My Life as an Asthma Mom

Itchy is the best way to describe my teenage daughter, Kitty. We have to repeat her skin test because she is having a LOT of problems with allergies-even though she has been on immunotherapy (allergy shots) for almost 5 years. She is still sneezing and sniffing and miserable. And she is having HUGE welts and swelling from her shots. Last week, the lump on her arm was about the size of half a hard boiled egg under the skin. So Asthma Doc is re-testing her. I'm a little worried. She has to stop taking all allergy medicine for a week before the scratch test (otherwise it will mask the symptoms.) She was itching by the first day of not being able to take her generic Zyrtec pill. Every day that she comes home from school, she is covered in red marks from scratching. And there's nothing I can do. She has to suffer for 2 more days. Asthma Doc had her take a short burst of oral steroids (prednisone) to help control the allergic reactions. But she is still miserable. My olde...

I just read an article about "Surprising Asthma Triggers" in  Women's Day magazine   I'm always reading anything that talks about asthma, and this one had a few surprising asthma triggers  that most people don't know about.  Keep in mind that asthma is different for everyone-what may trigger an asthma attack in one person may not bother someone else. These are the surprise asthma triggers they listed: Acetaminophen. It's a pain killer that many people take, but the warning is that it lowers levels of glutathione. And glutathione can ease inflammation (swelling) in the lungs.    Gas stoves. Fumes from gas stoves can irritate the airways. They suggest that when you are cooking, make sure there's some air flow in your kitchen by turning on a fan or opening a window.   Candles and perfumes. Anything with a strong scent can cause coughing fits (I've actually had this happen to me once.) They suggest not spraying perfume in an enclosed area and...

My daughter Kitty is allergic to everything.  Literally. Trees, flowers, bushes, grass, cats, dogs, horses. She's basically allergic to anything living. She sneezes and sneezes and sneezes. And sniffs her nose. ALL NIGHT LONG. The first time we had her tested for allergies, she didn't qualify to start immunotherapy (allergy shots)  Testing for allergies is not a fun process, I always feel guilty for having my kids' back scratch-tested repeatedly with different allergen serums and then waiting to see how big their welts get. It's not a fun test. The best part is when the Shot Nurse rubs Benadryl cream all over their back to help with the intense itching. The other problem is that the kids can't take any allergy medicine the week before they are tested. Which means a miserable week for the kids. Kitty is being re-tested (again) to see if her serum needs to be adjusted (again).  She has weekly allergy shots, but they no longer seem to be making a difference. S...

I was just reading a story in Health Day that said that certain jobs can actually cause asthma. Is your job on the list? There was a 20 year study done in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Estonia. They found that 7% of women and up to 14% of men developed asthma from their job. They were exposed to chemicals at work which caused their asthma. The study also showed that this was despite Public Health messages urging people to use protective equipment. Here is a list from the article " Certain Jobs May Still Pose Risk from Asthma "from Healthday: spray painters exposed to compounds called diisocyanates in paint plumbers who handle adhesives and foam insulation cleaners who come into contact with detergents health care and social services personnel who use latex gloves and are exposed to detergents food and tobacco industry workers exposed to certain proteins hair stylists who handle chemicals in bleach nail beauticians who use fast-acting glue   ...

                                          I was reading a story in the newspaper this morning about pollution in North Pole and Fairbanks, Alaska. The pollution there was so bad from wood burning stoves that they could hardly see across the street. One woman talked about how bad the smoke is, even inside her home. Her 2 1/2 year old daughter was struggling to breathe, was using two inhalers, and her stomach was rapidly moving in and out as her mom was taking her to the emergency room. If a child is that bad, that's a 911 call. I've seen that many times in my own children, and they can go from bad to worse very quickly. What is wrong with that area of Alaska?! I picture a clear snow covered area with beautiful pine trees. Instead, the air is so bad that it is DOUBLE what it is in Beijing China. The problem is that they are burning wood and coal, and it's affecting the health of...

Having a child in the hospital can be pretty stressful.  My friend is in the hospital with her son now, he doesn't have asthma but is having some other medical problems. It brought back memories of having my kids in the hospital (14 times total-12 of those were for asthma.) It's really frightening when your child is having problems breathing. Asthma can go from bad to worse VERY quickly. There were many times when I knew I was in over my head. I knew that what I was doing at home (breathing treatments, oral steroids) weren't working and they needed more help than what I could give them. I am grateful that my husband's job provides good medical insurance and we could go to the emergency room and turn the care of the kids over to the professionals. So when do you stay home and treat asthma for your kids and when do you go to the emergency room?I looked up some information on Webmd, here's what they have listed for " What are the symptoms of a severe asthm...

  It's always exciting traveling with asthma and allergies. I just finished a week long conference on the other side of the country, and what a long week! I made sure I had my maintenance medication AND I took it every morning, I didn't want to have problems with my asthma and not be near my doctor. So it was important to me that I stay on my routine. I also packed my rescue inhaler as well as my Epi Pen (since I also have a seafood allergy.) I was worried about going through security checkpoints through multiple airports. They are so strict about what you can bring on board an airplane, I had to make sure my fingernail clippers were taken out of my luggage. But they allow an Epi Pen with a nice sharp needle on the end. I'm glad they understand that an Epi Pen can mean the difference between life and death with those of us who have food allergies. I wasn't about to put that in my checked luggage. On the last leg home on my flight, the overhead bins on the pl...

 Can essential oils cause an asthma attack?  I recently heard about teachers who were having asthma attacks because parents of their students were using essential oils. Essential oils are the natural compounds that can be found in roots, flowers, bark, stem or seeds of plants. Some people believe they have healing powers. Essential oils can smell quite strong, and the problem with that is in my opinion, essential oils can fall under the "irritant" category of causing asthma attacks. Irritants are strong scents that can cause asthma attacks. It can be cigarette smoke, cleaning agents, perfumes, etc. Keep in mind that when you have asthma, your body "over-reacts" to simple things. Things that don't bother other "normal" people-like being around pets, breathing cold air, eating certain foods, exercising, etc, can bother someone with asthma. There's a whole list of things that can cause asthma attacks. And just because it doesn't cause a p...