My Life as an Asthma Mom

This is the time of year when lots of cold and flu is going around, and that means that sometimes kids can end up in the hospital. So, what if that happens to you?  Start by being prepared! When my kids were little, they were in the hospital 12 times for asthma. It seems like as soon as they got over one illness, their nose would start to run, and I would think "This can't be happening.....they are getting sick-again??!!" A simple cold for my kids would often turn into pneumonia, which would mean another hospitalization. I asked my doctor what to do if the kids got worse after 5:00 when his office closed. He told me about the after-hours network. In our area, many of the pediatricians work together on a network and take turns working nights. So, if my kids were getting worse, and it couldn't wait until morning, I would just call my pediatrician's office. They would have a recording that would list which doctor was on call that night, the phone n...

Okay, all you moms who are tired of "mom guilt" - aren't you tired of feeling guilty for all the things you did/did not do during your pregnancy? Everything seems to be "mom's fault?" Now comes the debate whether eating nuts while pregnant will protect your child from nut allergies. I just watched a story on ABC news about this very topic. They shared information from a newly published study from the Journal of American Medical Association.The study found that: "when pregnant women ate more peanuts and tree nuts they tended to have children with fewer nut allergies"   The story on ABC News said that the study only showed an "association" not a "cause and effect." What does that mean? Researchers are very reluctant to say "one thing causes another thing" or that "doing one thing helps prevent another."  So, they will probably want to do more research. Does that mean that you can have a p...

For those of you who have been on steroids/had kids on steroids, you know how this guy feels. You feel a little nuts-that's one of the side effects of the medicine. Steroids are needed sometimes when asthma is getting really bad, and the doctor needs to get the swelling down in the lungs-fast! In our experience, steroids can sometimes help keep my kids out of the hospital. But, it wouldn't work every time for us, sometimes the kids would still end up in the hospital. (Actually, they have been admitted to the hospital 12 times for asthma...but that's another story for another day!) We have a bottle of Prednisone at home for each of the kids. Asthma Doc knows that when my kids get sick, they go from a little sniffle to dangerously ill very fast! He has given me strict instructions of when to give the kids Prednisone. (Depending on how old your kids are, there is a liquid version or pill.) Sometimes the medicine would be enough to keep the swelling down in the...

Is anyone planning on getting a puppy for their kids for Christmas?    We dog sit neighbor's dog once a week. She is soooooo cute, I mean how can I resist that face? Especially when she looks up under those big bushy eyebrows! At first, I was really nervous about having a dog in our house. Hubby and I and all 3 kids have allergies, and everyone but Hubby has asthma. So, when we started to babysit (or dog sit) Neighbor Dog, I wasn't so sure how it would turn out.    It affected our allergies at first, but we seem better now. We don't sneeze and wheeze as much as we used to. I just read an article in The Wall Street Journal, and I had to look at the title twice, because it said  "How Dogs Might Protect Kids Against Asthma: Gut Bacteria."   Huh?! The first line in the article sums it up: "Scientists studying why pets appear to protect kids against asthma and allergies say the answer might lie in the world of bacteria that live in the gu...

This is how I am feeling lately. Work has been VERY stressful and I have had a LOT of big deadlines. Add on top of that the stress of the holidays, and this picture about says it all. We decided to start with holiday preparations early this year (so I wouldn't be stressed out) , but I am still behind! (And I AM stressed out!!)   We took our family photos early in the fall. We don't use a professional photographer -we just try to find a nice background, set up the camera and tripod and tell the teenagers "okay, everyone act like you like each other!" We also started early with shopping for family, deciding which charities to buy things for, which  goodies to make for the neighbors, figuring out travel plans, etc. But I looked at the calendar yesterday, and saw that it was the 15th of December. Oh no! Only 10 days until Christmas- that's next week??!! Argggggh.  Okay, take a deep breath. Did you know that stress can make asthma worse? Web m...

If you have allergies like me, you know what it feels like to have eyes that water, a runny nose, itchy  throat, and LOTS of mucus. (And possibly start coughing and have to use your asthma inhaler.)  Did you know that 1 in 5 people in the U.S. have allergies? And 2 1/2 million of us get allergy shots every week or every month?! That's A LOT of time spent at Asthma Doc's office!! I was excited to watch the NBC Nightly News last night and see a story from Dr. Nancy Snyderman. There are TWO new allergy pills being reviewed by the FDA, they are already being used in Europe. If you suffer from grass allergies, this may be worth checking into. The only drawback is that the pills just treat broad grass allergies.  With allergy shots (immunotherapy), the serum covers more allergens and they can be personalized for better results. All three of my teenagers have had/are currently having allergy shots. They are all allergic to multiple triggers (grass, trees, bu...

