My Life as an Asthma Mom

             This week has been interesting since our neighbor's little girls got two kittens from Santa. They were so excited! But they had already scheduled a family trip after Christmas, so they asked my daughter, Kitty, if she could babysit.    We were a little unsure since Kitty is allergic to all animals, trees, flowers, bushes, etc. There is actually one animal that she's not allergic to according to her skin test - and that's a rat.    Shot Nurse brightly suggested that we get a pet rat for Kitty! What a teaser she is, just what we always wanted, a pet rat. We weren't sure how this week would go with babysitting. Kitty has been doing allergy shots (immunotherapy) for about 3 years, so we were hoping she would do well being around the kittens. The kittens are at the neighbors, and Kitty goes over every couple of hours to cuddle and play with the kittens.  She even bought toys for them but it seems they prefer a piece of ...

( http://www.medicalert.org/ ) Wow! Things have certainly changed since I first bought a medical alert bracelet for Son #2 at the local drug store. It was an inexpensive silver band that showed that he has asthma. Of course I also would meet with his teacher at the beginning of every school year, and also let any coach or scout leader know that he had asthma. They have some new styles of bracelets, necklaces, watches and shoe tags to alert people about allergies and asthma. He has long outgrown his asthma alert bracelet, but of equal concern is his tree nut allergy. We have to watch for that everywhere we go. In fact, last week we were in the city looking at Christmas lights and stopped at a street vender who was sellling hot chocolate. We ordered hot chocolate for all of us, and then Son #2 spotted a bag of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies. And did they look good! He asked for a bag, and I started to reach for it, then remembered that those same cookies had caused him to have a reac...

We went into the city last night to look at Christmas lights, and Son #2 said, "What's with all the scarves?!" Since most men don't wear scarves, he was wondering why everyone else seemed to be. It was below freezing last night (but no snow yet, which is VERY odd for where we live.) But it was so cold that it could take your breath away.    Literally. Those people were smart, because they had a scarf wrapped over their nose and mouth to warm up the air before they breathed it in. Cold temperatures can be an asthma trigger for some people. In fact, some people are sensitive to anything cold, not just the outside air. I start coughing after eating yogurt, smoothies or ice cream.    In fact, yesterday when I passed by our administrative assistant she said, "Are you okay?!" I was coughing because I had just eaten a yogurt. I was a little surprised that anyone would notice, I guess because I am so used to it to coughing immediately after eating yogurt, but I was ...

So, it sounds like a brilliant idea, a cookie exchange! You bake one type of cookies, pile it up on a platter and meet a bunch of friends who have each baked a different type of goodie. When you arrive, you also bring empty plates and plastic wrap. Then you choose a few cookies from each of your friend's trays and pile them on your plate. You have a beautiful plate of assorted flavored cookies, yet you only had to bake once! What could be better than that. Well......... You knew this was going somewhere, didn't you?! Food allergies. It's hard to find desserts without nuts. Son #2 is allergic to tree nuts, so I am always nervous when it comes to any baked goods. There are A LOT of desserts that have nuts in them. And, even if I choose one that doesn't have nuts, how do I know that there hasn't been a cross contamination? If I scan a platter of cookies, I look for anything with nuts. Are people picking up desserts with their hands or using tongs? Are they using tongs ...

What do you use for Christmas trees when you have asthma? Do you use a real tree or artificial? Often times, having asthma means you also have allergies, and my kids are allergic to anything that's alive. Well, there is one exception-during my daughter's skin test for allergies, we did find out that's she's not allergic to rats. So Shot Nurse cheerfully told us that we could get a pet rat for our daughter! Pass. So, back to trees, since the kids (and Hubby and I) are allergic to so many different things (including trees) do we chance trying to use a real tree one year? Son #2 has completed his 5 years worth of allergy shots and daughter Kitty is about 3 years into having allergy shots. We used to get real trees when the kids were little, but they were always sick during that time too. So was it just that the kids were younger and they needed to build up their immune system? Or were they always sick in the winter because of the Christmas tree? We switched to an artificia...

                                          People always laugh when I say this, but it's true. It really explains the difference between people with asthma and those who don't have asthma (aka "normal people".) I try to explain to people what it's like to have asthma. "Normal people" can pet a dog or cat (or have one as a pet,) go horseback riding, visit a hay maze or a farm, walk through a meadow of flowers, do yard work outside, laugh or cry, wear perfume, use cleaning supplies or scented candles, go outside on a cold day, be around a smoker, and eat anything they want. For those of us with asthma, all of these things and more can cause asthma attacks. We can't help it! Our bodies just over-react, like a Drama Queen. The inside of our airways close up, the bands around the outside of the airways shorten and squeeze the airway from the outside. And then, because the airway is injured...

( www.cbs58.c0m ) Wow! What a story! A woman in Wisconsin, Kandace Seyferth, had a severe asthma attack, and when she collapsed, her daughter Maddie Kestell (age 10) and her daughter's friend Katlyn Vreeke (age 12) calmly started CPR and saved her life. How did two young girls know how to do CPR? From watching Grey's Anatomy! To see the video of the story, click here. The paramedics were shocked when they arrived at the house and saw the two young girls performing CPR on the mom. (Most adults can't do CPR) The girls thought nothing of it, since they said they had seen it numerous times on Grey's Anatomy. The girls performed CPR for four minutes until the paramedics came, saving the mom's life. Since the body can't go without oxygen for longer than four to six minutes, she most likely would have had brain damage IF she managed to survive the asthma attack in the first place. I don't think my kids could do CPR if I collapsed. In fact, I'm not sure I co...

(Allergysolutions.com) I was at Asthma Doc's office yesterday with daughter, Kitty, who was getting her weekly allergy shots. I notice a new magazine on the table and was thumbing through it. It carries products for 'Environmental Control & Allergy Avoidance Products.' I noticed that we already use most of the products listed in their catalog. We have dust mite proof mattress covers, dust mite proof pillow cover and pillows. Air purifiers and a special filter on our furnace. However, I have noticed a lot of dust in my house. Especially since I have a dark wood finish on my furniture-that light coating of dust drives me crazy. Especially when the sun hits it just right. I feel like I am always wiping down the tops of tables and dressers. I'm going to try the vent filters and see if they make a difference. They claim that the filters 'stop dust and other allergens from entering your home.' I thought that's what the filter on my new furnace was supposed to ...