Constant Respiratory Problems...is It Just Me?

[Ian223]

Hi All,

Been living in Bangkok for about a year now - have adapted well and like it very much, although I'm ALWAYS getting struck with some respiratory infection or another -- usually plugged nose, nasal drip, burning eyes, itching ears, feeling very tired, and (rarely) a low-grade fever.

I'm 29 years old, I exercise 3-4 times a week, started taking vitamin C supplements, even moved into a high-rise apartment at the advice of friends, but still no luck. Back in farangland I'd get one respiratory infection every 1-2 years (and on almost all occasions, following the marathon-flight business trips to BKK, HKG or SIN), but since I've been living here, it's happening almost every 6-8 weeks.

Does anyone else have similar problems? I love Bangkok, but Bangkok doesn't love me. This is really starting to get me down..

[jdinasia]

That is the biggest reason I re-located to Phuket ... BKK is FUN and I love it. The pollution however just wipes me out!

[londonthai]

move from a newly build skyscraper (with all building pollutants) and the centre of the city to the outskirts.

it's not only pollution home and on the streets but air conditioning (temperature change from hot to cold) and bacterias which grow there. Use fan and open all windows and doors so there is no water condensation and fresh air.

spend time outside, in the green - sun kills germs.

[Mr Jones]

From www,bbc.co.uk/news/health

no mention of numbers, polution. just money

Coughs 'take big toll on economy'

More research is needed into the cause of coughs

Acute coughs cost the UK economy almost £1 bn every year, experts warn.

The British Thoracic Society said there was little evidence over-the-counter medicines had any specific pharmacological effect on acute coughs.

It also warned research was needed into the causes of chronic cough - also a significant problem.

The society has published guidelines in the journal Thorax to help doctors distinguish between the two forms of the condition.

ACUTE COUGH

Lasts less than three weeks

Usually associated with viral upper respiratory tract infection

Normally self-limiting and benign

Can occasionally sometimes be the first indication of a more serious condition in the absence of other significant symptoms

According to the society, acute coughs cost the UK economy £875 million a year in lost productivity, on top of £104 million healthcare costs.

Patients often report that they derive some benefit from taking cough medicines.

But the BTS experts said while there was evidence to suggest that medicines can suppress a cough, there was little to show that they effectively treat it.

No obvious cause

Chronic cough is often caused by asthma, drugs, environmental triggers or heartburn - but in a quarter of cases it cannot be attributed to a specific cause.

Professor Ian Pavord, who oversaw the formulation of the new guidelines, said: "Chronic cough is a common condition which is currently under-researched.

CHRONIC COUGH

Lasts more than eight weeks

Often caused by asthma, drugs, environmental triggers or heartburn

Most common in middle-aged women and obese people

Reported by 10-20% of adults

"While an attempt is being made to understand the condition and create better diagnostic protocols and treatments, there are still a significant number of patients who we can't help with specific treatment.

"It is important for healthcare professionals to use objective measures of cough severity when evaluating the effects of drugs and other treatments for chronic cough.

"New diagnostic tools are being produced all the time, but there is still some way to go."

He said one method of recording a cough over at least 24 hours - "ambulatory cough recording" - seemed to be the best method of measuring its severity.

Professor Peter Barnes, an expert in thoracic medicine at London's Imperial College, agreed that cough was major problem.

"It is the commonest symptom for which people go to see their doctor," he said.

"There is a need to find out more about why people get chronic cough, but there has been very little research as it has not been considered to be an important area by the pharmaceutical companies."

Professor Barnes said there was evidence to suggest that many cases of chronic cough were caused by increased sensitivity of the nerve endings in the airways.

[simon43]

I moved to BKK some 4 years ago, bringing a permanent fungal infection in my lungs with me from the UK.

The BKK atmosphere caused me big problems!!

I moved to Phuket last year. No more asthma, no more bronchial problems

Oh - I went back to the UK last Xmas and returned to LoS with advanced pneumonia!!

Move from BKK - you will feel so much better

Simon

[Sheryl]

I too suffered when I lived in Bangkok. Now perfectly healthy in the clean Prachinburi air.

Hate to say this but you may want to consider relocating to cleaner air if possible.

[sbk]

My brother-in-law developed chronic lung issues after living in Bangkok for over 20 years. He has since moved to one of the outlying provinces and has reported a vast improvement in his health. (He still gets road rage but that is another story entirely )

[rak sa_ngop]

Believe me or not, I still prefer the air in Bangkok to other big cities in Asia I have lived in. In Kuala Lumpur the air was so thick with moisture, rain and smog from forest fires you could eat it. In Hanoi there was so much dust and dirt in the air that when I used to leave my house closed up for a month the house became filthy with accumulated dust. In Yangon the buses belch out so much smoke that the roads reek with the smell of low quality diesel and even walking down Silom Road used to make me feel I was breathing fresh air in comparison. I have now been living in the CBD Bangkok for a year now and have had hardly any of the chest, throat problems (apart from a Songkran cold) which I used to have in other cities. Not sure what this proves except that when people bemoan the air quality in Bangkok they forget that there are, in my experience, many worse places out there. Bangkok is great for me!

[sabaijai]

Hi All,

Been living in Bangkok for about a year now - have adapted well and like it very much, although I'm ALWAYS getting struck with some respiratory infection or another -- usually plugged nose, nasal drip, burning eyes, itching ears, feeling very tired, and (rarely) a low-grade fever.

I'm 29 years old, I exercise 3-4 times a week, started taking vitamin C supplements, even moved into a high-rise apartment at the advice of friends, but still no luck. Back in farangland I'd get one respiratory infection every 1-2 years (and on almost all occasions, following the marathon-flight business trips to BKK, HKG or SIN), but since I've been living here, it's happening almost every 6-8 weeks.

Does anyone else have similar problems? I love Bangkok, but Bangkok doesn't love me. This is really starting to get me down..

I recommend a thorough physical exam. The low-grade fever sounds like it could be something more serious than pollution.

[camerata]

My brother-in-law developed chronic lung issues after living in Bangkok for over 20 years. He has since moved to one of the outlying provinces and has reported a vast improvement in his health. (He still gets road rage but that is another story entirely )

I had the same problem after walking home from work every night for 5 years. Some people develop asthma, I developed bronchitis and damaged my lungs permanently. Now I can't go near incense, mosquito coils, cigarette smoke and other irritants.

[Ian223]

When I finally tallied it up, I've had 6 colds in 1 year in Bangkok (only once with a low-grade fever, following a bout of food poisoning that had me run down). It could perhaps be a lifestyle change, since I'm indoors far more often here -- Skytrain, MRT, shopping malls, movie theaters, etc., whereas my last location (coastal southern California) was the exact opposite. My take is that I must be predisposed to getting colds, as I almost always get them after long-haul plane flights, and perhaps there's also different strains floating around here that I'm not used to. And as other posters mentioned, I'm sure the pollution only exacerbates things.

[nostrel]

same here -a few weeks in BKK and my lungs are in a bad way ,lethargic and unhealthy.

leave town and its ok again.