My Life as an Asthma Mom

Of the 12 times Kitty and Son #2 have been hospitalized for asthma, they needed oxygen each time. Yet there are different ways oxygen is administered.   Hubby was telling me about being in the hospital last week with a family member. Because of our many experiences with having a child in the hospital for asthma (made wore by pneumonia, RSV and wildfire smoke,) Hubby watches oxygen levels on the monitor.  Hubby noticed that the family member's oxygen rate was only at 89%. It should be closer to 100%. This family member was sleeping, and was using a nasal cannula (a thin horizontal tube with a small nozzle that fits inside each nostril). Hubby noticed the family member was breathing through their mouth - instead of their nose - so the nasal cannula wasn't helping.  Hubby notified the nurse and asked her to switch the family member to an oxygen mask. This ended up being a better delivery system, since the mask covers the nose and mouth.   This only worked because the n...

Tip #3 One thing Asthma Doc taught us was to NOT store anything under the beds. He said most beds are very dusty underneath, rarely get vacuumed, and can be a problem for those with dust allergies. And it can trigger asthma attacks. When was the last time you cleaned anything out from under your bed? Be honest......the last time you moved? And then you were forced to clean it up?   Under the bed storage is handy. It's out of the way, you don't trip over anything, and it's a great hiding place.  But when was the last time you had to retrieve something from under the bed, how was it? Full of dust? Did you sneeze and cough?  We follow Asthma Doc's instructions and the rule in our house is 'nothing goes under the bed!'  If you look at the graphiic, you can see how easy it is to vacuum under the bed and keep it clean.  If you have ever woken up with a stuffy nose or itchy eyes, this could be one of the reasons. Or if you wake up sneezing at night, which daughter Kitt...

    We had a little family emergency last night. We are worried about one elderly family member who is in the hospital caring for their spouse. The reason for our concern is that the caregiver has asthma -  and stress can actually trigger an asthma attack.  I wasn't even thinking about that last night as we were discussing the situation with our kids. But Son #1 brought it up. We were worried about the caregiver's coping skills, you never know how people will react in an emergency. Son #1 said, "I hope she's okay and doesn't get so stressed out that she has an asthma attack".  Oh yeah, that. We reminded Caregiver to take her inhaler with her to the hospital. Belly breathing can also help your stress level or anxiety if you have an asthma attack.  I taught a workshop in daughter Kitty's school on behalf of American Lung Association. The workshop is called "Open Airways". They are short 40 minute lessons about asthma and how to self manage. One o...

       Flash back Friday- fires There's a beautiful historic building across the street from me that is on fire. I saw the news coverage this morning during breakfast. The area here is swarming with people taking photos. It's freezing cold outside, and the area smells of smoke. I can smell a little bit of smoke in the main part of the building where I am, I am watching through a window. It's a shame to see beautiful architecture lost to fire, we're all hoping if can be saved and renovated. I'm not so sure. But I am lucky to be able to watch it from inside another building. If the cold didn't trigger my asthma, the smoke definitely would. It always makes me a little uneasy. Smoke from a forest fires several years ago blanketed the valley where we live and almost cost Son #2 his life. It all happened so fast. He was outside playing with friends, and we didn't notice how smoky it was.    You know little kids-if they're have fun, they won't come in for a...

    As much as my historic home drives me crazy (there is always something leaking, flooding, shorting out, breaking, etc), there is one up side - we have original wood floors. We had to rip out all the carpet when we moved in and Hubby refinished the wood floors. It's a big job, but you can watch videos online to learn how to sand wood floors and rent equipment at specialty store.  Hubby looked with satisfaction at his handwork and declared, "We could play a great game of basketball in here!" I love my wood floors, especially for allergies and asthma. They're easy to clean, plus I can actually see the dirt and dust bunnies. Helllllooooo vacuum!  I love to vacuum -weird, I know. There's something about the monotonous work of vacuuming. My canister vac (equipped with a HEPA filter of course) allows me to vacuum the area rugs, then flip a switch and use it on the wood floors.  Then I switch attachments on the nozzle, and can clean all the edges of the rooms...

