He may be known for the pow­erful voice that landed him a spot as singer with the American rock band Journey, but not many are aware that Arnel Pineda is actu­ally waging war against asthma. “Nung una, nung na-discover ko siya, medyo nakaka-depress kasi siyempre threatened ‘yung job mo eh,” Arnel told “ Umagang Kay Ganda” on Monday.

Describing how his asthma af­fects his performances, he shared, “Siguro mga tatlong kanta pa lang gusto mo na umupo at mat­ulog,” adding that among things like dust, pollen, molds, extreme heat and cold are enough to trig­ger it. “Yung mold, pag nakaamoy na ko, masakit na ‘yung dibdib ko,” he said.

The 46-year-old rock singer said he first tried dealing with the condition through self-medica­tion. “(Kasi) ‘di ko pa afford ‘yung magpagamot sa professional na doctor so, nag-experiment ako sa mga gamot-gamot na mga da­hon-dahon,” he said.

Eventually, however, when he joined Journey, Arnel related, “Nagpunta na ako sa doktor, yung mata-trust mo talaga, hon­est, at ang approach sa’yo sasa­sabihin niya talaga kung paano mo i-manage ‘yung ordeal mo.” Now, prior to a performance, Arnel would often prepare him­self backstage.

“Bago ako mag-perform with Journey, marami na akong para­phernalia (seremonyas) diyan. Meron akong mga hinihigop para lumuwag ‘yung airways ko,” he shared.
Finally, he advised those who have the same condition not to lose hope.

“Sa dami ng mga available na gamot, at tsaka ‘yung mga trusted na doctors, manageable na siya eh,” Arnel said. The Journey vocalist has joined Glaxo-SmithKline’s Win Against Asthma campaign this year. (P. Aguilera, mb)