Two Ways Having Childhood-Onset Asthma Affects My Adult Life

As with many in this community, I was diagnosed with asthma at a very young age. My mom said I was diagnosed at the age of 2, but like others with childhood-onset asthma, I probably had it longer than that. Mom says I was always breathing heavily and had a stuffy nose.

I could write for hours about my childhood asthma experiences. Heck, I could write a book on this topic, and it would be one of those voluminous books with over 1,000 pages. But in this post, I would like to focus on a couple of ways that having asthma as a kid now affects my adult life.

2 Ways that childhood-onset asthma has affected my adult life

Not realizing I need help with my asthma

First of all, I sometimes brush off my symptoms and I delay taking action or seeking help. As a kid, I just did not know any different. I was short of breath all the time, and I figured this was normal. I would go about my day even though I was winded. I would go on suffering until it was so bad I had no choice but to tell my parents.

Even now as an adult, I often have to have people tell me that I am short enough of breath to seek medical consultation. Sounds weird, right? Well, it kind of is. Sometimes I get short of breath and don’t even realize it. Or, I know I’m short of breath but don’t realize how bad I really am. Like I did as a kid, I trudge through my day as though nothing is wrong. And sometimes I need someone to say, "Hey, John, you need to do something about this."

Certain life skills are stronger than others

Another way my childhood asthma still impacts me: I do not have the handyman skills that many other adults may have. Dad was often fixing things around the house. When he didn’t know what to do, he would get his dad or brothers to help. He had many apartments or houses that he would rent out, and to save money, he did all the repair work himself.

Dad did a great job of taking us kids with him so we would learn how to do things. And there were some things I did learn – I do have some basic skills. But in many instances, as I was watching my dad, I would be exposed to a trigger and get short of breath. As I got older, he learned it was better not to take me along. Needless to say, I did not develop a lot of handyman skills.

Now as an adult, I am not a person who can fix things around my house. When there are projects needing to be done, I have to hire people and spend money. Or, I have to find someone willing to do these projects for a case of beer or just for the joy of helping someone.

Thankfully, my girlfriend’s dad used to build houses. He showed her how to do lots of handyman things, so she is a big help when I have projects that need to be done. For things she cannot do, she guides me through them.

As I grew up, I learned I was better at staying inside and washing dishes, cleaning the house, and organizing things. It is not like I just sat around as a kid feeling sorry for myself. I compromised by gaining skills in another area. And these are things I still enjoy doing. To this day, there are some skills I am better at due to my asthma.

Still, there are days I wish I could do certain things or build things. For instance, I want a new deck or patio at the back of my house. I would love to do this myself, but due to my asthma and lack of skills, I will have to hire the job out. This means I will have to postpone this project for a few years.

Share your experience

What about you? Was your asthma diagnosed in childhood? How has your asthma affected how you live your life today as an adult? Please let us know in the comments below, or share your story with the community!