  I was listening to an asthma webinar the other day by two pharmacists.  I'm not suggesting you disagree with someone with medical training, but I will anyway..... A listener asked him if you should change things in your home to make it more allergy/asthma proof. He said no.  He has a family member with asthma, and he had removed his carpet and replaced it with wood floors. But he said it would be too expensive for most people. I think he missed the boat.  There are a lot of things you can do to make your home better. One the biggest things you can do to make your house allergy & asthma friendly is to take your shoes off at the door.  Removing your shoes at the front door  You use a basket, small bookshelf, big plastic bin - use whatever works for you. As a former Interior Designer, mine has to coordinate with my beachy vibe, so I use a large wicker basket. So, what's the big deal about wearing shoes in a house?  Well, everywhere you have been d...

  I was thinking back to the time when Son #2 was diagnosed with asthma.  Pediatrician admitted my son to the Pediatrics ward of the hospital when the respiratory therapist told me my son had asthma. I still remember the shock, thinking 'wait a minute!' I already took my son to the pediatrician clutching my wrinkled magazine article about asthma from a parenting magazine.  Something just didn't seem right when the Pediatrician said my son didn't have asthma - that it was just a virus. I still felt unsettled with that diagnosis. The day my son was admitted to the hospital, I had taken my son to the doctor because he was sick AGAIN, with a cold and cough. But my son's color was really off - he looked very pale, had purple circles under his eyes, and his lips were a burgundy color.  He looked terrible and I just felt something wasn't quite right. So, off we went to the doctor's office. The physician's assistant came in first, then suddenly the room filled...

        I think Hubby may have finally fixed the mysterious leaking washing machine. I spent time laying on my stomach on top of the washing machine, with a flashlight trained on the pipes to see if I could isolate the leak. How hard can it be? Very difficult, it turns out. I gave up at one point. Then, as I was running a load through the washing machine, I heard a loud splash. Both Son #2 and I looked at each other, said "Uh oh" and simultaneously and jumped up to check the washing machine.    Still puzzled.    I had Hubby take a photo of the pipes and head over to the plumbing supply store and to see if they could help him figure out the problem. They suggested there may be a blockage and recommended a product to clean out the pipes. He had already tested that theory, he stuck the garden hose down the pipe and turned it on full force.    No blockage.    He actually figured it out on his own, he deduced that there was an ...

        Do you get a real Christmas tree, or a fake one? We used to get real trees when the kids were little. But we noticed non the kids had non stop sneezing and coughing.    That was when the kids were first diagnosed with asthma and we were still learning. My kids have multiple triggers (basically, they're allergic to anything that's alive). Trees, bushes, flowers, grass, dogs, cats, horses. Oh, I exaggerate. There is one animal that Kitty isn't allergic to.....    Shot Nurse was laughing when she said there was one animal that didn't show up on Kitty's scratch test (skin test to see what you are allergic to).     A rat.    She said we could get a pet rat!    Very funny. Not happening.   Some people may think it takes the fun out of Christmas when you have a fake Christmas tree. Real Christmas trees do smell wonderful! Along with the gingerbread house and sugar cookies.    But, what do you do i...

      F lashback is just from this week. I had another asthma attack, this one on Wednesday night. Problem is, I can't for the life of me figure out what set it off. I remember sneezing quite a bit, and my family laughing and saying, "are you done yet?"but instead of answering, I just sneezed some more. Then I started coughing, and coughing, and coughing. I could feel my chest tightening up, then started coughing up mucus. Fun times! So, as I was sitting on the couch in my big furry bathrobe, I had to try to think back to what I had just done. I changed clothes in my room, washed my face, then went in and retrieved a book from my nightstand. That was it. I had to analyze each action. Anything in the bathroom that would have set it off?    How about the nightstand? Was it too dusty?    I remember the curtain catching on my bathrobe as I passed. Hhmm, it was the 'winter curtains' I had in the store room. I had changed my bed set to put the winter colore...