Aspirin can worsen asthma in this rare condition

In some patients with both asthma and nasal polyps, taking aspirin can make their symptoms far worse. — TNS

Allergies feel bad enough for people with nasal congestion and asthma symptoms.

But imagine if aspirin is the culprit that makes everything feel worse and you didn’t know it.

For some people with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) – also known as Samter’s triad – it can be a challenging and long road to obtain their diagnosis.

Coughing, wheezing, sinus pressure – the list of symptoms goes on.

“These are patients who have horrible asthma.

“They also have nasal polyps, and they’re allergic to aspirin,” says Mayo Clinic otolaryngologist Dr Angela Donaldson, who focuses her research on this difficult-to-diagnose condition.

And aspirin doesn’t cause new illness – it aggravates asthma and sinus issues for these patients.

“It’s a particular group of people who have been struggling with regular medical therapy that should work, and have both asthma that’s difficult to control and sinus disease that’s difficult to control,” says Dr Donaldson.

She says most patients suffer for years before the correct diagnosis and treatment.

And that’s a focus of her research: “How best to get people to screen for that disease process, since it’s kind of overlooked multiple times, and then get people back to their normal lives.”

Along with aspirin, people who are affected by AERD may have problems taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen.

Aspirin or NSAIDs may be in cold medicines and other medicines as well, so patients need to pay close attention to labels.

Treatments may include desensitisation to aspirin and NSAIDs, surgery to remove nasal polyps, as well as therapeutics.

It’s important to remember that a diagnosis is arduous because AERD must include all three features of asthma, recurring nasal polyps, and problems with aspirin or NSAIDs. – By Deb Balzer/Mayo Clinic News Network/Tribune News Service