What's it like to be in the hospital?

(A Pink Sunset)

Angela Giaco, who manages Pink Sunset Blog contacted me while she was in the hospital for asthma. Angela was lucky enough to get out of the hospital just before Christmas! Asthma never picks a good time to hit, my kids have been in the hospital 12 times over the years, including the 4th of July, New Year's Eve and on their birthday. Angela's story is interesting, you can read what it's like to be in the hospital from her point of view.

So why do you need to be hospitalized for asthma? There comes a point when you can't do anything more at home and you are still having a hard time breathing. My kids already take daily asthma controller medicine, allergy medicine, a leukotriene modifier, and have had 5 years of allergy shots. When my kids start the horrible asthma cough and their peak flow meter  is in the yellow zone, they take oral steroids, prednisone  Sometimes that works for my kids, other times they continue to get worse, and we move to the next step, which is an steroid injection-decadron. 

If they are looking really pale and their lips are turning dark, we head to the Emergency Room as fast as we can. It also helps to have an oximeter to watch their oxygen saturation rate. I know that if their oxygen level dips to 91, it's time to head to the hospital. They usually admit the kids when their oxygen saturation rate is around 89. Once in the hospital, they start the kids on oxygen and give them an IV of corticosteroids. They take a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia and the respiratory therapist comes in every 4 hours to give them breathing treatments and listen to their lungs.

Here's more information from Webmd on when to go to the doctor of hospital

You may never end up in the hospital with your asthma, then again you might. Learning more about the emergency signs of an asthma attack can help you know if and when you need to head to the hospital. Better to learn now than when you are in the middle of a severe asthma attack. 
 
So stay healthy and keep taking your asthma medicine!