Asthma sufferers and horses ?s

highlandponygirl

highlandponygirl

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Does any of you lovely horse owners/workers/riders have asthma (or know of someone who does)? If so, how does it affect you? Does it sometimes affect what you can do? Is there things that you do differently and has it ever affected your abilty to be with horses or do normal horsey related things?
 
I have bad Asthma and the only time it really affects me is if i do too much mucking out. Thankfully i have natives so they live out, and are only stabled before a show or if they're ill....
 
I have bad asthma and allergies to hay/straw/horses and dust :rolleyes: I just keep an inhaler on me at all times and take antihistamines every day - if I feel I'm suffering, I'll stop what I'm doing and hack out away from the yard which seems to ease it.
K x
 
Yes I do and its getting worse - it can affect my lessons if they are full on - I strugle if I have been brushing my fella so I try to take Antehistamines also and I carry an inhaler and use it !! Its not bad enough to stop me riding but it does affect me but I work around it


Sharon xx
 
Yes to all the above, I am on numerous inhalers and pills for asthma, and anithistimines.

I damp down hay before putting into nets, and if it gets too bad then I stop what I am doing, if I get no releif from that I find a hot steamy shower can ease the symptoms
 
No sorry don't suffer from it but jave a friend who's daughter does very serverly the only horse that she can cuddle and groom is my part bred American bashkir curly filly. There is no genetic test I can do to test for the hypoallergenic gene so I asked friend to bring daughter up and see if she has a reaction to her and she doesn't so yay :). Here's a piccy of my lovely girl :)
75a09397.jpg
 
Well, I was diagnosed with asthma when I was about 2 and I'm in my 30's now. I also get eczema and, back when I was young my eyes used to swell up too - I remember having inhalers and eye drops on me most of the time! However, I think being around horses and dogs has helped me build some immunity and, from the sounds of it I don't suffer as badly as some of the other posters. Although dust can irritate I am more directly allergic to the horse hair itself and there are times during the year it's worse than others (ie when the horses are changing their coats).

I am just more careful these days, make sure I wash my hands and get out of my horsey clothes as soon as I can. I certainly don't let my asthma affect what i want to do.
 
I was diagnosed at 7 following my first asthma attack.
Was allergy tested at the time (30yrs ago) and my main allergy was grass pollen.
On the while I manage, however I know other triggers in addition to grass pollen (i also have hay fever so a bit of a double wammy)... I'm really bad with straw, and my sensitivity gets worse if i expose myself to it, and over a couple of days can't be near it.
Our horses are on shavings which are fine.
In the summer I take Zirtek on prescription (cheaper), Flixonase nasal spray, Ventolin reliever and also a steroid preventer inhaler which makes a massive difference. I'm also meant to take a single puff of the 'preventer' inhaler in the winter, but I don't normally bother as everything settles down.
2 summers ago I was struggling with my hay fever, soothe doctor gave me the hayfever jab.
It was amazing and I was symptom free from hayfever and asthma for four weeks ... However as a rule you can only have it once so need to pick the worst time of the year for your allergies to get the most benefit.
I also wear dust masks if moving hay about / sweeping, try and groom outside and wash my hands regularily incase I touch my eyes accidentally.
 
Hello I have chronic asthma but find being out in the air and doing things around the horses has actually improved things. I have only got 75% lung capacity as well due to a very bad attack which nearly was my last. When I got my horse I was a little allergic but I am fine with him now took about 3 months to adjust. The only thing I have a problem with is shavings and very dusty hay or straw. I bed him on straw which is fine. If it is dusty I wear a dust mask and dispose of the straw as it's not good for the horse either. I must admit that the last 5 years my health is the best it has ever been.:D
 
To swellhillcottage... You may benefit from a low dose steroid inhaler for your asthma.
I read if your using a reliever inhaler (salbutemol/Ventolin) more than a couple of times a week you should be on a preventer (steroid inhaler).
They make a massive difference and only need my inhaler i've expose myself to dust / allergy triggers
 
millimoo said:
To swellhillcottage... You may benefit from a low dose steroid inhaler for your asthma.
I read if your using a reliever inhaler (salbutemol/Ventolin) more than a couple of times a week you should be on a preventer (steroid inhaler).
They make a massive difference and only need my inhaler i've expose myself to dust / allergy triggers
Click to expand...

