My Life as an Asthma Mom

I know it sounds weird to be prepping for a long illness, but I know what is coming up this week. This morning, I woke up with my throat feeling funny and my lungs feel a little off. Not enough that I need my inhaler or nebulizer, but just enough to let me know that something isn't right. People with asthma get a lot sicker than people without asthma (when it comes to colds and the flu.)  In fact, it's not uncommon for a simple cold to morph into bronchitis or pneumonia.     If I start with a cold, I know my cold will turn into bronchitis (as it did 4 times last year.) So, I am getting ready. I am stocking up on: Tissues with lotion Throat lozenges Cough drops Orange juice Chicken Noodle Soup I also make sure my Albuterol inhaler has plenty of puffs in it. And I check my boxes of Albuterol vials for my nebulizer to make sure I have enough. Since I moved, I also need to find: The closest Urgent Care (and the hours...

This can be a tough time of year - holiday work parties, making treats for the neighbors, trying to take a family photo, being stuck in an airport, or in a long line of traffic trying to leave the city. Did you know strong emotions can trigger an asthma flare up ? What are strong emotions anyway? Anger, crying, laughter, yelling, fear, etc. And there can be plenty of those emotions this time of year!   So, what do you do? There's always going to be anger, especially if you commute to work (why do people insist on not using their blinker to change lanes? And they can't wait to merge but instead cut off other drivers?) I don't get it! Crying can be common this time of year. It's hard to keep up with holiday expectations and you may be forced to spend time with family members who you didn't get along with as a kid, and you still don't. Laughter - okay, there is nothing funner for me than watching a good movie. Or listening to T...

During this holiday season, we have been dealing with the death of a beloved family member. For those of you who have lost a loved one, you know how hard it is to plan a funeral.  Luckily, this family member had already planned their funeral years ago. But there were still plenty of last minute details to attend to since have changed since she planned her funeral.  During one of our many meetings with the Funeral Director, I was curious about what he sees in his line of work. The death in our family was expected, yet still came quicker than we thought. I have had other deaths in my family where I got "The Phone Call" that no one ever wants to get. (Letting me know that a family member had died suddenly.) Since my world revolves around allergies and asthma, I was curious if The Funeral Director had to deal with any deaths from asthma. His reply was a quick, "Oh yes, many over the years."  Did you know that people can die from asthma? Most p...

This is one of those things you never want to happen - but it does.  We had this scary and sad experience 12 times with our kids. I really hate pneumonia and smoke from forest fires.....those are my kid's enemies. So, you have a child in the hospital for asthma, now what? Well, you know your child better than anyone else. What would comfort them? For us, we found a few things that helped and we packed them with every hospitalization. Favorite blankie   My kids would usually get a blanket from Project Linus, but it's not the same thing as having your favorite blankie at the hospital. The nurses would always remind us that when they come in to change the sheets on the kid's hospital bed, to make sure they didn't accidentally take blankie. Because once it went to the hospital laundry, we probably wouldn't get it back.  Favorite stuffed animal  Same thing here. They would get a stuffed animal that was donated to the hospita...

Recently, one of my college aged sons was looking at a big clock on the wall in our living room. He said, "You know, I can see the number on the clock but not the letters." I could see him squinting, but he still couldn't see them. I was a little surprised and wondered how long he was having trouble seeing? I knew he would need a pair of glasses, so I told him to go to the eye doctor. Sure enough, he came back home with a prescription for glasses. Once he had his glasses, he was walking around the house looking at things. I could tell that he was noticing things that he wasn't able to see before. I told him I remembered what it was like when I got glasses. I didn't realize what I missing! I THOUGHT I could see okay, but once I got glasses, I realized I had been missing a lot! That reminded me of families that get inhalers for the first time. They have NO idea that they aren't breathing as well as they could be. Most people are really ...

This is one of those scary decisions as a parent of a child with asthma. I should know - my kids were in the hospital 12 times. Can I tell you how much I hate pneumonia? And smoke from forest fires? Those caused all of my kid's hospitalizations. So, when do you know if it's time to take a child to the emergency room? Nemours Hospital, says you should watch for these Emergency Signs: "Your child has constant wheezing Your child uses quick relief medicines (also called rescue or fast-acting medicines) repeatedly for severe flare-up symptoms that don't go away after 15-20 minutes or return again quickly Your child has a lasting cough that doesn't respond to inhaled quick-relief medicine There are changes in your child's color, like bluish or gray lips and fingernails Your child has trouble talking and can't speak in full sentences The area below the ribs, between the ribs, and in the neck visibly pull in during...

