My Life as an Asthma Mom

  So, my youngest child, Kitty, reminded me the other day that we still haven't bought a horse for her for the back yard. She said she has been patiently asking for five years now, and still no horse. Hubby said he keeps forgetting to get one each time he goes to the horsey store. I had to listen to an hour long car ride of her saying, "but they're sooooooo cuuuuuuuute!" "aaaahhhh, there's another one!" and on and on. We live in the city, and our backyard is about the size of a postage stamp. Not to be deterred, she has decided that to save room, she will store the horse's tack and food in her oldest brother's bedroom (who recently moved out.) We can joke about it with her, but the sad truth is that we can't have any animals inside or outside out home. When you have allergies and asthma, animals are not a good thing to have around. They are a very common asthma trigger and as cute as pets are, they can make you feel miserable. I feel like a s...

  So, is it a good thing or a bad thing that the people at the pharmacy know me when I go to pick up prescriptions?    Not only do they know me, but they also knows all 3 of my kids.    When I walk up to the counter, they simply reach bag and grab the bag, I don't even have to tell them which prescription I am picking up and for which family member.   Once in a while, I will see someone walk up the counter and tell their name and ask for their prescription. That person must not be on any medication for a chronic condition. How would that be? Our family of 5 all have year round allergies, 4 of us have asthma, and 2 of us have food allergies. So we are at the pharmacy a LOT! In fact, I asked the pharmacist if it would be easier for me to just sign over my paycheck every two weeks.   We have tried a three month supply from the mail order pharmacies, but it didn't seem to save any money. For some people, it does. The mail order pharmacies will send a three...

         It looks like daughter's eczema is flaring up again. I didn't think she would still be having a problem as a tween, it seems like most of my kids had problems when they were toddlers.    Unfortunately, asthma, allergies and eczema often go hand in hand and can often last a lifetime. Lucky us! Kitty started out with a spot on top of her knuckle, which then spread to the top of her other knuckles. Then it spread to the inside of her elbows and knees. What confused me was having it on the top of her knuckles, that's what made me wonder if it was something else. So Kitty got to visit Dermatologist today. Kitty has several patches on her hands, so Dermatologist asked if she washes her hands a lot (which she does.)    He then laughed and said he doesn't see a lot of eczema in boys, because they are usually terrible hand washers. Ugh. He did prescribe a prescription cream for her to use, but recommended using a mild hand soap (such as Dove....

        Have you ever looked at a nebulizer and thought, "huh?"    How do all the little pieces fit together?    And when I'm done with the breathing treatment, what do I clean? And how do I clean it?   Your home health care should have sent a tech out with the nebulizer to show you how to use it, how to keep it clean, and how to store it.  It's important to clean the pieces of the nebulizer (canister that holds the liquid medicine, the mouthpiece or mask, etc.) Why is it so important to keep clean? Well, it is medical equipment! And like any medical equipment, you want to make sure it's kept clean. If your lungs are already being cranky (which is why you are doing a breathing treatment), the last thing you need is to use dirty equipment covered in bacteria.  Otherwise, you can inhale that bacteria - which is definitely going to make your lungs worse! I found a great resource from American Lung Association that shows how a nebulizer...

      I'm always hearing something new about ways to treat asthma, the latest one I heard involves drinking coffee to treat asthma. According to a New York Times article , caffeine has a substance that acts similar to theophylline , which is a drug used to treat asthma. Can caffeine replace theophylline? The Times article says that coffee can result in a small improvement in lung function for 2-4 hours. But it also says that the improvements are very slight , not enough to act as a replacement for medication.    You would have to drink several cups of coffee to equal what's in a puff of Albuterol. And it's hard to drink anything when you are coughing and short of breath. If you are having problems breathing, I would not suggest drinking coffee! Use your inhaler!    If you feel like your inhaler isn't working, call your doctor. The majority of people (medical personnel included) don't use their inhalers properly. So, you may not be getting as much medi...

(Allergy and Asthma Network) Do you ever look at a poster like this and think "huh? I'm confused!" Join the club.    It seems a lot of people are confused, there are discs and inhalers. So what do you use and for what?    All the discs I have seen are for maintenance medication, so you use them every day. But what about metered dose inhalers? They look the same, except for color, so which ones are used for every day (maintenance or controller medications) and which are used for when you are having problems breathing (rescue or emergency inhalers)? It's hard to tell a difference, Son #2 has two inhalers, one is Advair (so he uses it every day) the other is Xopenex, so he uses it when he's having problems breathing.    One is purple, one is blue. Hubby can't tell the difference, as much as I love him, he wouldn't know what to do if Son #2 was in trouble. I know some companies are developing stickers to put on inhalers ."Iggy and the Inhalers" has ...

  There are a lot of different types of Asthma Action Plans online. By the way, did you know that it is legal in every state in the U.S. for students to carry their inhaler with them during school?    However, you must fill out a Self Administration Form every year, sign it, and have the doctor and principal sign it. As long as your child is old enough to use their inhaler on their own, they can carry it with them. (Do you really want them to have an attack out on the soccer field and have their inhaler locked up in the front office?!)    We all know that schools are drug-free, however students with asthma and diabetes are allowed to carry their medication with them. Also, according to Allergy & Asthma Today magazine, every state except for three allow students to carry their Epi Pen with them as well. (Wisconsin, New York and Rhode Island still need anaphylaxis laws) So, even though it's the middle of summer, we are getting the kid's forms filled out by As...

       Do you ever have a hard time getting your kids to sit still while they have a nebulizer treatment?    How can you distract them for 10 minutes?    It was always a challenge when my kids were little, sometimes Teddy Bear would get a "treatment" first. We would hold the mask up to teddy - without Albuterol. We would add a little water to the canister so the kids could hear how the noisy nebulizer worked.    We would tell Teddy what a good job he was doing and how brave he was to have a breathing treatment - even if it was noisy and seemed a little scary.   But we told Teddy that he would feel so much better after the special medicine helped him breathe better.   After Teddy was done, we would fill the medicine cup with Albuterol and it was time for the kids to have their breathing treatment. We would tell them they were being brave too - just like Teddy.   As they got older, we would let Daughter be in charge and...

I found something in my Allergy & Asthma Today magazine. There is something called The Great American Asthma Challenge It's the first ever nationwide grass roots movement to end asthma suffering and death. Everything is online, and free. They have different "challenges" each week. But a lot of them are really easy, such as making sure you have an Asthma Action Plan. Or reading an article about asthma. You can also talk to family members about asthma, to see if there's a family history. They have a challenge about learning about anaphylaxis and letting family members know about it. You don't have to do them in any certain order, whatever is most important for you. You have to register and then can log on every week and see what you want to work on. I believe that knowledge is power, and the more you know about asthma, the better you will be. I am always learning something new, and I've been dealing with it for 11 years now. Anyway, just another idea. Let m...

(nydailynew.com) It's that time of year again, time to celebrate the 4th of July. Many of us are having BBQ's, attending carnivals and parades and of course lighting off fire works. Many of you who read my blog regularly know that I have a fear of smoke. This is due to Son #2 who almost died from the effects of a forest fire-the smoke filled our valley, along with my son's lungs. It was during 4th of July weekend, so the kids wanted to light off fireworks. It seems like kids are drawn to fireworks and water. (Watch your kids near the water too-we've already had 9 children that have drowned so far this summer in our state. All it takes is you turning your back 'just for a second' and they're gone.) But back to fireworks. They can cause problems with asthma-any smoke can. Keep your kids a safe distance from them, and watch the way the wind is blowing the smoke, change positions frequently if you need to. And watch their breathing- if they start coughing then d...