FAQ’s:

NOTE: I am not a medical professional, but have learned a lot about infectious asthma, and my responses to these questions are based on what I have read and the experiences I have heard about.

My doctor said this isn’t real research, so I’m confused. Why is he saying that?

The studies that support that there is a link between bacteria and asthma in some people were conducted properly by doctors and researchers and published in peer reviewed medical journals. You might want to ask your doctor why that doesn’t constitute real research, and ask him what does, in his mind. I can think of no reason a doctor would say the research being done isn’t real.

My doctor took blood tests and said I don’t have an infection. Does that mean I don’t have this kind of asthma?

Blood tests are not conclusive, which is why Dr. Hahn no longer recommends that doctors conduct them before treating the patients they think may have this type of asthma. Also, with accurate outcomes of tests, the titers won’t show a current, active infection, the results will only indicate that the patient once had the infection in the past. The results would show titers out of the normal range, but not in a range that would indicate a current, active infection.

I’ve been on a lot of antibiotics in the past including the one Dr. Hahn uses. Does that mean this won’t work?

Unless you’ve been on the right antibiotic at the right dose, taken the way Dr. Hahn has prescribed, the antibiotics you’ve been on wouldn’t treat anything other than the active acute infection. It would not eradicate bacteria residing in the tissue of your lungs or sinuses which might be causing infectious asthma.

My doctor says he won’t treat me for this, because it’s dangerous to be on antibiotics for that long of a time. Isn’t that true?

There are studies that show the side effects of twelve weeks of Azithromycin which include diarrhea, gastrointestinal cramping and worsening of pre-existing liver diseases. All those things resolved once the antibiotic was stopped. AIDS patients are on Azithromycin for a year or more. Finally, your doctor, like many doctors, is probably prescribing antibiotics for six months to a year to treat acne, which is a cosmetic condition and not even a disease.

Is there any way to tell if someone has infectious asthma?

In some cases, it’s very obvious that someone might have infectious asthma. Their asthma is difficult to manage despite trying different combinations of drugs. They can have trouble breathing or have a cough even though they’re on asthma medication. They might be tired all the time. Some researchers feel almost all cases of adult asthma are probably infectious asthma. Asthmatics who get sick a lot and find a lot of illnesses end up with bronchitis or other lung infections may have infectious asthma. Asthma that began following a bad infection like a cold, flu, bronchitis or pneumonia may be infectious asthma.

In some cases, the person has a milder case of asthma, or exercise induced asthma, but still gets sick more than most people and finds asthma medication don’t do enough to relieve them of the symptoms.

Finding a Doctor to Treat You

It isn’t always easy to convince your doctor to treat you for infectious asthma. There seems to be a disconnect between current research and mainstream medicine (our doctors). It could be years, even decades, before a new theory is accepted, despite the number of studies that presently exist.

The first option is to present the studies to your doctor, and ask him or her to review them because you would like treatment using Dr. Hahn’s protocol. In addition to the studies, print out Dr. Hahn’s information for other doctors, a .pdf document, and give that to your doctor, as well. Arm yourself with the additional information by reading through Dispelling the Myths and FAQs so you can hopefully dispel any myths or concerns your doctor may have.

If that doesn’t work, you might have to look for a new doctor to treat you. One way to do that is to call local compounding pharmacies (different than regular pharmacies), and ask for names and phone numbers of the most open minded doctors they know of. Generally, if a doctor writes prescriptions for a compounded drug, they’re more open minded about treatment. I would contact their office and ask if they would be willing to look at research on infectious asthma and whether they would be willing to treat a patient with a once a week dose of antibiotics for twelve weeks. They’ll probably tell you they can’t really answer that without seeing you, which is fine. As long as they don’t say, “no”, they’re at least open. Always ask first, however, if they’re in your provider network, or you may find yourself stuck with a bigger bill than you’d like.

To find a local compounding pharmacy, go to www.google.com, enter the words 'compounding pharmacy + your city, your state'.

If all else fails, some people order their prescriptions online without a prescription, something I don’t advocate, but do understand.