My Life as an Asthma Mom

Last week, I wrote a post on the "Most Common Inhaler Mistakes", which was mostly for older kids and adults. If you have a younger child, let's review the right way to use an inhaler. The first thing you may notice is that there is a mask on the end of the spacer (the spacer is the long tube that is attached to the inhaler.) So, you will have a spacer with 1) an inhaler attached to one end and 2) a mask attached to the other. See the photo above.  (One thing I don't like about this photo is that the child is using a spacer, not a valved holding chamber. Usually, you would use a valved holding chamber with a mask. You can learn more from The University of Arizona Health Science Center. ) The mask kind of looks like an oxygen mask. It helps seal the area around the mouth and nose to get a nice, tight fit so the kids will get all the medicine from the inhaler. (For all of you parents with squirming kids - you know what I'm talking about!) It'...

Last week, Hubby and I had a long awaited vacation to Hawaii. As we were waiting to board the plane, a woman near us started violently coughing and then used her inhaler.  Hubby leaned over to me and said, "She isn't using a spacer!" I leaned back and said, "She didn't wait one minute between puffs either." I wondered if I should say something? After all, if you don't use your inhaler the right way, you aren't going to be getting as much medicine as you THINK you are getting. But would you want a complete stranger walking up to you and say, "I couldn't help but notice you using your inhaler. As a Certified Asthma Educator, I can help you make a few changes that would you allow you to get more medicine from your inhaler. May I show you?"  I have found that there are Happy Travelers - you know, the kind who look amazing and are full of energy. Then there are those who have obviously had a little Dramamine or a few dr...

            Halloween is over for another year, and as usual, my co-workers did an AMAZING job decorating our office.  It's hard to come up with a different theme each year, and this year it was The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Each day when I would come back to the office, I would see something else they added.  And true to Halloween and pumpkin patches, they brought in cornstalks and hay. It looked amazing, but I was instantly over powered by the smell of hay and cornstalks. And avoided the front office. Within a few minutes, I had to use my inhaler. In fact, every morning for the past 3 days (since the cornstalks came), I have had to use my inhaler when I get to work.    That's unusual for me. My asthma is usually well controlled.  The cleaning crew walked in and the guy that usually vacuums for us stop dead in his tracks and looked at the floor. I shrugged my shoulders and told him it was just until Hal...