My Life as an Asthma Mom

  I was reading a story in the newspaper last week, about a newer way to treat severe asthma. The patient in the story was waking up almost EVERY night for the past 42 years with an asthma attack. He has had asthma attacks so bad that on two occasions they have had to call the helicopter to fly him to the hospital. He's also been on a ventilator twice. So how can doctors treat someone like him? Bronchial thermoplasty is an option. It's a technical sounding name but easy concept to understand. They put a small bronchoscope through the nose into the lungs. The bronchoscope zaps the smooth muscles in the airways. The heat softens the muscle and reduces the spasms that cause asthma attacks. The article said that 80% of those treated with the heat have had a better quality of life. It has meant having to miss fewer days of work or school because of asthma attacks. It also meant fewer trips to the emergency room and fewer hospitalizations. This patient had to a series of 3...

(A Pink Sunset) Angela Giaco, who manages Pink Sunset Blog contacted me while she was in the hospital for asthma. Angela was lucky enough to get out of the hospital just before Christmas! Asthma never picks a good time to hit, my kids have been in the hospital 12 times over the years, including the 4th of July, New Year's Eve and on their birthday. Angela's story is interesting, you can read what it's like to be in the hospital from her point of view. So why do you need to be hospitalized for asthma? There comes a point when you can't do anything more at home and you are still having a hard time breathing. My kids already take daily asthma controller medicine, allergy medicine, a leukotriene modifier, and have had 5 years of allergy shots. When my kids start the horrible asthma cough and their peak flow meter  is in the yellow zone, they take oral steroids, prednisone   Sometimes that works for my kids, other times they continue to get worse, and we move to the ...

It's supposed to be a fun time at grandma's, but I'm starting to think my in-laws have other motives.  Are they trying to kill me off?! It's scary traveling with food allergies, and grandma's house has everything we are allergic to. Son #2 is allergic to tree nuts, and what does she have? Almond milk and almond butter.  Same thing happened last time we were there, we had to go buy a gallon of milk and remind her that Son #2 is allergic to tree nuts, and that means he can't drink almond milk. He needs regular old cow's milk. Then Hubby decided to make Clam Chowder for Christmas Eve dinner. I am allergic seafood, so I bought a can of chicken noodle soup at the store so I could have something to eat. I left the kitchen when he started cooking, and was watching TV in the area next to the kitchen. Suddenly, I felt a flushed feeling race through my body and my heart started pounding. My first thought was the seafood. Uh oh! I ran from the room into another part...

  For those of you that have allergies, it can be a real pain. My college-aged son and teenage son and daughter are allergic to everything. Literally. Grass, trees, flowers, bushes, animals, dust and mold. You name it, they're allergic to it. There comes a time when no matter how much medicine you take, you are still miserable. My kids would take Singulair and Zyrtec and still be miserable all the time. They would sneeze, their eyes would itch and water, and they would start wheezing.    Asthma Doc told them to shower every night before bed (to wash all the pollen off their skin and hair.) That didn't help either. Daughter Kitty would sneeze all night long and wake us up. Then she would get a bloody nose. Fun times! So all three of our kids have had to have allergy shots (immunotherapy)  It's a long process, it usually takes 3 to 5 years. And it takes A LOT of time. You have to go to the doctor's office twice a week. Have one shot in each arm, then...

Did you know that strong emotions can cause asthma attacks? I have been thinking about the families of the school children in Connecticut. They're dealing with shock, panic, disbelief, anger, and sadness after the mass shooting.  When you experience any strong emotion (laughing, crying, fright, etc) it can cause an asthma attack. On Webmd's website, they have an article about asthma, stress and anxiety. The article says that asthma attacks can be caused from exposure to violence, public disasters, public speaking, school exams and family conflicts. So how does that work?  How can strong emotions cause an asthma attack?!  For those of us with asthma, we know that our bodies over-react to situations. We can't help it. When we experience strong emotions, our bodies release histamine and leukotrienes, which makes our airways narrow. That's what makes it hard to breathe and causes an asthma attack.  Since asthma attacks can happen at any time, it's important to mak...

