Nightly asthma is annoying my son

WHAT’S the best temperature to keep a bedroom at night? My son has asthma when the weather gets bad. It also flares up if he has a chest infection or a cold. I have central heating but if it’s on, he gets too hot and finds it hard to breathe. If I turn it off he gets too cold and also finds it hard to breathe. I have been told to keep the room at a certain temperature to help him, but I’m not sure what that temperature is and whether it will help.

ASTHMA can be triggered by both cold and very dry air. The temperature in his room should be comfortable, so keep it the same as the rest of the house.

Abrupt changes in temperature — for example, a very warm living room versus a very cold bathroom — can in themselves trigger asthma so it’s best to keep it all the same. Avoid blow heaters or anything that circulates air because they also circulate dust, which is an asthma trigger.

No changes in temperature are needed if your son has a chest infection or cold but it is best for him to sleep propped up a little so he can breathe more easily.

Ensure he has been prescribed a long-acting bronchodilator inhaler that will keep his airways open overnight and a reliever so he can promptly reduce symptoms if needed.

It might be worth investing in a spacer device to help deliver the inhaler more easily. Your pharmacist can advise you about this.

You can buy a humidifier to moisturise the air in his room or leave a bowl of water on the radiator as this may also help his breathing.

Make sure his asthma regime is stepped up for the period of the infection. Your practice nurse can devise an action plan for this.

Finally, keep your house is smoke-free and avoid his bedroom air being contaminated with anything, from aerosol deodorants to fragranced washing powder. MY HUSBAND thought he had a problem with his hip but discovered it was a hernia in his groin. He’s pleased he doesn’t need a hip replacement but says there is no way he’s getting an operation. What should he do?

AHERNIA occurs because stuff that is normally contained within the body’s lining pokes

out due to a gap in the wall.

Hernias are incredibly common, especially in men. Things that provoke them are excess weight, straining, heavy lifting and getting older.

They generally give a sensation of pain and/or swelling in the groin, in particular when you lift something. They are often most obvious as swellings when the patient is standing up. Usually the swelling can be pushed back into the tummy — a feature that we refer to as reducible.

So what should your husband do? In terms of the hernia if it is very small and not causing him pain it may simply be observed.

However my feeling is that if your husband thought there was an issue with his hip, this indicates there was pain and so this hernia is likely to require further action.

The problem with a hernia is that sometimes they can become incarcerated or strangulated, which is an emergency situation. This usually results in severe pain, nausea and a feeling that you are unwell and going to pass out. If this occurs at any point, he should go straight to A&E.

The hernia operation is no big deal and is often done as a day stay. It takes about 30 minutes and can be done via the traditional open method or via a telescope.

It is a sore operation so you are likely to be uncomfortable for a week but this can be managed with painkillers. Most people will go back to work in two weeks.

If your husband is fit and well and has a sizeable hernia which is causing him pain he shouldn’t put off the operation. This problem won’t disappear and is likely to get bigger. Rather ironically, a hernia operation is a much more straightforward procedure with a quicker recovery than the hip operation he was worried he might have to get, so he has little to fear.