all of my kids and they were far enough away that their apartments didn't have any smoke. It took a while, by my heart finally started beating normally.

If you have had a scary experience with asthma, talk to a friend, coworker or family member. It helps to talk it out and have a sympathetic ear! Even if we can't get a comforting hug right now.

If your PTSD is affecting your daily functions, talk to a counselor. It's okay, we all need a little help from time to time! 💓