Just when the weather warms up enough for folks to enjoy the outdoors, thousands of Minnesotans may find that the season makes it hard to breathe. Heavy pollen counts can make spring the worst season for asthma, a chronic inflammatory (swelling) disease of the airways.

Asthma is not strictly considered a seasonal disorder because it can be set off by so many things, including viral infections, dust mites, pet fur, mold and smoke. But it does have some hefty summertime triggers: pollen, ozone and exercise.

About 15.7 million adults and 6.5 million children in the United States have asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Minnesota, more than 400,000 people suffer from asthma, including 80,000 children, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. 

Dctors find many people simply don't know how to manage their asthma or keep it under control. And some may not even recognize that they have the condition.

About 18 months ago, Mattie Mitchell, a Rush City resident, sat next to someone on an airplane who coughed and sneezed all the way home. It was no surprise to Mattie when, a few days later, she came down with a cold. It didn’t get better and, after two months, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Medication took care of it, but pretty soon she was sick again.

“I kept having to go back to the doctor—I would call and say, “Hello, it’s me again,” Mattie says now, laughing. But Mattie didn’t think it was funny at the time.

Over the next year, Mattie couldn’t shake recurrent bouts of pneumonia, bronchitis and sinus infections. Her physician diagnosed asthma as the underlying cause for her recurrent infections.

In patients with asthma, the inside walls of airways become inflamed and swollen. The airways become very sensitive and react to triggers, such as viral infections, stress, exercise and allergens (pollens, dust, animal dander) or irritations (strong odors, fumes or smoke). When the airways react, they get narrower, less air flows through to the lungs and more mucus is produced, causing symptoms like wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and trouble breathing.

Mattie’s physician prescribed an inhaler, but after the bronchitis symptoms disappeared, Mattie didn’t continue using the medication. “I didn’t take it seriously,” she said. “After the bronchitis was gone, I blew off the inhaler.”

But shortly after, Mattie got sick again. “I thought I was never going to get over it,” Mattie said. “I was so tired, because I was sick all the time,” Mattie said. “I couldn’t catch my breath after going up just one flight of steps.”

Mattie was sick of being sick. This time, Mattie saw Dr. Therese Durkin, family medicine physician at Fairview Rush City Clinic. Mattie said Dr. Durkin made her understand how serious asthma is, and referred her to Fairview Lakes’ asthma education program.

Mattie met with Jackie Cummings, a respiratory care practitioner and certified asthma educator. With Jackie’s help, Mattie learned what asthma is, how to identify and avoid her asthma triggers and the importance of properly using the medications and monitoring her symptoms.

“Jackie put it all in perspective,” says Mattie. Jackie helped Mattie understand that monitoring her symptoms is crucial to living an active life with few or infrequent symptoms. Jackie set up an asthma action plan just for Mattie to help her identify early warning signs of an asthma episode and to monitor the effectiveness of treatment. At her six-month checkup, Mattie reported a big change in her health. “It’s a day-and-night difference. For almost a year, I wasn’t able to do much of anything,” Mattie said. “I had no energy—I wanted to sleep all the time. I was breathing heavy after going up just one flight of steps. Now I have so much energy I don’t want to sleep, and I have no problem getting up that same set of stairs.”

Mattie attributes her change of health to following her asthma action plan. She says, “I know my triggers, and I continually monitor my symptoms. I know when an asthma episode is coming so I can get out of it before it gets bad.” She said she hasn’t had an episode in the last six months, which she considers remarkable for someone who missed almost a month of work because of illness last year.

Jackie and other certified asthma educators see patients at Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Wyoming, and at Fairview Rush City Clinic. For more information, contact Respiratory Care at Fairview Lakes Health Services at 651-982-7945.

Often costly, life-threatening;
Asthma is more than a nuisance

According to the American Lung Association:

• In the United States, 15.7 million Americans currently have asthma, including an estimated 6.5 million children under the age of 18.
• Asthma accounted for nearly 500,000 hospitalizations and 1.8 million emergency department visits across the country in 2004. 
• In 2003, 4,099 people died of asthma. 
• Nationwide, asthma costs $16.1 billion per year, including indirect costs of lost school and work days.

Jackie Cummings, respiratory care practitioner and certified asthma educator for Fairview Lakes Health Services, says that if you have asthma, there are some things that you can do to lower your chances of having an asthmatic episode:

• Learn about your asthma and how to control it. 
• Avoid things (triggers and irritants) that make your asthma worse. 
• Use medications correctly as directed by your health care provider. 
• Use your peak flow meter and follow your asthma action plan. 
• Get regular check ups from your health care provider.