My Life as an Asthma Mom

  Have you had an asthma attack and aren't sure what triggered it?   I had an asthma attack out shopping and I have no idea what triggered it. Sometimes, it's a mystery.  Lately, I've had a few asthma attacks in my home office.  I don't have an asthma attack every day at my desk, but often enough that I need to figure out what is making my lungs cranky.  I feel like a detective that is trying to find clues and solve a mystery.   Common asthma triggers There are a LOT of asthma triggers - and they can change over time. A few of the most common are: Pet dander  Pests (mice and cockroaches) Pollen (tree pollen, grass pollen, weeds)  Strong scents (scented candles, essential oils, cleaners, perfumes, etc)  Smoke from cigarettes, vaping or marijuana)  Dust  Acid reflux  Cold, flu, or other infections  There are  many, many asthma triggers. You can see more from AAFA -  Asthma and Allergy Foundation of Americ...

  I was diagnosed with asthma in my 30's, and I thought, "Well, that explains a few things...." My young son was hospitalized with "breathing problems" - and THEN he was diagnosed with asthma. I had suspected my son had asthma after reading an article in a parenting magazine, but the pediatrician said my son did not have asthma, it was "just a virus". It was not.  It was asthma.   When I was learning about asthma after my son's diagnosis, I thought that the signs and symptoms of asthma sounded very familiar. In fact, I had them my whole life, but thought it was normal! Hint: it's not. Common asthma symptoms are: chest tightness  shortness of breath coughing  difficulty breathing  wheezing**  **It's important to know that there are people with asthma who do NOT wheeze (like me).  I have cough variant asthma , and don't wheeze. I have to mention that to the doctor at Urgent Care when I'm sick. Don't listen for wheezing, because y...

Like many of you, I visited family graves during Memorial Day.  As we visited the graves of my dad and other family members who fought in World War II, I shared memories with my family.  My great uncle served in World War II (and suffered lasting consequences which took his life). He was buried near his wife and their four infants.  They had lost all four babies back in the late 1930's and early 1940's due to the HR factor.  Cleveland Clinic says: Rh incompatibility happens when a woman who's RH-negative is pregnant with a baby who is RH-positive. The woman's immune system reacts to this difference and makes antibodies. The antibodies then attack the baby's red blood cells (because the woman's body thinks the RH positive blood cells are an invader It's important to know your blood type BEFORE you become pregnant. If not treated, babies can have hemolytic anemia, liver failure, jaundice or heart failure, which can result in a stillbirth.   Now they hav...

    Have you been coughing so hard from an asthma attack that you threw up? Or almost threw up? That happened to me yesterday.   I have NO idea what caused it, but tree and grass pollen are out, so I don't know if that made my lungs cranky.  I was coughing so hard that I had tears running down my face. And I could barely keep my hands still to fill up my medicine cup and turn on the nebulizer for a breathing treatment.   When I cough that hard, it is impossible for me to use an inhaler. I literally cannot inhale deep enough to use an inhaler.   I need to just sit there on the couch while I breath in the mist from my nebulizer.   Paroxysmal cough   What is paroxysmal cough?   Cleveland Clinic says:  "Paroxysmal cough is an uncontrollable coughing fit. It’s often violent and keeps you from getting a breath. You might gag, vomit or even pass out."  I panicked last night when I had a paroxysmal cough. I ...

  I store tissues like a squirrel stores nuts.  I have tissues EVERYWHERE and buy tissues in bulk (not kidding). I have a box in the living room, a box in my bedroom, a box in my office - plus travel side packs of tissues in my car, purse, and in every jacket I own.  This time of year is awful. In my area, the tree pollen is in the RED (or high) category . The trees have been blooming for months, because we have had a very mild and unseasonably warm winter.  And now, just for fun, grass pollen is in the  YELLOW (medium) category.    So now there are two major sources of pollen blooming at the same time.  Do I sound and feel like a snotty little two year old? Yes. Are my allergies impacting my asthma? Also yes.  How do allergies (hay fever) make asthma worse? Many of the people with allergies also have asthma . Lucky us! They go together like peanut butter and jelly. Like macaroni and cheese.  Many of the things that cause hay fever sympt...