This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of a Canadian leading research based pharmaceutical company. All opinions are 100% mine.
My husband has had mild asthma for as long as I’ve known him. It’s never really been a constant thing, but he would occasionally have a flare-up and need to use his inhalers for a few weeks to calm things down. I admit, I’ve never known enough about asthma to question this infrequent use of inhalers, but over time I’ve noticed some patterns, and I’ve noticed that his occasional flare-ups and asthma attacks aren’t as infrequent as they used to be.
My husband has always been a cardio type of guy. He loves his stationary recumbent bike, and in the spring, summer, and fall, he loves to go for runs. His favourite place in the world to run is up in Muskoka, in the area surrounding his family’s cottage, but he is happy to run in the city when he’s not up there.
The one challenge is his asthma. Now, he’s not the type of asthma sufferer who could have an attack at any time. His asthma is generally induced by illness, heavy exercise, and sometimes heavy pollution. Those last two are a bad combination in the summertime. Sometimes, he’ll end off a particularly long or hard run on a humid day with a few puffs from his inhaler. In fact, he’ll often choose not to run on days when we have a pollution watch in effect in our city, because his asthma symptoms and flare ups.
The other time his asthma can give him trouble is when he gets sick. That also used to be a less frequent situation, but since we have kids who are now in school and daycare, the whole family gets sick and passes the same cold back and forth for months at a time. I recover rather quickly, but my husband? He needs to use his inhalers for weeks on end, once he gets sick.
So today, I had him visit AsthmaTest.ca and take the 30 Second Asthma Test. At first, he looked at me in annoyance and said, “Do I have to type anything?” I shook my head emphatically, and watched him start the test, grudgingly.
Turns out, his asthma might not be as well controlled as we thought. He experiences wheezing, coughing or tightness in his chest 4 or more days a week, and so it looks like I’m going to be getting him to visit our family doctor to show his results and discuss the situation further.
I have to admit: I’m surprised at the results. I thought things were under control. I would encourage anyone reading this story to visit AsthmaTest.ca to take the 30 Second Asthma Test yourself, and consult your doctor about the results. It might save your life. And tell your friends and family about the test and encourage them to take it as well. Because it might save someone else’s life, too.
