My Life as an Asthma Mom

    I saw something interesting on the Dr. Oz show, he was talking about how changes in weather can affect your health. One of the things they talked about was a 'fake allergy attack.'  The guest on his show was talking about what can happen when there is a sudden drop in temperatures-say 10 to 20 degrees in an hour. Dr. Oz explains what happens inside the nose, but I can't tell it as good as he does, so if you want to watch the story, click here. He also talks about how thunderstorms can trigger asthma attacks. The wind gusts that come before thunderstorms are often filled with dust and pollen. And guess what happens when we breathe all of that in? Yep, the Drama Queen Effect-our bodies over react and cause an asthma attack. He also showed a stretch that has been shown to reduce asthma attacks. You put your hands above your head, lace your fingers together (palm side up) and stretch. I would like to find the research on that, or at least know how to spell the name of the...

We went up to our local American Lung Association's event, called the "Fight For Air Climb." It's where people climb 23 flights of stairs to raise money for the local American Lung Association's asthma programs. They asked my daughter, Kitty, to hand out medals again this year, so that was fun for her. Even if she is a little shy.... The most amazing part of the event was to watch the fire fighters climb the 23 flights of stairs-in full gear. Many people have a hard time climbing the stairs on their own, but try adding 60-70 pounds of fire fighting gear! By the time many of them reached the top of the stairs, they were exhausted. Several collapsed at the top of the stairs, and their buddies would remove their gear so they could go sit down.    I could always tell when they were nearing the top, because their alarms would go off on their oxygen tanks (I think that's what the alarm was for.) As they reached the top, they would run out of oxygen. And I can tell y...

          I hear a lot of people say "oh, it's JUST asthma." Well, JUST asthma can kill you. It is rare, but every day in the United States, 11 people die from asthma attacks. I was watching NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, and he told about a New York Times correspondent that died of an asthma attack in Syria. Anthony Shadid was covering the unrest in Syria when he had an asthma attack and died at the age of 43. Anthony Shadid had survived being shot and also being kidnapped while covering stories in other countries. But it was an asthma attack that killed him.  I found an AP article on MSNBC, that interviewed Anthony's father. The father says Anthony had asthma all of his life, and had medication with him. (I don't know if that means he had an inhaler with him or that he had taken his maintenance medication that day.)  But it appears that he was walking to the border, since traveling by car was too dangerous. He was walking behind horses - whic...

I will be the first one to admit it, I am a germiphobe. See my pop up canister of Wet Ones? That stays in my car at all times. That's the first thing I do when I get in the car after being in a store, work or any other building. I wipe down my hands and the steering wheel. Who knows what people have on their hands? And they are all using the same door handles or hand rails that I am. Ever been in a public restroom and see people leave WITHOUT washing their hands? The thought makes me shudder. That's also why I use a paper towel to open the door when I leave a restroom. I push elevator buttons with my knuckle instead of my finger. If I have to use a handrail, I'll use my scarf under my hand, or make a fist and use the side of my hand. I was wiping down the handle on grocery carts WAY before those pop up canisters were available. I used to carry small, individually wrapped alcohol wipes and wipe the cart handle down. Son #1 was a preemie, so I had to keep us healthy. I should...

The Today had a story on this morning about allergy season. It looks like for most of the country that it's going to be a loooooong allergy season. People are having symptoms now because trees and flowers are blooming. In February. Silly little plants, don't they realize that it's still winter? But there they are on the Today show report, perky little yellow daffodils and beautiful pink blossoms on the trees. I always look forward to my flowers blooming, it's like a breath of fresh air. Just not this early in the year. We just had Valentine's Day for pete's sake! For those of us with allergies, it means lots of sneezing and wheezing. And the problem with allergies is that it often times affects asthma. Just because you have allergies doesn't mean you will have problems with asthma. But most people with asthma seem to have allergies. To watch the Today show report, click here. I guess for now we'll stock up on tissues, Zyrtec and Singulair. And make sure ...

