My Life as an Asthma Mom

      Should you get the pneumonia vaccine (Pneumovax 23) if you have asthma?   According to Drugs.com, people ages 2-65 should get the vaccine if they are risk of developing pneumonia because of another disease (such as asthma, diabetes, lung disease or heart disease, alcoholism, liver or kidney disease.) You should only get the pneumonia vaccine once.     In special circumstances, they may give it again, but there is more of a possibility of more serious and frequent side effects. To read their advice, click here. Son #2 had the vaccine when he was younger because he had already been hospitalized several times with pneumonia. His doctor recommended the vaccine, so my son had that vaccine.    A couple of months later, he wound up in the hospital (again) - with pneumonia! I was shocked!    The nurse in the Pediatrics unit said "Well, it doesn't work on all strains of pneumonia and it doesn't work on all people."    Just our...

It's that time of year again, I am waiting for the supply of flu vaccine to come in at my local health department.  If I get mine at the doctor's office, I have to first pay for a well check up for all 5 of us ($25 each-so $125) - OR I can wait for the health department to get their shipment. I think I'll get mine at the local health department. I know they have the flu mist, but people with asthma aren't allowed to have the flu mist. Click here to find out why Asthma falls into the category of "chronic medical condition" and the mist is made from a live, weakened virus. So it's not recommended for those of us with asthma. But what's the big deal about a case of the flu anyway? Well, if you have asthma, you are more likely to develop pneumonia. Click here for more info Two of my kids have been hospitalized a total of 12 different times for asthma and pneumonia. And it's not fun. In fact, it's one of the scariest things you can see as a ...

School started this week, and we went to Back to School Night to meet my daughter's teacher.    Of course we had to fill out the emergency form listing her asthma, and talk to her teacher about that. While I was there, I was able to look around see what Kitty's classroom looked like. I was relieved to see that it looked clean and uncluttered. (Yes, I know it is the start of the school year, so it's clean NOW...) but I was happy to see that there weren't piles of stuffed animals, a furry rug or oversized pillows in the classroom.    I did see a couple of beanbag chairs for the kids to sit in while they read, but they were a smooth vinyl, and not fabric. That's a better surface to repel dirt and dust. Also, the class was free of pets except for a salt water fish tank. Do some classrooms still have class pets? Lately, they're showing a Target commercial where the teacher has a guinea pig that she says she'll send home with each student to take care of...

It's soccer season! Which is great, except that it's played on grass, and that is one of Kitty's triggers. She's been better since she's been doing allergy shots for the past 3 years, but sometimes it still bothers her. At least she doesn't have exercise induced asthma, that can make it a lot harder when you are playing sports. Does your child's coach know what to do if your child has an asthma attack? We actually had a player that had an asthma attack on Saturday during the soccer game, and the coach didn't know what to do. Luckily, we found the player's mom, but what if she wasn't at the game? Or what if a player has an asthma attack at practice? Most parents drop their kids off for practice, but attend the games. No one there would know what to do to help my kids if they had an attack during practice. There is a 20 minute FREE online training about asthma that was made for coaches (of course anyone who works with the yout...

    I can't believe summer is over and it's Back to School Night next week for Kitty.    The first thing we'll do when we meet Kitty's teacher is to let her know that Kitty has asthma. I'll make sure she also knows that how serious asthma is, and that Kitty has been hospitalized 4 times for asthma. (Not to mention countless doctor and ER visits......) I also took a new Asthma Action Plan to Asthma Doc to fill out for this school year. I need her teacher to have a copy of that, so that when Kitty has an asthma attack, the teacher knows what to do.    The weird thing about asthma is that there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to asthma. Everyone has different triggers, different symptoms when they have an asthma attack, and different medications that they take to treat it.    So, making sure Kitty's teacher knows what will trigger Kitty's asthma, what symptoms to watch for and what medication she takes to treat it are very important. I also fill...

(CNNhealth) Many of you may have watched Diana Nyad getting ready to swim 103 miles from Cuba to Florida-at age 61! Wow! I thought it was an interesting story, but then I really paid attention when I heard that she had to end her swim because of asthma. She was only half way into her swim when she had to stop. She was very upset and has been training for this swim for 2 years. But asthma isn't something you can plan for. She said she used her inhaler 40 times during the 29 hour swim and even used some oxygen, but she couldn't beat her asthma. I think people that don't have asthma don't understand what asthma can do to your body. They may take for it for granted that they can breathe, but when you can't breathe and aren't getting the oxygen you need, it just wipes you out. You are so tired and weak, that whatever you have planned to do is probably going to have to be cancelled. It's hard to explain to someone that doesn't have asthma...

