Shifting Schedules and How it Triggered My Asthma

I work in a company that operates 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. To meet client requirements we shift schedules from morning to afternoon and to the night shift and so on. However, with the hot summer weather and my recent shift to a morning schedule triggered my asthma. It was so severe that I had to be admitted to a hospital.

Asthma attack can happen anytime and even if you have maintenance medicines. This is especially true when you encounter triggers or allergens such as dust, smoke and rapid changes in temperature. I am used to most of these triggers and it takes a lot for my asthma to come back but with the changes in temperature and my body's adjustment to the new schedule, it sure affected me and my asthma came back with a vengeance.

Our office is air-conditioned and it is really cold. During breaks, we had to leave the production floor to rest. But going outside the work area means you will be exposed to the searing heat outside. So that's where the rapid changes in temperature transpired. I had to go in and out of the secure doors and experienced rapid extreme temperature changes from very hot to very cold and vice versa.

It started with a very bad sore throat. It affected my work since my job entails the use of voice. Then, colds and cough began 2 days after the sore throat and so the hardship began. I noticed that as my cough got worse, I started to have difficulty in breathing until I had to excuse myself from work and go directly to the hospital emergency room. The medicines in the office clinic did not relieve my difficulty.

I was fine and I went home from the hospital. I was already breathing better but the next day was another story. My asthma got worse and I was practically gasping for air. I had to go to the hospital again for treatment as their medicines are the only ones that worked. I was advised to get admitted but I told them that I had to speak with my doctor first.

When I went to my doctor for a consultation, he immediately told me to get myself admitted in the hospital so I can be treated properly and for me to rest. So I stayed there for almost 3 days and now I am a lot better with very few instances of slight difficulty in breathing.

As asthma patients, we should always be aware of the things that could trigger our asthma. Sometimes, we can't avoid them but we most likely have our medicines with us so don't hesitate to use them. If the attack is severe, seek medical attention immediately.