My Life as an Asthma Mom

I was on a call with a group of nurses, when one of them mentioned something about using the "float test" to see if an inhaler was full.  I had just been listening to the call up to that point, but knew I HAD to say something. As a Certified Asthma Educator (AE-C), I am ethically bound to make sure people have correct information. And - to correct any misinformation.  And that included the float test.  What is the "float test?" Well, decades ago (literally), inhalers didn't have counters on them, so it was hard to know how many puffs were left.  So, people were supposed to take the metal canister out of the holder, and put it in water to see if it floats. The idea was that if floated, it was supposed to be empty. But a study from the National Institutes of Health way back in 2002 said that: "Float characteristics are product-specific and a function of canister size, design, content, and method of testing. Clinician...

I was talking to a young mom the other day, and she said "It must be nice to have college aged kids, now you don't have to worry about them." If she only knew that parenting doesn't end when your kids go to college! I hope I have taught my kids everything they should know.  I hope they are managing their asthma, allergies and food allergies.  But as a parent, you still get those phone calls. "I feel like I have pneumonia again, I think I need to go to Urgent Care."  "I hurt my hand at work, what do I do?" Health Center on campus   Both universities my kids attend have medical clinics for students and faculty. And they are cheap! A co-pay for a visit was only $10. They have medical care and mental health services (if you have kids in college, you know how stressful it can be for them and how many kids have anxiety and/or depression.) During the campus tour, I made sure I pointed out the clinic to my kids, and that if...