I'm one of those really uncoordinated people. In fact, I joke that I can't walk and chew gum at the same time.  I used to be graceful - I was a dancer and ice skater when I was young. But, the older I get the clumsier I am. Of course, that could be that my eyes are getting worse as I'm getting older! These days, it's not uncommon for me to round a corner and hit my leg or toe on the kitchen cabinet or furniture. I also have fallen UP the stairs. Anyone can fall DOWN the stairs, but it takes talent to fall UP the stairs! So, enter my bruise covered legs. Most of the time, I don't notice it. But sometimes if I wear a skirt at work, someone will say, "Where did you get those bruises?!" And most of the time - I have no idea! Once in a while, it will really hurt when I hit my leg on something (like when I was trying to pull my suitcase off the conveyor belt at the airport before the cranky TSA agent yelled at me because I was taking too...

It's that time of year again, where the flu is making the rounds. I always worry about getting the flu, because it can be especially bad for people with asthma.  Any cold or flu can be worse when you have asthma.  And I am already hearing about people dying from the flu. In fact, a young (and I assume healthy) 29 year old female lawyer died of the flu in October. And there was no mention of that she had asthma. Last year, The Hubby got the flu. Even though I had quarantined The Hubby to our bedroom, was cleaning everything with bleach wipes, and I was sleeping on the couch to try to avoid the germs, I got sick anyway.  I was at work and felt a little tickle in my throat, so I used my inhaler. As the day went on, my lungs started to burn. That was unusual because I didn't have a runny nose, and I wasn't coughing or sneezing. I didn't feel sick. But my lungs just started to burn-  and it quickly got worse.  That's unusual for me,...

I live in very large state with a lot of sparsely populated areas. To give you an idea of how big, you would have to drive for 8 hours to cross from the north to the south end of my state. And about 5 hours to drive from the west to the east. We have several big cities, but also a lot of tiny towns - the kind of towns where they are so small that they don't have stop lights.  Once, I was traveling on the interstate near a small town and I noticed the other drivers suddenly putting on their brakes. I couldn't see what was going on until I got closer, and then I saw that the farmer's cows had broken through the fence and were loose on the interstate. The highway patrol was trying to keep them out of the traffic lanes until they could get the rancher to come on horse back. True story.  So when we have these tiny towns that are far away from hospitals and clinics, how can they get help? Enter Telemedicine and Telehealth. The FCC says: "Teleme...

I know teal is a really popular color for home decorations (and one of my personal favorites), but teal  pumpkins? Yes! Teal pumpkins aren't made to color coordinate with your decor (although you could use them for that if you wanted to.) The Teal Pumpkin Project (R) began in 2014 by Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) to raise awareness of food allergies, and to make it safe for all kids to go trick-or-treating. For all of you who have a child with food allergies, raise your hand!  (I'm raising mine too) Son #2 and I both have food allergies.  He's WAY past the trick or treating age, but this would have been helpful for when he was a little kid. It's pretty hard to find candy without nuts. The Teal Pumpkin project was organized to let kids with food allergies be able to safely trick or treat.  Here's how you can help: 1. Buy "non-food treats" for your little trick - or - treaters 2. Put a teal ...

Is asthma holding you back from the things you would like to do?  When I am teaching families about asthma, I help them to understand the Rules of 2's.    Many times, they THINK their asthma is fine. But they're really not controlled.  The Rules of 2's is from Baylor University in Texas and says: If you: Have symptoms/need your inhaler more than 2 times per week Wake up due to asthma more than 2 times per month Refill your rescue inhaler more than 2 times per year They have also added a new measure, "Measure your peak flow at less than two times 10 (20%) from baseline with asthma symptoms?" That sounds a little confusing! Why make a big deal about your asthma being under control? Well, are you missing out on things because of your asthma?  Sometimes people may think, "I'm okay, I'm just having a little flare up." So, another thing I ask families is:  "Is asthma holding you back?" Or  ...

The weather has been a little crazy lately.  Some parts of the U.S. are dry as a bone and plagued by wildfires and dangerous smoke. Other areas of the U.S. are being battered by hurricanes, with crazy winds, rain and flooding. No matter what part of the country you are in, how do you prepare when you have asthma? I have been watching the national news stories on TV, showing empty shelves at the grocery store and long lines at the gas stations.  Like my late father-in-law always used to say, "It costs just as much to fill up the top half of the gas tank as it does the bottom half!" So, I try not to wait until my gas tank is on "empty" before I fill up. In fact, I know people that will fill up when their tank gets to the 1/2 way point.   Allergy & Asthma Network has a list of things to help.  Stay on your schedule for taking medicine (it's easy to miss a dose, but can cause problems if you do) Medications - quick reli...

