My Life as an Asthma Mom

It's time for a new vacuum. My nice little canister vacuum has seen better days and it doesn't seem like it's picking up as well as it should. Which makes me wonder.....what is it leaving behind? I've been miserable lately with allergies (yes, the neighbors down the street CAN actually hear me sneezing....) so I want anything that can be sucked up by the vacuum to actually be sucked up! I want all of the dirt, pollen, etc off my floors and out of my house! I found a website that is sponsored by the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America. They have "Certified asthma and allergy friendly" products. So, in my search for a new vacuum, I thought I would see what the experts recommend. Click here to see what I found. You may notice something when you pull up the web page-almost all of the vacuums are Dyson's. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that I don't have $500 in my budget for a vacuum! Sheesh. I have kids that like t...

Can you see the mountains? I can-barely. Usually I have a crystal clear view. This is what we were all breathing yesterday. And I was really having a tough time-so was my neighbor who also has asthma. Boy, can she wheeze! My chest was tight, and I was coughing for a while. Too bad I have to actually go outdoors to get from one place to another. I'm fine in my house, but if I have to go outside to get in the car, or walk from the car into the kid's school, it's just enough to make my lungs hurt during these wind storms. It seems like the weather is always worse before it gets better. This photo was taken while the wind was blowing in before the storm.Today it's raining. It's Memorial day weekend, and the pool just opened today. But with the rain and unusual temperatures-only about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, we are staying home.  At least the air seems to be a little easier to breathe. If changes in the weather bother you, stay indoors if you can. And keep the wi...

I was just reading an article in Allergy and Asthma Today magazine. (Published by Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics) The article was called, " Oral Allergy Syndrome " from their "Ask an Allergist" section.  Dr. Richard Weber talks about how some vegetable and fruit proteins are "cousins" to certain pollens. If you are allergic to a plant or tree, you can be allergic to the fruit too.    That's why if you are allergic to ragweed, your mouth can itch if you eat watermelon or cantaloupe. If you are allergic to birch trees, your mouth can tingle while you eat apples. Weird, huh? Dr. Weber says that when you eat the fruit, the enzymes in your mouth quickly break down the proteins in the fruit. That way, it doesn't get into your bloodstream and travel throughout the body, which can cause anaphylaxis . That's usually what happens with seafood or peanut allergies. If you eat a fruit, your lips may tingle, or the roof of your m...

How can you have kitties if you are allergic?  Steal the neighbor's kitties of course!  Well, we didn't actually steal them. I made the mistake of giving them a little bowl of milk. The kitties were on our porch and they wouldn't quit meowing (at 11:00 at night) and I wasn't about to let them in our house. So, I gave them milk. It worked, they stopped meowing! But now they expect a bowl of milk every time we come out our door. In fact, they think we are their family now.  After their morning bowl of milk, they would lay on the welcome mat in front of our door. I felt sorry for them because the welcome mat didn't look very soft. So I found an old basket and put that on our front porch. Then I had to add a blanket so it's nice and soft......and before you know it, the kitties have moved in! This is them waking up in the morning and yawning. It's been a lot of fun for our school aged daughter. Especially since we don't have pets thanks-to allerg...

(Global Initiative for Asthma) Did you know May 1st was World Asthma Awareness Day? Some places are promoting asthma awareness month. To find out about the Global Initiative for Asthma, click here. Here are a few little statistics for you from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America: Every day in America: 44,000 people will have an asthma attack (that was me last night) 36,000 kids will miss school due to asthma (my #2 son is one of those today....) 27,000 adults miss work due to asthma (either I'm sick or I have to stay home because the kids are) 4,700 people visit the emergency room due to asthma (I've done that too many times to count) 1,200 people will be admitted to the hospital for asthma (done that 12 times with the kids) 9 people die every day from asthma (my goal is to NEVER experience this) Here's a few other tidbits for you: Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children Asthma is the #1 cause of missed school days (13 milli...