    I was at the pharmacy (yes, again) and was chatting with the Pharmacy Technician.    As we were chatting about allergies and asthma, she mentioned a great idea to deal with allergies. She puts on a new pillow case every few days. Now, anyone without allergies would think she was crazy and it's a waste of time. For those of us with allergies, who wake up sneezing and wheezing at night, it's a great idea!    Many people don't realize that you get pollen in your hair, eyebrows, eyelashes and on your skin at the end of the day. There are several things you can do before you go to bed.    My Asthma Doc suggests: Shower EVERY night before you go to bed. This removes the pollen and will allow you to have a better nights sleep. Sleep with the windows closed (to keep out any more pollen) Use air condition (central air) rather than a swamp cooler If you don't want to shower at night (it does help!) consider changing your pillow case every fe...

    Who doesn't love chocolate cake?  Well, I do have one friend who can't stand to be around it.....bad memories from morning sickness. But, for the rest of us, chocolate cake is a slice of heaven. We were at a family party last night, and I put two different slices of cake on my plate for Hubby and I. One had nuts sprinkled on the top, the other had coconut. I told Son #2 that they had chocolate cake for dessert, but one had nuts on the top. I told him they were in separate pans, so he could get a slice of the coconut covered cake instead. And my brilliant son said, "No thanks mom. I'm not sure if they used the same utensils to serve both cakes, so I better pass"  This is the son that is allergic to nuts. Have I trained him well, or what?! We're always on the look out for nuts and seafood. Son #2 has to watch for nuts, and I usually inspect the desserts first, but I have to admit I was a little lax last night. I'm glad he decided to pass on the cake....

       I have to admit I'm a little nervous to go camping. Hubby usually takes Son #1 and Son #2 (both scouts) but Kitty and I stay home (I love my nice, soft bed-not to mention air conditioning!) Last summer, Hubby pitched the tent in the back yard so Kitty could "camp out." The s'mores were delicious (even if they were cooked in the microwave in the house.) But when I went to crawl into my sleeping bag, the dirt in the tent from the previous camp out was overwhelming. I instantly started coughing, and couldn't stop.    Why was I the only one that was having a problem with the tent? Kitty has asthma and is currently doing weekly allergy shots. She just looked at me with raised eyebrows as I was struggling to breathe. She was just fine and ended up spending the whole night in the tent. I went inside for a treatment, and stayed inside! Hellllooooo nice soft bed and clean air. Asthma is so hard to understand, there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to asth...

I just read an article about prescription drugs that will be going generic within the next 14 months. Included in the article was a mention of asthma drugs. Wahoo!    I'm a little excited for what this means for patients, it will mean a loss of money for the pharmacy companies, but it's good news for us. My husband and I and all 3 kids have allergies. And all 3 kids and I have asthma. So, we are at the pharmacy A LOT! In fact, it's a little embarrassing that all I do is walk up towards the counter, and they simply reach behind them for the prescription for Hubby/Me/Son #1/Son #2/Kitty. Asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol lowering medication, depression, bi-polar disorder and medication for HIV are all going generic. (I wish I knew WHICH asthma medications were going generic......) Click here to read the story. It's a little sad to see people are going without medication because they can't afford it. In the article, the doctors said they can always te...

I know we are in the middle of a heat wave across most of the county, and I have been struggling, along with a lot of people. Luckily, we installed central air in our home several years ago. But, I can't hide out there forever! I do have to go to work, and we enjoy taking walks in the evening with the kids. (The mosquitos especially love it when I go walking in the evenings, the nasty little blood suckers! They bit me 10 times in one night, my legs look like I have chicken pox!) But I have really been struggling to breathe as we walk in the evenings, and I wondered how much of that was due to asthma. I don't think I'm THAT out of shape! I found a story online from News25abc out of Evansville, IN about the heat and asthma. Click here to see the story. I knew there was some connection between heat and asthma! I hate this asthma body sometimes, I get so tired of it overreacting to every little thing. If it's not the heat causing problems, it's my beautiful flower bed I...