I have an amazing view from my living room window of snow capped mountains.     We're actually going to have a white Christmas this year!    The last few years, we didn't have much snow, but it was VERY COLD. This year, I have already been out shoveling snow (over, and over, and over again....) The snow is beautiful, but it is soooooo cold outside. We dropped 30 degrees in temperature in one day.    We made a mad dash to the hall closet to pull out everyone's coats, hats and gloves. And checking to see if last year's snow boots still fit. Brrrrr. I love the snow, because it makes everything look so magical. The thing I don't like this year, is that like last year, we have record cold temperatures. My dashboard thermometer reads 3 degrees.  Yes, you're looking at that right, it's 3 degrees Fahrenheit!!!    Luckily, I park my car in the garage overnight, so I don't have to scrape the ice off the windows. This morning, when...

I'm on of those old-fashioned people that like to read the newspaper in the morning before I go to work. Yes, an actual newspaper! You know, the paper that some people still get on their driveway every morning. (And then I have to shuffle out to get it in my big fuzzy bathrobe and hope that none of the neighbors see me....... )   This week I read an article about Alpha-1 Awareness month. I've never heard of it before, so I thought I would scan the article. I'm always interested in learning something new.....trying to keep the old brain cells nice and sharp you know!  The Alpha-1 Foundation's website says:   "Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1) is a genetic (inherited) condition – it is passed from parents to their children through their genes. Alpha-1 may result in serious lung disease in adults and/or liver disease at any age. " What caught my attention is how Alpha-1 can be misdiagnosed as asthma. Here are the symptoms tha...

It's that time of year again, cold and flu season! In fact, I'm a little surprised because I usually get really sick with pneumonia every fall.    And it hasn't hit yet. KNOCK ON WOOD!!!  When I get really sick (thanks to asthma), I can't sing, let alone talk. I can't get enough air in to talk, so I just whisper. One year, I was sick with pneumonia on my birthday. I couldn't get enough air out to blow out my candles. I just looked at them as they were burning and thought "this is so sad, guess I'll just watch them burn."    Hubby took pity on me and blew out my birthday candles for me. But to make matters worse, I couldn't taste my cake either, so it was really a bad birthday! So, how do you stay healthy? Do you get the flu shot? There's a crazy debate going on right now with some of my Facebook friends. Yikes! How careful are you about washing your hands?    The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has a whole page about han...

As we are heading into winter, Hubby decided it was time to use the fireplace.   He likes the cozy feel of a fireplace. It has been an ongoing "discussion" between us. We have a historic  home, and as soon as we signed our names on the dotted line, EVERYTHING started to leak, short out, flood, break, etc.  We had so many ongoing problems that I refused to let Hubby use the fireplace until he had it inspected. With our luck, I was sure that if we used it, our house would burn down. We've had so many strange things happen with our house, it actually wouldn't surprise me.... So, 10 years later, he finally paid to have an inspector come and check out the fireplace and chimney. It was actually in good shape!  So, he lit a fire. And I waited. I was a little concerned because our 3 teenagers and I all have asthma.    All night, my chest was tight. And I was coughing. And had that "twitchy" feeling in my throat. And  I had to use my in...

As a follow up to my other blog entry about traveling, it seems like no matter what hotel we stay in, I always have problems with my asthma. I know the room is clean, I check for dust on surfaces. I also look to see if the bed is on a platform (so there's no dust build up under the bed.) But still, every time I would stay in a hotel this year, I would sneeze and wake up with a tight chest. I would have to use my inhaler EVERY morning.  With asthma, it can be VERY hard to figure out what is causing (or triggering) and asthma attack. But after my last stay, I FINALLY remembered something Asthma Doc said.  When he first met us 14 years ago (the 1st time Son #2 was in the hospital) he asked about all sorts of things about our home. Do we have carpet? Pets? Burn scented candles? Have silk flower arrangements? Do we use feather pillows? I forgot about the last one, feather pillows!! That's what most hotels seem to use. They look so pretty when you check into...

          So, I've been traveling a lot lately. And that means going through security at the airport. Again. I take out all my liquids and put them in a plastic bag, which goes in the grey plastic bin.....which then rolls through the conveyer belt and goes through the x-ray machine.  I usually leave my rescue inhaler and Epi Pen (I'm allergic to seafood) in my purse, and send that through the x-ray machine. This time, I stuck my daily maintenance inhaler in my purse too, because I don't like to pack it in my luggage. It would be my luck that it would get lost.... So I had a LOT of medicine in my purse this time!! I always worry that the TSA agents will pull me over and search me because I have an Epi Pen. I mean, for a while you couldn't even carry fingernail clippers on the airplane, and I am carrying something that has a needle in it! This time, I went through security, and was waved over to the side. (I did get a quick pat dow...