That's what the nurse always tells me too! However, I have stopped taking the steroid preventative as (a) it gives me a very sore throat and generally makes me feel ropey and (b) it makes everything VERY expensive - ie I get two inhalers with 60 shots in of the ventolin to take as and when I am feeling wheezy but you only get ONE of the preventative inhalers for the same money and are told to take it twice a day! therefore that's only going to last 1 month at nearly, what is it now - £8 almost? It just all adds up. I guess if I ever got really bad and the reliever stopped being effective but, until then or until our prescriptions are free then I will just stick with the reliever inhaler.
 
I've had VERY severe asthma all my life. It was at its worse between the ages of 11 and 30 ish, when I had to spend enormous amounts of time in hospital, very often in the Intensive Care Unit. The official diagnosis is brittle life-threatening asthma.

I've taken everything on the market I think. I currently take three different inhalers, plus the nasal one, and several tablets, every day. I've taken large doses of oral steroids (prednisalone) for long periods of time in the past, and as a result now have osteoporosis.

Sadly for me, one of the triggers when I was young turned out to be horse allergy. I was allergic to lots of things including most animals, but especially horses and cats. At the time I worked with horses (when I was well enough), and had my own, so I refused to listen to the doctors and carried on. I was quite young. Eventually, I very nearly died, and had to admit defeat and give up.

I re-homed my lovely boy and moved away from my horsey friends. I visited my old horse just once more in his new home and as a result the whole side of my face (including my eyeball) swelled up for three days. So that was that.

For 35 years I avoided contact with horses.

Now, in my middle-age, the allergy seems to have gone! I still have asthma but not as badly and about 2 years ago I discovered horses don't make me ill any more, and booked riding lessons. In June of this year, I bought my own horse again.

The only thing I find hard is opening a new straw bale, it makes me cough. But so far, that's about it. I still take the inhalers (brown, green & blue), montelukast tablets & another antihistomine and I have steroid tablets on hand at home in case I feel I need them.

To me, it's a miracle. A chance to do again the thing I love most in life.

This winter will be a telling time, and we'll see how I cope. I have friends who'll help in an emergency but my mare's on DIY livery so it will be a lot of work. I couldn't be happier though, it's a joy to be with horses again.
 
ladyt25 said:
That's what the nurse always tells me too! However, I have stopped taking the steroid preventative as (a) it gives me a very sore throat and generally makes me feel ropey and (b) it makes everything VERY expensive - ie I get two inhalers with 60 shots in of the ventolin to take as and when I am feeling wheezy but you only get ONE of the preventative inhalers for the same money and are told to take it twice a day! therefore that's only going to last 1 month at nearly, what is it now - £8 almost? It just all adds up. I guess if I ever got really bad and the reliever stopped being effective but, until then or until our prescriptions are free then I will just stick with the reliever inhaler.
Click to expand...

You can save a lot by buying a season ticket to pay for prescriptions. I can't live without all my inhalers, eye drops, tablets etc and it's a huge saving for me paying for the whole year.
 
I also make sure I order two of every item... eg there are 30 tablets in a prescription box of Zirtek v 7 in a box from the chemist. Double that and you get 60'taets for the price of a prescription.
I'm lucky, I'm not bad enough to have to go back every month for inhalers...
 
millimoo said:
To swellhillcottage... You may benefit from a low dose steroid inhaler for your asthma.
I read if your using a reliever inhaler (salbutemol/Ventolin) more than a couple of times a week you should be on a preventer (steroid inhaler).
They make a massive difference and only need my inhaler i've expose myself to dust / allergy triggers
Click to expand...

Thankyou - I do have the orange one but quite often forget !! -



S xx
 
I have had asthmas since teens - so bad used to struggle up the stairs on a crap day. Got put on steroids etc occasionally.

Started with horses, used to have to sit down when mucking out to catch breath.....

the upshot is .......... I AM A MORON

For years I was told to take my preventative regularly - didnt like taking it - thought it was bad for me to take drugs all time but ended up living off ventolin.

I now take preventative 2 puffs twice a day - never (or hardly ever) have to use Ventolin and I can jog 4 miles, ride, do hay nets etc no probs - they only thing that still sets it off is pollution in cities.

It took me from age 13 to 30 something to come to my senses and listen to the Doctors !

WHAT A NUMPTY I AM !
 
meesha said:
I have had asthmas since teens - so bad used to struggle up the stairs on a crap day. Got put on steroids etc occasionally.

Started with horses, used to have to sit down when mucking out to catch breath.....

the upshot is .......... I AM A MORON

For years I was told to take my preventative regularly - didnt like taking it - thought it was bad for me to take drugs all time but ended up living off ventolin.