I was really excited to see a story on the Allergy & Asthma Facebook page about a nose spray for anaphylaxis. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has given "Fast Track designation" to a Epinephrine Nasal Spray, which could be used to treat anaphylaxis. The Fast Track is:  "....a process designed to facilitate the development, and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need. The purpose is to get important new drugs to the patient earlier. Fast Track addresses a broad range of serious conditions." How do they decide if something is "serious"? It depends on if the FDA feels that the drug will:  "have an impact on such factors as survival, day-to-day functioning, or the likelihood that the condition, if left untreated, will progress from a less severe condition to a more serious one." For those of you with food allergies, you know that if "left untreated",...

First of all, what IS the September Epidemic? Well, most parents worry about kids getting sick during cold and flu season (winter). It seems to make sense that winter is the most likely time to get sick and end up in the hospital.  But - it's actually September! Asthma and Allergy Foundation of American (AAFA) , says:     "There is a September asthma hospitalization “epidemic.” Many more people are hospitalized for asthma shortly after school starts than at any other time of the year. The number of asthma hospitalizations peak first for school-age children, then preschool children, then adults."  For those of you with school aged kids, that probably makes sense. I can remember being room parent for many years and helping out in my kid's classrooms. And the hygiene (or lack of) was shocking. I saw plenty of kids sneezing without covering their nose, coughing all over on their seatmate, and wiping their nose on their sleeve.  Ugh. ...

I am asked this when I help families with asthma. And it's something I wrestled with myself when my kids were little. I would wonder, "What a I doing wrong? My child is in the hospital AGAIN?!" Often times, you aren't doing anything wrong!  Some kids just have asthma that is hard to control. And sometimes kids can go from bad to worse VERY quickly.  I found that close monitoring of their symptoms was helpful to me, including: Using a peak flow meter   This is an inexpensive little hand held device that you blow into as hard as you can for one second. It measures how much air you can push out of your lungs. The marker will end up on a number on the scale ( 0 - 600), which will be your "personal best". That's is YOUR number. It's pretty much the same every morning and every night (unless you start to get sick.) What I like about the peak flow is that I knew each kid's personal best. They would use their peak fl...

https://www.facebook.com/DefineYourAsthma/ I'm always on the lookout for new resources, and I learned about "Define Your Asthma" from (AAN) The Allergy & Asthma Network (AAN). Who is AAN? "Allergy & Asthma Network is the leading nonprofit organization whose mission is to end the needless death and suffering due to asthma, allergies and related conditions through outreach, education, advocacy and research ." Based in the U.S., AAN is known and trusted not just here, but internationally as well. Their CEO, Tonya Winders, is President of the Global Allergy and Asthma Patient Platform (GAAPP). GAAPP is a global organization of allergy and asthma patient groups that was created to: ".....empowering the patient and supporting the patient voice so that decision makers in both the public and private sectors, in government and industry will be mindful of patient needs, patient desires and patient rights." It's...

Every summer I worry, and every summer we get forest fires and LOTS of smoke.  Why do I worry? Well, because smoke from a forest fire almost killed my son 10 years ago. He ended up in the hospital in ICU with the "crash cart" outside his room.  It happened so fast. When you have asthma, smoke does a number on your lungs.  What are the health effects of smoke? You might have a cough and/or wheezing, a hard time breathing, and burning eyes and a runny nose. Is it just people with asthma? AirNow says smoke can affect: a person with heart or lung disease, such as heart failure, angina, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema or asthma. an older adult , which makes you more likely to have heart or lung disease than younger people. caring for children, including teenagers, because their respiratory systems are still developing, they breathe more air (and air pollution) per pound of body weight than adults...

I just opened the bill for a simple surgery and was shocked to see that it was almost $6,000! Woah! Luckily, it was the end of my insurance year, so I had already met my deductible and out of pocket limit. So I won't have to pay a copay on that bill. That also tells me that I have spent a LOT of money on medical care over the last year. If you are in the same boat, what can you do?   We use manufacturer's coupons for our inhalers. Son #2 and daughter Kitty and I are all on long term controller (maintenance) inhalers. Even thought insurance pays for most, we still have a $75 copay each month (for each of us.)   Luckily, I have a really good pharmacy that knows us well (since we visit them so often.....) and they will search for manufacturer's coupons for us. So, instead of paying a $75 copay for my inhaler each month, I pay $25. In fact, when I renew my prescription each year, they search for a new coupon to apply to my copay. And they do that ...