Could albuterol trigger a respiratory infection?

[picante]

Because of my air hunger, a doc put me through an asthma test last Jan. -- spirometry. She told me I didn't have asthma.

Recently I saw a PA at the same clinic who thought my asthma result was inconclusive, so he had me try an albuterol inhaler as an experiment. On day 4 I developed a sore throat and irritated bronchials/lungs, so I quit.

Two weeks later I re-experienced the sore throat and irritated airways and caught a respiratory infection, presumably the one my husband acquired at work.

Can anyone tell me whether albuterol could lower my airway immunity that much? I haven't had a respiratory infection in over 20 years. My husband has known me 22 years, and he's never seen me catch one.

The sore throat was so bad that I went to Urgent Care yesterday to rule out strep and mono. Both negative. You see, the last time I had a raging sore throat was when I came down with the meningeal EBV infection that triggered my ME in 1992.

 

[geraldt52]

... On day 4 I developed a sore throat and irritated bronchials/lungs, so I quit.

That is most definitely a common side effect of albuterol. It isn't hard to imagine that once you had your throat and airways irritated and inflamed it made you susceptible to a respiratory infection, much like a bad cold makes you susceptible to a subsequent respiratory infection.

 

[Judee]

That is most definitely a common side effect of albuterol.

Yeah, @picante, if you go most of the way down on this drugs.com page/link you will see cold symptoms are common in 1-10% of people: https://www.drugs.com/sfx/albuterol-side-effects.html

Another thing to consider it that it is sulfate based so I'm wondering if someone with CBS or Suox problems would have a difficult time using it all the time. I know I have CBS mutation but can use it once in a while.

My preferred go-to for tightness in my chest is fish oil based vitamin A. My mom uses Albuterol for her COPD but also gets relief from the vitamin A.

We don't take the vitamin A all the time because it has to clear the liver and we have phase I and phase II detox issues but for me I prefer to grab the vitamin A rather than the inhaler.

Also be careful if they prescribe any other inhalers--the powders have dairy in them and the Spiriva and Combivent had her going into coughing spasms where she almost couldn't quit coughing plus she was having at least one episode of choking on her food everyday until we stopped it.

My very favorite site for checking out other people's experiences with a drug is askapatient.com.

You can also try Webmd.com like this page here: https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-5476/albuterol-inhalation/details the patient reviews are found by clicking the blue link link up under the medication name. This example currently says, "Read Reviews (183).

Or of course, the Drugs.com site that I listed at the top of this post. The reviews link for that post are way at the bottom.

By the way, I passed the spirometry test too but still feel like I can breath better after the inhaler or vitamin A.

 

[picante]

Thanks, both of you. I had no idea that albuterol could do that so suddenly after 3 days of tolerating it. The possibility of asthma wasn't really on my radar, even when they did the spirometry. And the inhaler didn't ease my breathing except on the very first dose. After that ... nothing discernible.

We've had wildfire smoke the last 2 summers, but I don't have the labored breathing I notice in asthma patients. I think something else is causing my air hunger, which is associated with orthostatic intolerance.

@Judee, you may be right about the sulfate causing problems. I've been getting more and more sensitive to sulfites in food, and have to avoid restaurants. Many high-sulfur foods are giving me gut-aches (garlic, broccoli), and sulfur-containing supplements are completely out for me, such as DMPS, DMSA, MSM, ALA.

MY CBS snps don't look problematic, but unfortunately the SUOX snps don't appear on any of the reports I ran, even though I see 4 snps got tested in my 23andme raw data.

I wonder how long it will take me to get over this infection. I felt like death warmed over this morning, having gotten up at 1:30, 4:00, 5:00, and 6:00. Full of phlegm that wasn't moving, and raging throat pain.

 

[Judee]

I'm sorry to hear you are not doing well.

Do you have any frozen fruits in the house that you could use to make a smoothie and sip for your throat? Anything with fresh enzymes in it like uncooked pineapple or papaya or cantaloupe help the throat to heal. (Be aware that pineapple is on a lot of lists of foods to avoid if you have problems with sulfur or thiols. I can only tolerate it in small amounts.)

I know you went to the doctor for the air hunger but have you been back to him regarding this cold. It really sounds serious and we are starting to enter into flu season soon. Some of those things can get serious very quickly.

One more thought because you need to rest now but with SIBO we get a lot of hydrogen sulfide in our intestines. With my mom we reduced those and she can tolerate the sulfur veggies more again. We used s. boulardii and rotated that with a bifido complex to which we added pomegranate capsules because it feeds the bifido. Those might not work for you...everyone's biome is individual but if you don't have CBS or Suox issues that may be what is happening...more hydrogen sulfide than your liver can deal with at one time.

My environmental doctor says everything is cumulative.

I do hope you have a better night's sleep tonight.

 

[geraldt52]

...I wonder how long it will take me to get over this infection. I felt like death warmed over this morning, having gotten up at 1:30, 4:00, 5:00, and 6:00. Full of phlegm that wasn't moving, and raging throat pain.

Are you on an antibiotic for the infection? I can't know if you actually have an infection, but if you do it is extremely unlikely to resolve on its own. Untreated, it is more likely that it will turn into pneumonia. I wouldn't just let it go. I'm no fan of antibiotics, but there is a time and a place...

 

[picante]

Do you have any frozen fruits in the house

Oh boy, do we! Apricots from our tree, grape glop (from juicing our seedy zone 4 grapes a couple years ago), a store-bought mix of mango, papaya, strawberries, pineapple. I'll make a smoothie. Fantastic suggestion.

but have you been back to him regarding this cold.

Just to Urgent Care. Strep was negative, monospot was negative.

Are you on an antibiotic for the infection?

No, but last night I had new reinforcements: A vapor balm for my chest & neck with mint, eucalyptus, basil, holy basil, and turmeric oils. And Cepastat lozenges I found in the medicine drawer. And my husband raised up the head of my bed a little more with 4x4 blocks (to limit acid reflux). I've had 2X4s under the frame lately; now it's 4x4s.

Woke up at 3:00 am, and the sore throat was gone!! If I keep having massive phlegm or if the sore throat returns, I will go in and ask for antibiotics. I'm very picky about them: nothing sulfa, nothing in the fluoroquinolone crowd, no erythromycin (already reacted to that one).

with SIBO we get a lot of hydrogen sulfide in our intestines

I did not know that. I've used S. boulardii before, without any discernible results. But right now I'm trying L. sakei as a powder for sinusitis, which has been plaguing me for a year (since the wildfire smoke came in and sat here for 2 1/2 months). It's pretty good so far. It's called Nasobiotex, and you keep it in the freezer.

if you don't have CBS or Suox issues

I'd bet that I do have SUOX issues. None of my reports address that, though (Sterling's, Promethease, and one from Greg in Australia).

 

[Judee]

seedy zone 4 grapes

Grape seed is very good for us and mango is another fruit that is especially rich in enzymes. All those fruits sound very healthy and if you grew some of them yourself that's even better.

Woke up at 3:00 am, and the sore throat was gone!

Hurray!!! I'm so glad for you. Those type of colds are the worst because you can be so tired that your body is begging for rest but you're so uncomfortable or can't breath well enough to fall asleep.

But right now I'm trying L. sakei as a powder for sinusitis, which has been plaguing me for a year (since the wildfire smoke came in and sat here for 2 1/2 months). It's pretty good so far. It's called Nasobiotex, and you keep it in the freezer.

I'm going to have to research this for my mom. Thanks!!