Tickling and asthma

[marcusb]

I recently started seeing someone who is off the charts ticklish and who loves being tickled... the only gotcha is she has really bad asthma and a minute of tickling (just playing) will send her off into a coughing, wheezing, gasping fit like I've never seen before. She gets mad that the asthma attack sidetracked her ticklefest but when that happens I have to stop despite that she tells me not to.

She has said that if we're going to play that she needs to hit her inhaler a bit before to keep the asthma from ruining things. We've done that once and it seem to keep an attack at bay.

Those of you with asthma... how do you deal with tickling and asthma attacks?

 

[Backstep]

The same way that anyone with exercise-triggered asthma handles it. Take one hit of albuterol.

 

[Ticklish Old Man]

Hi Marcusb
I understand your g/f's plight - but she seems to have the right idea, take a shot of inhaler before a tickle session.
I too suffer from asthma - my wife once tickled me to mild wheezing.
She felt badly and hasn't been too eager to tickle anymore 🙁

 

[alex]

It's risky. You might want to google exercise-induced asthma. Definitely use the inhaler before or during. But it's still possible that severe tickling could induce an asthma attack that might require a trip to the ER.

 

[Luvs2tckl]

I had childhood asthma, and pretty much outgrew it by about 25 or so. I played football from the age of about 8 until I graduated high school. An inhaler hit or two would normally work for exercise induced attacks during practice. I would typically hit the inhaler prior to a game. I think the combination of the inhaler and adrenaline because of the game situation kept me from experiencing an attack during a game.

Your lee should know what she can handle. Any asthma sufferer definitely knows the signs of a mild episode versus something more dire. My suggestion would be to use some type of quick release restraints and keep the inhaler handy. Ask her to share stories of some of her worst asthma attacks and how they came about. This will help you read her queues better during a session. Wheezing doesn't necessarily mean she is experiencing a full-blown attack. If she says don't stop... then don't stop. Along with a safeword, have a plan in place if it gets to the extreme.

Best regards and happy tickles!

 

[Johnny lea]

Get a hit of that ventolin inhalor and your living the dream 😀 fellow asthma sufferer here, although never had any reactions to being tickled. A bit of pre planning whilst taking the spontaneous nature away gives us a win/win situation. Have fun!

 

[chicago]

I have asthma, but it doesn't really bother me unless I've got a cold. It tends to turn into bronchitis pretty quick and that's when breathing is not so easy. In that situation, health definitely comes first and I don't play as roughly as I usually do.

In your case, where the person's asthma is a more acute case, perhaps seeing what intensity works best without triggering an attack is a good idea? Still do the inhaler thing, of course, as that seems to help, but maybe try starting off with light tickles and upping the intensity little by little, taking care to note what she can handle. Keep an eye on time to see how long she can last, etc. Learning to read a person's reactions takes time I'm sure, but it's really awesome that you're concerned with her health, but also that she has fun too. 🙂 Best of luck.

 

[JWff]

I'm glad this was brought up on the tickle forum. I've wondered if this ever happened to anyone while they were having fun. There are some good ideas and tips, here. Keep up the good work! 🙂

 

[pfromptown]

I'd add to everything above by suggesting that she has a check up to ensure her asthma is being managed properly. I was tickled into a near-asthma attack on my first day of university by two girls and had to get them to stop, only to find out later that my asthma wasn't being managed properly (Dammit!) as I hadn't been prescribed the correct daily inhaler. I've been on that for years now and can't remember the last time I really wheezed properly, although I always take a puff of ventolin before any exercise just to be on the safe side.

 

[chicago]

I'd add to everything above by suggesting that she has a check up to ensure her asthma is being managed properly. I was tickled into a near-asthma attack on my first day of university by two girls and had to get them to stop, only to find out later that my asthma wasn't being managed properly (Dammit!) as I hadn't been prescribed the correct daily inhaler. I've been on that for years now and can't remember the last time I really wheezed properly, although I always take a puff of ventolin before any exercise just to be on the safe side.

Some really good advice right here.

 

[RedPanda]

Yeah I have asthma. I'm lucky-ish since I only get bad breathing after doing like, A LOT of exercise, so if you just take the inhaler before then you should be good. It's easy to know when someone is about to have an asthma attack (from my experience?), since their breathing will get wheezier and sort of raspy, so just pay attention to those signs.