This is my my medicine cabinet, and notice that there are TWO tubes of toothpaste. One on the middle shelf, and one on the bottom. That's right, each of us in our family has our own tube of toothpaste. It's one way we have found to cut down on spreading germs. There's nothing worse than having one person in the family with a nasty chest cold or stomach flu, have them use the tube of toothpaste, then have another family member use it. Tada! Another sick person. It may seem like we are over reacting to germs, but our kids have been in the hospital 14 times (12 of those were for asthma.) We had to try something new along the way. So the first thing that goes in the trash when the kids are sick is the toothbrush. Otherwise you can re-infect yourself. Blech. Then we each have our own tube of toothpaste. Many times you can spread an infection before you even realize that you are sick. have you ever woken up with a fever or start throwing up in the middle of the night and think, ...

People ask me all the time if you can "outgrow" asthma. They brightly tell me stories of how their cousin's next-door neighbor's babysitter's best friend out grew hers, so I can too! Well, I haven't. And it seems like my asthma is worse now than it's ever been. And as a mom of three kids, you can guess that I'm well into adulthood now-and I haven't "outgrown" my asthma. So I was interested to hear a telehealth this week from the Utah Asthma Program that was given by Dr. David Gourley. He said that many people do NOT outgrow their asthma, or have their asthma 'disappear.' It can actually become 'dormant' in 30% to 50% of kids at puberty, but often reappears when you are an adult. He also said that the odds are higher if the child has eczema or other family members do. It makes sense to me, my asthma wasn't that bad when I was younger. But I take a maintenance medication every day now and don't go anywhere without my...

I listened to a webinar yesterday and always learn something new. This presenter talked about Diagnosing Asthma. He talked about the "Rules of 2." There are many people who are sure that their asthma is under control, but this is how to tell. Your asthma is NOT under control if you are: Using your inhaler more than 2 times per week Waking up at night (due to asthma) more than 2 times per month Refilling your Albuterol canister more than 2 times per year Does this sound like you? What should you do if it does? A visit to your doctor or asthma specialist would be in order. Dr. Gourley said that if any of those things sound like you (or one of your loved ones) that you need to do more to control your (or their) asthma. He talked about the need to be on a controller or maintenance medication. (That's a medication that you take EVERY day, whether you feel sick or not! ) There are a lot of different medications that they can use to control asthma. You can work with your doctor ...

      I know some people like to bring their therapy dogs to visit people in hospitals or care centers, but what if you have allergies and asthma?  This weekend, we were visiting Family Members in a care center and a family member proudly brought their Show Dog. (And it's a BIG dog) I was shocked and surprised, because I turned around and there it was. In fact, it scared me because I wasn't expecting to see a pet in a care facility.  The problem is that we are allergic to dogs, as is the family member we were visiting. However the other family members felt that they were doing a service by bringing in their show dog to let all of the other residents see her.  Granted, it seemed to work. There were several residents rolling along in their wheelchairs whose faces really lit up when they saw the dog. And it's rather amusing watching grown adults talking baby talk to a dog! I guess it seems a little boring there day after day, seeing the same faces of nurses an...

What if you hate your asthma medicine? Some people don't like the powder taste or feeling that comes from using an Advair disc. That's why talking to your doctor is important. He can always change your medications so that you feel more comfortable using what you have. What's the point of prescribing a medication for asthma if you won't use it? Make sure you are honest with your doctor and let him know if you are taking your medication as prescribed. Are you forgetting doses? Do you not like the taste or feeling, and so you start back on your controller medication only when you are starting to get sick? (Not a good idea by the way, that can easily lead to an ER visit or hospitalization if you aren't keeping the swelling in your lungs under control. The last thing you need is irritation and swelling in your lungs from asthma, and then to get a cold on top of that. Hello hospital staff!) Your doctor is there to help you, he wants your asthma to be under control. So be ...