Allergies causing asthma attacks



I have a funny daily calendar from The Argyle Sweater. This was one of last week's cartoon. I think it was written for our family!! 

The picture is a little hard to see, but it shows two balloon horses. One has sneezed and popped the top of his head.  One horse says to the other, "Gesundheit ......Geez, Larry, I'd say your allergies are becoming a problem."

I laughed out loud when I saw that cartoon. Allergies are a daily problem in our family. Hubby and I and all three teenagers suffer from allergies. When my allergies get REALLY bad, they can trigger an asthma attack. The same thing happens to Daughter Kitty. Her allergies are pretty severe - she takes allergy medicine EVERY DAY OF HER LIFE, and she is on year 6 of allergy shots.
Most people just do allergy shots for 3-5 years.....but not our family!! 

Last month, Kitty started a strange little cough that lasted for a week or two. I took her to Asthma Doc, who changed her allergy and asthma medicine. Another two weeks passed, and she was STILL coughing-only it was getting worse. She was coughing so hard, she almost threw up. And she also pulled a muscle in her side while she was coughing - poor thing. She hasn't had an asthma attack for a LONG time, so she didn't realize what was happening. Let me tell you - I put the nebulizer together REALLY fast that day! 

Sometimes it's easier for us to use the nebulizer when we have an asthma attack, rather than using our inhalers. It just depends on how hard we are coughing. Sometimes it's hard to breathe in deep enough to use an inhaler. It's easier for me to just sit and breathe in the mist from the machine.
  
So.....we went back to Asthma Doc and he changed Kitty's allergy and asthma medicine again. I hope it helps this time. She also has to have a short burst of prednisone to take the swelling down in her lungs. Prednisone is one of those "necessary evils." For us, it can sometimes prevent our kids from ending up in the emergency room or being admitted to the hospital.

But, it has some nasty side effects. Read up on them so you know what to expect. Sometimes it can change your loveable child into a crazy little demon. 

Have I ever told you how much I hate allergies and asthma? Curse my genetics!!!



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