Ah, spring is in the air, and so are the flowers and weeds! My flower bed needed a lot of attention, so I spent one night trying to dig out all of the grass that was creeping in, along with other pesky weeds. And was that a lot of work! I have an assortment of flowers that sometimes grow well. But the weeds always seem to grow well! Hhmm. It seems like all I do is pull weeds..... it's a never ending cycle! But, lucky me, allergies and asthma strike again. I was having a little zen time working in the garden, but the longer I worked, the more I sneezed and my nose stuffed up. Then the neighbor's kitties came over to investigate. Not at all shy, they jumped up on my lap-as I'm trying to bend over and pull weeds. Help yourself kitties. I take it you would you like me to be pet you while you're on my lap?! Trying to drop a hint, are we?! So, there I was with two of the things I'm allergic to at the same time, my flower bed and the kitties. I am bound and ...

(American Lung Association) I just read an article from the American Lung Association about Olympic athlete Peter Vanderkaay. He's a swimmer who has had asthma since he was 10. He has exercise induced asthma, and he has two brothers who also have asthma. He's not alone, he knows of many Olympic Gold Medalists who have asthma. And the athletes can still train and compete. Of course he works closely with his pulmonologist (lung doctor) to make sure his asthma is under control. Which make me think that if he can train 4 to 7 hours a day, what's holding me back from exercising? I'm obviously not ever going to be in the Olympics (or compete in any sport for that matter.....) but it's still important for me to exercise. Some people think you can't exercise if you have asthma. Talk to your doctor to make sure you are managing your asthma symptoms. There are many things that can affect asthma, but knowing what bothers you and how to avoid it are important. There...

   Have you ever wondered what the best treatment is for allergies?  Everyone seems to have different things that bother them, so how do you know what to take? Over the counter medication? Allegra, Claritin, Zyrtec Nasal antihistamine spray? Patanase, Asteline Nasal corticosteroid spray? Nasacort, Flonase Nasal wash? Neti pot Prescription medication? Singulair (treats asthma and allergies) Allergy shots?  It's enough to make your head spin! I guess you could try different medications and see what helps you feel better. But the best thing is to start with an allergist. He or she can test you and tell you exactly what you are allergic to. Rather than you trying to guess. You can help by keeping track of when your symptoms seem to get worse-where you outside or inside? Petting the neighbor's cat or dog? Hiking in the mountains? Picking out plants at the nursery? At your kid's soccer game? To learn more about allergy testing from the American Academy o...

I'm a bit nervous because my daughter went on an overnight camp out with her school. They normally go during the summer for a week long camp out. I don't send my kids because being that far away from medical help (and more importantly-people that understand asthma) makes me nervous! All three of my kids are allergic to anything that's alive....literally. Trees, flowers, bushes, cats, dogs, horses, etc, etc. So being in the outdoors can be a challenge. Depending on what the pollen levels are and what is blooming that day can make them miserable or cause an asthma attack. This year the school took the kids on an overnight camp out. I remember the camp well, I attended it when I was a kid. Now it's my daughter's turn. And I remember it being a VERY long bus ride. And it was also in the middle of nowhere. Which means no medical help. The problem with asthma, is that unlike most diseases, asthma is affected by the environment. So a dusty camping area, lots of gre...

So, what is this machine? An oxygen concentrator. When you or your children have asthma and are hospitalized, they  may discharge you (or your children) with oxygen. If everything else looks good medically, and you just need oxygen for a few days, they would rather have you at home recuperating. I would rather have my kids home too! If you only need oxygen for a day or two, they may give you an oxygen tank. But those can run out, and they always made me nervous when I had to change the tank. *shudder* An oxygen concentrator takes room air and converts it to oxygen. Amazing! You just plug it in and hook the oxygen tubing on. Some people use an oxygen concentrator for other medical issues because they only need oxygen at night when they sleep. So they just plug the machine in at night. It's pretty handy! But fair warning, it can be a little noisy, it makes a sort of popping sound every few seconds (maybe it's all part of compressing air or something......what do I know?) ...