How hard is it to give kids medicine the right way? Well, it may be harder than you think!  A new study by Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York City showed that only 1 in 169 caregivers gave children their asthma medicine the right way. Yikes!! What happens if you don't give them their medicine the right way? According to Dr. Douglas Jones, who is an immunologist at Rocky Mountain Allergy and Asthma and Immunology clinic,  "This poor administration leads to a low concentration of the drug into the lungs, which, in turn, inadequately controls the disease" I understand that sentence to mean that kids may not have the protective benefits of the medicine when they need it most. If they aren't getting all of the medicine into their lungs, it won't help control the swelling. If your kids already have swelling (or inflammation) in their lungs ( which you can't see or feel ), then that may put them at risk of getting REALLY sick if they ge...

I was talking to a woman at the gym today (I'm not a morning person, but sometimes I'm awake enough to carry on a conversation.....) and she was talking about her job at the hospital. I said, "Oh, we used to be there ALL the time! My kids have asthma and they were in the hospital 12 times when they were younger. Their asthma seems to be better now that they're older." She asked how old my kids are now, because she has a son that is almost 26 ( which means he will no longer be covered on her insurance.) And that will be a BIG problem because he has diabetes. She said he better find a good job that has insurance!! We REALLY worry about that with my husband's job. If he ever lost his job, who is going to hire him? Who would want to insure him - with a wife and 3 teenagers who have asthma (and a history of hospitalizations?!!)    We would be one of those families that no one would want to insure. I went on the HealthCare.gov website and here's w...

If you have kids with asthma, you probably already know that they tend to get REALLY sick. A cold to a "normal" kid is just that - a cold. To a kid with asthma, it can turn into pneumonia. And for us, that would mean another hospitalization.  My youngest 2 kids (now teenagers) were hospitalized 12 times with pneumonia. ( Yes, that was AFTER getting the pneumonia vaccine!!) One of the doctors gave us a little advice along the way. He told us about a "numbing cream" that can be applied to the back of the hand before an IV needs to be inserted. The brand our hospital used was EMLA.   Why use a numbing cream? Well, when our kids were admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, their oxygen level was usually around 89, it should be closer to 100. If there isn't enough oxygen in the blood, it makes it VERY difficult to get an IV in the vein.  You (or a child) may have experienced the same thing if you were dehydrated. Being dehydrated or having a low oxyge...

This is an all too familiar sight with my kids, since they've been in the hospital 14 times (12 of those were for asthma.) Now that my kids are older, things are better. But for a while, every time they would start to cough or their nose would run, I would panic. For us, a simple cold can go easily turn into pneumonia (thanks to asthma.) That would mean another hospitalization. And we spent WAY too much time at our Pediatrics Ward in the hospital. When you start to know all the nurses and respiratory therapists by name, you know you've been there too many times! But our family mantra is " Things Can Always Be Worse! "  I was reminded about that when I was listening to the radio on the way to work. A Brad Paisley song came on, called "One of Those Lives." In the song, he is complaining about it being "one of those days" - because his boss yelled at him, he is stuck in rush hour traffic, and a Cadillac just cut him off. Then his w...

  I just read a story in the Houston Chronicle about a new law in Tennessee. It makes it legal for schools to stock Epi pens for use on any student who may need it. (In the past, it's been difficult for schools to use an Epi Pen unless that student had a prescription.)     It also provides legal protection for the staff member who uses it. If anyone in the school has an allergic reaction, a staff member can use the Epi Pen to save their life.    Way to go Tennessee!!!!  You may think, "Well, my son or daughter doesn't have food allergies, so I'm not going to worry about it!" Yeah, that's what I thought once too! Boy, was I wrong! The Chronicle article states that: " About a quarter of anaphylaxis cases in schools occur among students who are not aware that they have an allergy."   Yikes!!!!!  We didn't know that our son was allergic to tree nuts until one day about 10 years ago, when he ate a piece of bread at a family member...

I am always on the look out for anything new about asthma. I saw a silly little video about some puppets, The Breathe Easies, who call themselves " the world's most famous (and only) asthma-rock band, here to tell you all about asthma triggers in your home!" You can find the videos on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website called Attack Asthma.   They have several short videos on their page, each one is less than a minute long. You can watch "Clean Up the Mold", "Don't Smoke in the House" and "Vacuum the floor." If there's one thing I've learned over the years about asthma, it is how everything around me can affect my asthma, and my three teenager's asthma. I know that making your home and office a safe allergy and asthma friendly place to be is sooooo important!! You can take all the asthma medicine you want, but if someone in the home smokes/ it's not being vacuumed/ things are dusty/you ha...

                                                                              This weekend, I met with a group of other moms who had kids with asthma. It's interesting to talk to other moms and find out all the things we have in common.  One problem is that when they start their teenage years, they don't tell you what is going on . Unless you hear them coughing, you may not know they are sick/having an asthma attack. They won't tell you that their chest is tight, they are feeling really weak, or that they don't feel well. Why? Good questions. Teenagers are a strange! I think part of it that they don't want to feel "different." Think ab...