Certain smells make it hard to breathe...

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LeprechaunSean

Distinguished member
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Messages
131
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
01/2011
Country
CA
State
British Columbia
City
Vancouver
I've had this strange thing happening for the past few months where I have a sudden difficulty breathing when I walk into a room or area that has a strong smell or fumes. For example the other day I walked into a store where they had been making popcorn and giving it to customers coming in. I almost couldn't breathe at all, but the second I got outside into fresh air I was fine. To me this doesn't seem like any bulbar symptom I've heard of but maybe I'm missing something?
 
I don't have that problem but my wife does with her asthma.
 
Do you have allergies. I have environmental allergies, and have found that going into stores that sell highly perfumed things, or spices can make me feel tight, and I do not have ALS. Having said that, Tim has a very strong reaction when he has the urge to pass water or have a BM now. I and others will note that he becomes quite pale and even a bit sweaty and when asked if something is wrong he will say he has to go to the bathroom. I think that I have read that some people with ALS are able to hold both their urine and stool like they did before but have quite a strong urge. I would imagine that it is a basal vagal (sympathetic) reaction that somehow has gotten mixed up a bit by the ALS. Tim is also now more sensitive to pollens and smoke than he ever has been in his life. I believe there is an auto immune component to ALS that causes a greater histamine reaction to things, so if you had been sensitive to some things before you might be more so now. Tim actually takes a Reactine every day now so that he doesn't get hives, and sneezing that he was.
 
Well auto-immune definitely runs in the family. My son has an allergy to peanuts & tree nuts, as well as asthma. Mom has rheumatoid arthritis and my nephew has epilepsy. The thought of it being an allergy really hadn't occurred to me but I will definitely experiment a bit, and bounce this off my neuro...
 
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