I now take preventative 2 puffs twice a day - never (or hardly ever) have to use Ventolin and I can jog 4 miles, ride, do hay nets etc no probs - they only thing that still sets it off is pollution in cities.

It took me from age 13 to 30 something to come to my senses and listen to the Doctors !






WHAT A NUMPTY I AM !
Click to expand...


I like this post!

s xx
 
meesha said:
I have had asthmas since teens - so bad used to struggle up the stairs on a crap day. Got put on steroids etc occasionally.

Started with horses, used to have to sit down when mucking out to catch breath.....

the upshot is .......... I AM A MORON

For years I was told to take my preventative regularly - didnt like taking it - thought it was bad for me to take drugs all time but ended up living off ventolin.

I now take preventative 2 puffs twice a day - never (or hardly ever) have to use Ventolin and I can jog 4 miles, ride, do hay nets etc no probs - they only thing that still sets it off is pollution in cities.

It took me from age 13 to 30 something to come to my senses and listen to the Doctors !

WHAT A NUMPTY I AM !
Click to expand...

Good for you for coming to your senses! My specialist told me there are a lot of deaths due to people only taking Ventolin and skipping the preventers. They think the brown/orange inhalers will be bad for them, but all Ventolin does is take the edge off. Sometimes when they realise the Ventolin isn't working and go for help, it's too late.

Everyone, take your preventers, please. A yearly prescription payment of just over £100 covers the expense if you're struggling.
 
It depends on your triggers. I am convinced early and continual exposure to horses has made me more resistant! For me, damp, mould, pollen to a small extent, air pollution and bizarrely, occasionally long haired cats (but not always) are the triggers, and then only if they manage to irritate my lungs enough to cause inflammation and congestion. If I lived in the south of Spain, next to the sea, I would probably have no symptoms. Otherwise I find that keeping very fit through running helps a lot as it means I have to breathe less heavily to do day to day things.

I hate taking any medications and will only take the Steroid inhaler for a few weeks at a time if bad. I am convinced it makes me fat and it gives me a tickly cough which wakes me up at night and also an annoyingly squeaky voice! (obviously though if it were more than what is basically exercise induced asthma I would take it - people can die from asthma!). And this is with using a spacer. The reliever does nothing for me except give me a racing heartbeat. But I have now got a long acting reliever (it is green) with a tiny amount of steroid in it and this one seems much more effective. You take one or two puffs in the morning and evening and it acts like a reliever all day.
 
Mithras said:
It depends on your triggers. I am convinced early and continual exposure to horses has made me more resistant! For me, damp, mould, pollen to a small extent, air pollution and bizarrely, occasionally long haired cats (but not always) are the triggers, and then only if they manage to irritate my lungs enough to cause inflammation and congestion. If I lived in the south of Spain, next to the sea, I would probably have no symptoms. Otherwise I find that keeping very fit through running helps a lot as it means I have to breathe less heavily to do day to day things.

I hate taking any medications and will only take the Steroid inhaler for a few weeks at a time if bad. I am convinced it makes me fat and it gives me a tickly cough which wakes me up at night and also an annoyingly squeaky voice! (obviously though if it were more than what is basically exercise induced asthma I would take it - people can die from asthma!). And this is with using a spacer. The reliever does nothing for me except give me a racing heartbeat. But I have now got a long acting reliever (it is green) with a tiny amount of steroid in it and this one seems much more effective. You take one or two puffs in the morning and evening and it acts like a reliever all day.
Click to expand...

If it really is mild enough to control that way, fair enough. You seem to know what works for you.

I do believe that because its application is topical (ie straight to your lungs!) the steroid dose in preventer inhalers is too small to make you put on weight. I ballooned on oral steroids but even though I'm on the maximum dose of inhaled steroids, my weight's fine now. Except when I go on a cakes and chocolates bender.
 
highlandponygirl said:
Does any of you lovely horse owners/workers/riders have asthma (or know of someone who does)? If so, how does it affect you? Does it sometimes affect what you can do? Is there things that you do differently and has it ever affected your abilty to be with horses or do normal horsey related things?
Click to expand...

Highlandponygirl, are you asthmatic yourself or just interested? You don't explain why you're asking. :)
 
FionaM12 said:
If it really is mild enough to control that way, fair enough. You seem to know what works for you.

