My Life as an Asthma Mom

  Last month, Daughter had emergency surgery. We were in the ER when the ER Doc said there was a specialist in the hospital and he could page him for a consultation. Specialist said my daughter's condition would need emergency surgery, and Daughter agreed. Even though it was late at night, they were able to page surgery staff so the surgeon could operate on my daughter.  The Hubby barely had time to make it to the hospital and wish Daughter luck before the staff whisked her away for surgery.  Afterwards, I stayed with her in her hospital room, and the nurse gave Daughter an incentive spirometer. She told Kitty to use it once an hour to prevent any complications with her lungs.  This is one type of spirometer:   Nurse told her to use the mouthpiece and slowly inhale to get the colored balls to hover. Nurse told her to repeat that several times, and it will help to keep her lungs open.  Due to Daughter's pain level, she couldn't use it every hour, and her lungs were really cr

 Asthma is a tricky disease. It changes over time, especially as age and hormones change. When boys are younger, they are more likely to end up at the doctor's office, ER, or even be hospitalized thanks to asthma.  Once puberty hits, rates switch to women having higher rates of doctor visits, ER visits, and being hospitalized for asthma.  1/3 of women will also have asthma flares just before their period. Which is concerning that some women can plan on having an asthma flare once a month... Women seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to asthma. Cleveland Clinic says: “Women are hospitalized twice as frequently as men for asthma and their mortality is twice as high," It's a sobering thought to know that women are twice as likely to die from asthma as men.    What researchers are finding Researchers report that women with endometriosis have higher rates of asthma - due to an imbalance of estrogen . A study reviewed records from almost 3 million women.  They f