Case study

Julie Dorell aged 58
Nobody was more surprised than 58 year old Julie Dorrell herself, when she developed asthma at the age of 40. Julie was so ill she resorted to crawling around the house on her hands and knees for months, before she was diagnosed and given treatment for asthma.

Julie was given steroids which improved her physical condition, but received no information on how to treat asthma or what to do if she had an attack. Julie took it upon herself to find out as much as she could about asthma and now, her condition is well managed.

That’s not to say though, that her asthma doesn’t have an impact on her everyday life. Julie would find it extremely difficult to breathe in a smoky atmosphere and so has to choose where she socialises with great care. When she visits a garage to fill her car up with petrol she uses a scented tissue to cover her nose and mouth as the fumes are also a trigger for her asthma. If Julie is unlucky enough to catch a cold which she did a few weeks ago, it can take weeks for the symptoms to clear and badly affects her asthma.