Death from asthma

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 people say, "It's just asthma - use your inhaler and you'll be fine."

It's not fine. Inhalers can't always prevent death. In fact, each day in America, 10 people die from asthma.

How do you know if you or a loved one are at risk of dying from asthma? Very Well Health lists risk factors:

• Previous history of a near-fatal asthma event
• Recent poorly controlled asthma with increased shortness of breath, nocturnal awakenings, and rescue inhaler use
• Prior severe asthma exacerbation where you were intubated or admitted to an intensive care unit.
• Two or more asthma-related hospital admissions or three or more visits to the emergency room for asthma
• Using two or more canisters of your short-acting bronchodilator  like albuterol in a month
• If you have trouble identifying when your asthma symptoms are worsening or you are having an asthma attack
• Being poor and from the inner city
• Substance abuse
• Significant psychiatric disease
• Other significant medical problems like a heart attack and other lung diseases

How can you have a sudden death from asthma? Well, sometimes it's not sudden. Someone may be suffering for several hours, days or weeks before they decide they need help. Very Well Health says:

"Importantly, 80 to 85 percent who die from asthma develop progressive symptoms anywhere from 12 hours to several weeks before death. Only 15 to 20 percent die in less than 6 hours after developing symptoms."

How do you avoid dying from asthma? Very Well Health says:

• Know that you are at risk
• Know your asthma action plan
• Make sure you understand your asthma action plan
• Use your asthma action plan
• Use your peak flow meter regularly
• Do not delay seeking emergency care if your symptoms worsen
• Tell your asthma care provider that you are at increased risk of an asthma-related death
• Make sure you can effectively communicate with an asthma care provider

For me, I would trust my gut instinct as a mom. There were several times where I just felt like something wasn't right with my child, so I would take them to the pediatrician. The doc would diagnose my child with strep throat or pneumonia and send us to the pharmacy for an antibiotic. But later on that night, I would STILL feel like something wasn't right. 

So, I would bundle my child up and drive to the ER. My child would end up being admitted since their oxygen level was low and their asthma was flaring up. 

I remember feeling so grateful that I listened to my gut instinct that something was wrong! I feel like there were several times that my child's life was saved because I didn't wait to "see if they got better" but rushed them to the ER where my child was hospitalized for 3 days.

If something doesn't seem right, call your doctor or after hours - FAST. Or head to the ER. It might be an asthma flare up that the doctors can treat, but if you need more intense treatment in the hospital, and you wait.....

Your family might get "The Call" that no one wants to get.