My Life as an Asthma Mom

I'm one of those parents who has to be VERY careful when I am shopping at the grocery store. I have a seafood allergy and Son #2 has a tree nut allergy. There is hope for those allergic to peanuts. There is a Peanut Allergy Therapy trial where patients wear a patch that releases peanut allergen into the skin. I just saw the story on CBS News. The idea behind the study is that those wearing the patch would slowly build up their tolerance over the year. About 1/2 of the people could eat up to 4 peanuts at the end of the year. I know what you are thinking.....4 peanuts?! Well, when you are severely allergic and ONE peanut can cause a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) that can kill you - yeah, it's a big deal!  The doctor said there were local reactions, but no systemic reactions. What does that mean? That the patients may get a welt on their back from the patch, but that it didn't cause any other symptoms that go through the whole body (swelling in the t...

Are you surprised to see a picture of medication?!  I was when I read the story on Webmd! I am allergic to seafood, and Son #2 is allergic to tree nuts. And I have read plenty of stories about people who are allergic to peanuts and have had a severe allergic reaction. In fact, some allergic reactions are so severe (anaphylaxis) , that they can cause death.  When I think of someone having an allergic reaction, I usually think they ate something that caused anaphylaxis.  But not so fast!!  In the Webmd article, a group of researchers looked at deaths certificates from 1999-2010 from the  U. S. National Mortality Data Base. They found almost 2,500 deaths from anaphylaxis, and they tried to figure out what caused the deaths.  The results of the study were surprising. They found that:  59% of deaths were from medications  7 % were from food  15% were from venom (insect bite or sting) 19% didn't specify the cause ...

This is one weird winter. In Boston, they have 7 feet of snow. All you can see are mounds of snow on the side of the road - which are actually cars covered in snow. Schools, work and church are cancelled. In the West, we have been having a dry winter and warm temperatures. People are out golfing and washing their cars in the driveway (true story!) My aspen trees are blooming, and my crocuses and daffodils are several inches above the ground. Normally, they would be covered in snow.  With flowers and trees blooming, comes sneezing and wheezing. Yes, hay fever season has already started for us!  Some people can control their allergies with over the counter allergy medicine. We also keep the windows closed and shower before bed to remove any pollen from our hair and skin.  But, sometimes that isn't enough. If you are still miserable, talk to your specialist about allergy shots. Here's a video from Webmd that talks about allergy testing and allergy ...

 Valentines Day is tomorrow, and it can be a little tricky to find something safe to eat if you have food allergies. Chocolate is always delicious! BUT - I just saw this urgent notice on ABC news that some of the boxes of See's Candies were mislabeled . The 8 oz. boxes of Classic Red Hearts with Assorted chocolates were mislabeled. The warning said that if you have an allergy to coconuts, almonds, pecans or walnuts, avoid the chocolates! So, I thought I would order some sugar cookies from our local bakery.  As I was completing the order, I remembered that many bakeries add almond flavoring to their sugar cookies . I asked if this bakery added almond extract, and they had to track down the baker to ask. Yes, they do. Hmm.....now what? I had already order three large sugar cookies for my kids that each were decorated with the same saying...."You're my favorite!" As I told the employee what message I wanted on the cookies, he said, "ummmmm okay....

I get to teach another session of Open Airways at a local elementary school, I'm so excited about it!  If you haven't heard of Open Airways, it's a free 6 week course (taught once a week for 40 minutes) for kids aged 8-11 with asthma. It's sponsored by the American Lung Association. What I like about the program is that is interactive. It really gets the kids involved and it empowers them to be able to understand their asthma and better control it.  I also like that there is a handout each day that goes home to the student's family, so they can know what was taught that day. They learn: how to belly breathe how to identify their asthma medicine (which inhaler is for daily use, which one is for the rescue inhaler?) identify what their triggers are learn the 5 emergency signs of asthma  six ways to stay active  deciding when to go to school and when to stay home It also helps them feel like they aren't the only student in the school with ...

My last post was about something only another asthma mom could understand. This one is about what only kids with asthma understand.  We were at Pediatrician's office this week because daughter Kitty has the usual gunk that goes around in the winter  - sore throat, fever, headache, upset stomach, etc. I wanted to get Kitty's throat swabbed to check for strep. Most parents know that  part of the exam includes listening to the lungs with a stethoscope.  When the doctor asked if he could listen to her lungs, Kitty said, "how do you want me to breathe? deep breaths, or normal?" That's when Pediatrician laughed and said, "Every time I have a kid that comes in with asthma, they always know how to breathe!" I said, "yeah - well..... they also know how to do chest x-rays!"  Kitty has been hospitalized 4 times for asthma, her brother (Son #2) has been hospitalized 8 times for asthma. Those were some VERY stressful years of my life. ...

What do blue suckers have to do with asthma? What do they have to do with asthma? Well.......there are certain things that only another asthma mom would understand! My Sweet Friend has a nursing background and has several kids with asthma.   She sent me this text the other day: "Lesson for me! Don't give your sick asthma child a blue sucker. I just went to wake my daughter up from her nap and nearly had a heart attack at seeing her blue lips!" "Earlier that day, we had stopped to see my mom and she gave my daughter a sucker. I went straight home and put my daughter down for a nap. She was recovering from pneumonia, so when I checked on her and she had blue lips, my heart stopped and all of my training kicked in. All that education forced me to calm down and start assessing her. When I realized she was breathing perfectly fine, only then did I remember the blue sucker from earlier!"   Talk about panic!! The one thing you NEVE...