My Life as an Asthma Mom

  My city is inundated with wildfire smoke right now.  I woke up to see golden light shining through the blinds - and instantly panicked.  I know that a golden tinge in the air means the wildfire smoke from hundreds of miles away has drifted to my city.   Checking air quality  Did you know that you can check the air quality in your area using Purple Air ?  Purple Air uses data from 35,000 air sensors around the world. They are low cost air sensors that people can buy and attach to their house.  Are they as good as EPA's expensive air quality sensors? No.  But, does EPA have enough air quality sensors across the U.S.? Also no.   Health effects of wildfire smoke on asthma  Wildfire smoke is filled with tiny particles, called PM 2.5. (PM stands for particulate matter.) PM 2.5 is so tiny, you can only see it with a microscope. It's 1/30th the size of a human hair.     Those tiny particles can get down deep inside the...

  Yeah, yeah.....I know it's summer and people are at the pool or lake.  But school is just around the corner!  You may be shopping for school supplies like clothes, backpacks, pens & pencils, scientific calculators, etc.  School supplies vs medical supplies   But - what about medical supplies?  Does your child have enough puffs in their inhaler for the school year? When does it expire?  Are their dual pack of epi auto injectors still in date? Epi also expires!  Can you carry inhalers and epi in drug-free zones?  Yes - and no    When my kids were younger, they couldn't have acetaminophen or ibuprofen in their backpack. And my daughter definitely couldn't carry Midol.  But - if you have the proper medical forms filled out at the beginning of each school year, your child can carry their inhaler and epi (instead of leaving it locked in the nurse's office)  Did you know that it's legal for students to carry their own ...

 All 3 of my children have left home and gone off to college. Two have graduated, and my youngest is finishing her degree. I mean, they've gotta get good jobs to support us in our old age. Haha.  Sending kids to college is a little different when you have kids with eczema, allergies, food allergies, or asthma.  Since the chemistry in our body tends to over react when we are around dust, mold, strong cleaning supplies, etc. My kids have to be more careful than the average college students.   A few things we looked for when my kids went to college: Apartments without carpet    My daughter and her friend went apartment hunting. She was so excited to show us the apartment she found!     I recognized that carpet - from the 70's. It's a style and color they don't even make anymore. I mean, like totally rad! Can't believe we talked like that back in the 70's...   I was worried about her living in an old apartment (built in the 40's) with ...

      The new list is out!    And guess who's on it?    Again?!   Not bad for a little 'ole asthma mom just trying to help other families  I can't compete with companies who have full time staff that run analytics, create posts, and graphics 😆 It's just me creating graphics and writing posts!   I started this blog back in 2010 to help other families who are struggling with asthma  Thanks for reading over the years and supporting me.   If I have helped over the years, drop a comment!