I do believe that because its application is topical (ie straight to your lungs!) the steroid dose in preventer inhalers is too small to make you put on weight. I ballooned on oral steroids but even though I'm on the maximum dose of inhaled steroids. my weight's fine now. Except when I go on a cakes and chocolates bender.
Click to expand...

I know, I have had it all explained to me but I am sure I was putting on weight on it. It increased my appetite - I was starving all the time. OK, I wasn't fat but I was definately gaining slightly! Even so, please if you need a steroid inhaler do take it, as your experience might be different from mine, and I am a runner and probably over-vigilent about weight. I will still take the steroid inhaler if I feel I need it for a few weeks at a time again. Although the new Serevent green one seems to be all that I need. And hopefully this winter I won't get pneumonia again and not have poor inflamed, irritated lungs!
 
Mithras said:
I know, I have had it all explained to me but I am sure I was putting on weight on it. It increased my appetite - I was starving all the time. OK, I wasn't fat but I was definately gaining slightly! Even so, please if you need a steroid inhaler do take it, as your experience might be different from mine, and I am a runner and probably over-vigilent about weight. I will still take the steroid inhaler if I feel I need it for a few weeks at a time again. Although the new Serevent green one seems to be all that I need. And hopefully this winter I won't get pneumonia again and not have poor inflamed, irritated lungs!
Click to expand...

Have you had the pneumonia vaccine? It works for the most likely strain to get I believe.

When I got pneumonia, (nearly 30 years ago) it took many years for the pains in my lungs in cold weather to finally subside.
 
FionaM12 said:
Have you had the pneumonia vaccine? It works for the most likely strain to get I believe.

When I got pneumonia, (nearly 30 years ago) it took many years for the pains in my lungs in cold weather to finally subside.
Click to expand...

I'll certainly be asking my gp about it, when I get the flu vaccine this autumn. (soon be time!). I've only started to feel relatively normal again now, 6 months later but I dread the cold and most especially the damp, changeable weather again.

Has anyone tried salt cave therapy for asthma? I do think it also helps quite a bit but its expensive.
 
FionaM12 said:
Good for you for coming to your senses! My specialist told me there are a lot of deaths due to people only taking Ventolin and skipping the preventers. They think the brown/orange inhalers will be bad for them, but all Ventolin does is take the edge off. Sometimes when they realise the Ventolin isn't working and go for help, it's too late.

Everyone, take your preventers, please. A yearly prescription payment of just over £100 covers the expense if you're struggling.
Click to expand...

OMG YES! As a life-time sufferer, I agree, PLEASE PLEASE take the preventer. Ask the doc to put more on the prescription if you need to, and get an annual one to save costs.
As above, if you only take Ventolin, you'll end up taking more and more, and getting strange lightheaded feelings and eventually they seem to work less, so you take even more.
The inhaled steroids DO NOT enter your blood stream, so will not produce any steroid-type effects. Only taking tablets will do this. (My poor mum has paper-thin skin becasue of being on tablets too long)
Taking own-brand anti-histamines can also help (I had an allergy to hay & straw as well as my horse) and are so cheap these days. I get mine from Asda, about £1 for 14 I think.
The biggest difference for me was when I started keeping my horse out 24/7 and used haylage. Even though he had previously been on shavings, and I soaked his hay, the difference when he lived out was amazing.
 
Meant to say I always get 2 per prescription for price of one prescription.

I have 1 cat, 1 dog, 2 horses - have hay made out of own field NONE of that sets it off if on the preventative !
 
meesha said:
Meant to say I always get 2 per prescription for price of one prescription.

I have 1 cat, 1 dog, 2 horses - have hay made out of own field NONE of that sets it off if on the preventative !
Click to expand...

But surely prescription charges are per item, so every inhaler is charged seperately? Mine certainly are. However if you're on tablets you can ask the doctor to prescribe larger amounts which will still be counted as one item.
 
FionaM12 said:
Highlandponygirl, are you asthmatic yourself or just interested? You don't explain why you're asking. :)
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Sorry i coudn't respond sooner 'computer said no' (grrr, hate when that happens)
I do have asthma. Like many of the other posts, i'v had it since i was 8/9. Unfortunately i had to give horses a miss for a few years (gutted :( )
The last year and a half though i'v started riding again and now i feel like i'm the healthiest i'v ever been; i keep fit, execise, eat healthily (most of the time,:p mmm pizza) and i take all the medication vaccinations i need. So i'm now at the point where i'm considering having a horse on loan and i suppose i was just looking for reasurance that i'm not the only one and it's not impossible to have horse and asthma.
 
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