Traveling with asthma

Many of you may be traveling during the holidays. The first thing I pack is all of the kid's medications and equipment. The last thing I want is to get stuck somewhere without the nebulizer.

The last time we went on vacation, we packed all the maintenance medication, emergency medication and nebulizer. The only thing we forgot was the liquid fever reducer medicine and cough medicine. And of course, we ended up needing it. It's common to think "'we won't need that". But when you're on vacation, it's difficult to try to find a store, especially when you're in a strange place and don't know where things are located. So, now we pack everything, and if we don't need it, that's okay. I believe in Murphy's law (if something can go wrong, it will). So, I use my own logic and pack everything, thinking if I bring it, I won't need it. If I don't pack it, I will be kicking myself because I'll need it.

This spring when we were traveling, we didn't have cough medicine, Kitty was sick, and she kept us up ALL night long.

Years ago, when we went to Disneyland, I took all the medications, nebulizer, and oxygen saturation monitor with us. When we went to the first aid building to check them in (so we didn't have to carry them around all day). The nurse said, "are you sure you're going to need all that?" I said, "You never know, my kids have been known to have asthma attacks at the most inconvenient times, and they've been hospitalized 12 different times. In fact, Son #2 has almost stopped breathing and came close to being intubated several times." Silence. Then an "Oooohhhh" from the nurse.

You know your kids best, and you know what medications you need to bring when traveling. Asthma never picks a 'good time' to present itself. The unpredictability is what drives me crazy.

I also check the location of clinics and hospitals before we get to our destination, "just in case...." I make sure I have our insurance card for help if we need treatment out of state. The last thing you want after a vacation is a medical bill from out of state that isn't covered.

So, after I'm all packed and prepared, it's time to enjoy the holidays. Bring on the relatives!