 Yes, I am a germa-phobe. I've already been REALLY sick twice this fall. And colds and coughs are always worse when you have asthma. My daughter, Kitty, is always careful about washing her hands. In fact, she washes them so much the skin is chapped. But she is still getting sick. She's had the stomach flu one week, sore throat the next, and last night had a blazing fever in the middle of her brother's Christmas band concert. So, we ducked out early. So, what's the solution to staying healthy? Here are some ideas from Webmd website.  Washing your hands frequently, using soap, for at least 15 seconds Avoiding close contact with people who are sick Cleaning the headsets of your telephones, and washing doorknobs, railings, and other frequently handled objects to keep them free of germs Keeping your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth Covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze  I like their ideas, especially about "keeping your hands a...

Many of my friends are pulling out their Christmas tree to set up and finding out the tree is really dusty.  Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!  It can be especially dusty if you store it in the garage or attic. You can try putting the tree in your shower to clean it off before you set it up. DON'T try this if you have a "pre-lit" tree! Our tree is about 20 years old (before they had pre-lit trees), but it still looks fine once I fill in all the bare parts with decorations! If you live in an area that has mild winters, you could probably just spray the tree off with the hose, then let it dry before you put it up in the house. We do the same when we put our tree in the shower, we just let it drip dry before we put it up in the living room. It probably sounds like a lot to bother with, you may be wondering why we don't use a real tree. Well, Hubby and I and all three of our kids are allergic to trees. We're also allergic to flowers, bushes, grass, animals and some ...

(http://www.auvi-q.com/) For those of you who have food allergies (or family members with food allergies) you may be interested in a new epinephrine injector. I usually carry Epi Pens, so it may take a while to get used to this new device. But watch-my insurance company will decide not to cover these! I've never had to use my Epi-Pen (knock on wood!) The time Son #1 had anaphylaxis (after allergy shots) Asthma Nurse injected him with epinephrine and gave him a breathing treatment. Then she stayed with him for 2 hours, to make sure he didn't have a rebound anaphylaxis event. I will never forget how she saved my son's life. Since that time, I've been nervous about using an Epi Pen. Watching someone having an anaphylaxis reaction is scary, can I keep my wits about me and use the Epi Pen if I needed to? Auvi-Q "talks" you through how to use one. You can watch the video that shows how to use it  here     I've heard that it will be available in the fir...

Did you know that there are things in your home that can make your asthma worse? The 2nd time my son was hospitalized, he wasn't responding to traditional treatment for his asthma flare up. My pediatrician called in an asthma specialist to confer. Asthma Doc asked us all sorts of questions about our home. Did we have pets? Did we have wall to wall carpet? Did we use scented candles? Did we have floral arrangements or silk trees? He went on and on. That was my introduction to a sort of cause-and-effect for asthma. 12 hospitalizations later for my kids, we have tried to make a lot of changes on our home. Some of the things that are recommended through the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). You can find information about controlling asthma triggers on the EPA asthma website. Here's some of the things we do to make our home allergy and asthma friendly Wood floors -easier to keep clean than carpet. I can actually see the dust and suck it up with my vacuum nozzle. ...

I found a short video that shows what happens to lungs during an asthma attack. It is from the American Lung Association. There are actually 3 different things that happen during an asthma attack. The video from American Lung Association shows it better than this photo. (But this was all I had to put on the blog). You can see from the picture above that the left side is what all of you "normal" people get to breathe through. The right side it what those of with asthma try to breathe through. On their video, they explain that: 1st-you have swelling in the lungs (you can see the swelling on the right side of this photo). They said the swelling is always there, even if you aren't having any symptoms (or can't "feel it") 2nd- bronchoconstriction which means that the bronchial tube is being constricted (or squeezed) by the bands on the outside of the bronchial tube. This picture doesn't show it that well, you should watch their video 3rd- mucus is ...

 I always worried when my kids were little that they would have an asthma attack at school, and I wouldn't be there to help.  In fact, they did have asthma attacks and they would call me on my cell phone. I can't tell you how many times I have left a grocery cart in the middle of the aisle and took off for the kid's school! The school nurse was gone and the teacher and secretary didn't know what to do. In our area, school nurses are in charge of 5 or 6 schools, so the chance that they will be there when one of my kids has an asthma attack is zero. I used to joke that our Wonderful School Nurse will be at the school between 8:30-12:30 on Monday mornings, so if they're going to have an asthma attack, make sure it's during that time! Are the teachers and staff in your school trained to handle an asthma attack if the school nurse is gone? I know that in our state, the state health department provides an Asthma Training for Schools. It takes 15 minute and it's...