Asia Pac Allergy.  2016 Apr;6(2):112-119. 10.5415/apallergy.2016.6.2.112.

The effects of daily bathing on symptoms of patients with bronchial asthma

• Kamimura M
• Arimoto Y
• Homma C
• Takeoka S
• Fukusumi M
• Mouri A
• Hamamoto Y

• KMID: 2396980
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5415/apallergy.2016.6.2.112

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The influence of bathing in asthma patients is not yet fully known.
OBJECTIVE
We conducted an observational study to investigate changes in symptoms and their degree by bathing in asthmatic patients.
METHODS
A questionnaire focusing on ever experienced bathing-induced symptom changes and their degree, as well as contributing factors, was designed and administered to asthmatic patients in the outpatient department of our institute between January 2012 and November 2013.
RESULTS
Two hundred fifteen cases were recruited. In 60 cases (27.9%), asthmatic symptoms appeared, including 20 cases of chest discomfort (33.3%), 19 cases of cough (31.7%), and 21 cases of wheezing (35.0%). The triggering factors included vapor inhalation (32 cases, 53.3%), hydrostatic pressure on the thorax due to body immersion in the bathtub (26 cases, 43.3%), and sudden change of air temperature (16 cases, 26.7%). Thirty-eight cases (17.7%) experienced improvement in active asthmatic symptoms by bathing. Vapor inhalation was the most common contributing factor (34 cases, 89.5%), followed by warming of the whole body (13 cases, 34.2%). There was no relationship between asthma severity and the appearance of bathing-induced symptoms or improvement of active asthmatic symptoms by bathing.
CONCLUSION
The effects of bathing in asthmatic patients widely differed from patient to patient and their etiology includes several factors. For those who suffer from bathing-induced asthma symptoms, preventive methods, such as premedication with bronchodilators before bathing, should be established. This study is registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN) clinical trials registry in Japan with the registration number UMIN000015641.

Keyword

Bronchoconstriction; Bronchodilators; Hydrostatic pressure; Inhalation; Nebulizer

MeSH Terms

Asthma*
Baths*
Bronchoconstriction
Bronchodilator Agents
Cough
Humans
Hydrostatic Pressure
Immersion
Information Services
Inhalation
Japan
Nebulizers and Vaporizers
Observational Study
Outpatients
Premedication
Respiratory Sounds
Thorax
Bronchodilator Agents

Figure

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  Fig. 1 The effects on asthma by bathing and the history of paradoxical bronchoconstriction.

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