binman

Is there anyone living in Perth who has a child with asthma? My 4 year old appears to be developing asthma, the incidence of which in New Zealand is 1 in 4 in some parts of the country. I would be interested to learn of other parents experiencies of moving to a warmer dryer climate with a child with this condition. Thanks binman

cresta57

Our son spent a year in NZ and whilst there he developed asthma. The doctors there were really good and managed to narrow the trigger down to the pollen dust from a certain species of pine tree. They don't do that testing in U.K or here in Australia
Our son occasionally has an attack here but they are few and far between

Jacko1

I suffer badly with asthma, however I am 42, but whenever I have been in Perth I have not required any medication etc and felt ten times better.
Obviously this is only my personal experiance.

Paul J

debio

My sis-in-law emigrated 4 yrs ago and 2 of the kids have asthma -no better and yet no worse.No problem purchasing inhalers.

madsad

Hi,
myself & my youngest daughter(3yrs)have asthma,(& daughter of 6yrs too but does seem to be growing out of it)
Youngest does seem to be quite bad at times,hard to pin point cause of attacks at times.
But several people & docs seem to think the climate will benefit us so much-so not too worried about it,but my thinking is Brissy is so humid & i do expect some probs at first but hopefully it will settle?
We are all on inhalers & have been reasured the same is available in oz,we depend on ventolin the most,& have steriod inhalers to,so dont worry about it,you wont know for sure till you get there how your body will react so give it time?
Donna.

anya4oz

I'm a bit older that your 4yo (in theory) but FWIW, I suffered from moderate to severe asthma for 12+ years while living in the UK (East Anglia). When I left, 1 in 3 schoolkids in Cambridge were using ventolin inhalers.

Strangely, my own asthma symptoms always cleared up during periods of living/working in places such as LA, NY, Sydney, Auckland, Geneva, London, and Hong Kong. I couldn't fathom it. The chest specialists at Addenbrokes hospital told me that more & more people are becoming allergic to agricultural dust and the chemicals in it. Inland East Anglia is full of this stuff, and the solution suggested to me (and many others), after a series of tests to confirm the allergy triggers, was simply to live near the coast, where the air is generally clean & not full of this stuff.

I live in Melbourne now & the symptoms have cleared up entirely (apart from a very minimal amount of rhinitis, which is quite bearable compared to how I used to be). Not used ventolin once since I got here!

I can really recommend living somewhere coastal - it does seem to help a lot of people (kids & grownies) with this condition. Even on hot days, the coastal air seems a lot cleaner, & I don't get attacks.

Good luck with the move!

Anya.

Bix

Really useful info Anya, thanks.

I guess the same sorts of inhalers are used in Aus and via doctors prescription same as UK ?

anya4oz

You know what, I don't know the answer to that - because the only time I've ever needed the stuff is in the UK!!

Good, innit?

Anya.

cresta57

You get pick up ventolin over the counter here (about $9 each) no need for a script, not so sure about preventers though as I brought loads of them with me.

deb

binman

Many thanks for the info everyone. Cheers binman

Signman Glen

Hi

I think its thanks to you binman for this post


You have solved a long standing worrie for me and my wife of how we would go on if our son ran out of is puffers befor we are registerd with a doctor. It seems good value if the you can get them over the counter for $9.00

Many Thanks

Signman Glen

Ushas

Just so you're aware. Ventolin is readily available over the counter in any pharmacy. No prescription needed. However, there is also a much cheaper 'generic' brand available Over the counter (in Perth at least) which is the same as any 'generic' product really. Made by the big companies who make the expensive stuff but packaged cheaper. It's just as good and just as relieble. My brother and I have both used them for years.

markeh

Hiya anya4oz

is it why in the past people suffering with lung problems were sent to the coast to partake in the fresh salt air?

Plus, I think it would be nice for my daughter to grow up on the cast and have all the benefits that Oz has to offer.

Bye
Mark

bundy

Echoing what Anya has said - I'm asthmatic, has been quite severe in the past and I've lived in East Anglia all my life apart from a year in Oz where I didn't have one asthma symptom for the whole year and stopped taking my preventers even (I know, I know)

It will depend on what the triggers are. I'm highly allergic to tree pollen in particular things like poplars. In Oz I was living right out in the middle of nowhere in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range so the air was spectacularly clear. But there were also none of the usual trees, just lots of gum trees which I think actually helped - eucalyptus being generally good for the chest.

If your child is allergic to dust or animals and these are going to be as much of a problem there as here. But if the triggers are things like pollen then the problems could vanish.

Sea air or mountain air, away from pollution, will always help. And yes, over-the-counter salbutamol is a godsend and very reasonable.