That of which I am about to express, is a personal experience. I'm not looking for sympathy, only expressing what took place as it happened to me personally. There is a small portion, that some may find a little gross, but this is truly what took place early the morning of June 15/05.
Each one of us, to exsist, must inhale the air around us, as it is a body function, that a great many of us just take for granted. If the capacity of which we inhale is reduced by any percentage, we can suffer. If one that does have on a regular basis, the incapacity to breathe or inhale the air for a sufficient amount of time, the end of their exsistance will take place.
There is a percentage of our society, that suffer from a lung disorder called Asthma. From my understanding, there are different causes, one of which is a microscopic insect called the Dust Mite. This very tiny bug lives in all of our beds and pillow cases, as well as anywhere dust may accumulate. Another cause from personal experience, is nicotine, and I for 36 years was terribly addicted to this unfortunate habit. It would seem, after taking tests, that I am alergic to this chemical, being one of many chemicals used to manufacture them. Stress is also a major cause. When an Asthma attack takes place, the airways in our lungs decreases considerably, therefore reducing our capacity to breathe. Inhalers are usually prescribed, in which the ingredients, help to restore and reopen those airways, so that we can again, breathe normally.
So that the readers of this article may understand what an Asthma attack is like, I would like them to for a moment try something, but only if it is safe to do so. Place the first two fingers on which ever hand is comfortable, over your lips. Make sure that they are loose. Now, take a breath through them. If it seems somewhat difficult, then they are to tight together. There will be some resistance, as placing something in front of your lips will, to a degree, cause a certain difficulty in breathing. Now tighten your fingers very slowly, and feel the difference as you inhale. The tighter your fingers get, the harder it will be to breathe normally. Be aware, that when they are fairly tight, still being able to a small extent, to breath, is a very good example of a full Asthma attack. One's capacity is lowered so considerably, that the most individuals, may panic for lack of oxygen in their lungs and most certainly within their body's.
Ridding myself of the smoking, becoming aware that each time I inhaled it, a tiny layer of nicotine was placed within my lungs. As well, each inhalation slowly removed many of receptores which capture the oxygen. Now my lung capacity is considerably better a great deal of the time. Asthma is a lung disfunction, one has to live with for the rest of their lives to my best understanding. Ridding myself of one of the causes has helped me greatly. In doing so, have not had the need most of the time, to use the inhalers prescribed to me.
This morning, I awoke about 6:30, and realized that I had been sleeping on my back. When I sat up, with the wish to use the facilities, my breathing had diminished considerably. If one can imagine, only having approximetly one eigthth lung capacity of normal, that is what I was feeling. Very quickly I grabbed the inhaler in which I leave on my bedside table. I so dearly tried to inhale enough to relieve myself, from what would be expressed as considerable lung disfunction, but it was not enough, as I was not able to hold my breath long enough to get the effect. At the same time, I was coughing, even with the extremely small amount of breath, I was able to inhale. What went through my brain at athat instant was, "Is this it? Is this how I am to leave this life?" At the same time, I was feeling what felt like waves as best described, what I suppose, was a limited amount of blood being delivered to my brain, considering the very small amount of oxygen being delivered through my lungs. At the same time, I focused upon my heart. Was it stopping? No, but the beats did not seem to be as regular as what would be expressed as "normal." A strong and concentrated thought came to mind, "relax," and very very slowly, over what felt like a very long time, and was probably only a minute or two, I could feel my lungs very slowly reopening to a large enough extent, to again properly use the inhaler. The effect, as previously described took effect somewhat slowly, but I felt my breathing capacity steadily increasing and the second inhalation, opened my airways to at least 50 %. Not only was breathing possible, but thankfully, so was my life. IT WAS TO CONTINUE!!! YIPEEE!!! YAHOO!!! RELIEF!!!
The effect of this attack had been so great upon me, I found myself still sitting in the same position at seven-twenty, being almost three quarters of an hour later. My breathing was almost back to normal as I coughed up an unbelievable amount of phlem. A pharmiscist once told me, that if I needed to reuse an inhaler, to wait for no less than twenty minutes. After looking at my clock, and realizing the time, as well as my breathing, I felt it necessary to reuse the inhaler, just to make sure, and as well, before inhaling, exhaled more air from my lungs, deeper than I have in years.
It is hard to put into words, a feeling of such incredible relief, as well as knowing, that life "would" continue for me. I do not wish to lecture anyone that, to this day, continues to use that life sucking habit, but if one is able to look into their future health, quitting now will be the best thing they could do, as the results of continuing to layer the nicotine in their lungs, with each inhalation, will be greater than they could ever imagine. I know from personal experience. Breathing is not a luxury, it is a necessity for life to continue with any kind of normalicy.
Breathe deep and thank God for life
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