My Life as an Asthma Mom

Well....I must admit that some days I forget to take my daily, maintenance inhaler. Daughter Kitty is VERY good, she remembers to take her inhaler every morning and every night.  If you someone who sets a good example and reminds you to take your medicine, what else can you do to help you remember? I have heard of many different ideas: Put your inhaler near your toothbrush (since you brush your teeth every morning and night) Set an alarm on your smart phone Set an alarm on your watch And now comes technology! There are new "inhaler sensors" that can track your inhaler use. WebMD says: "The devices attach to your maintenance and rescue inhalers and automatically note when you take a dose, send you reminders that it’s time to take another, and mark where and when you needed an emergency fix." A scientific study published in The Lancet showed that of kids who needed to use an inhaler on a daily basis, 84 % of kids who had the inhaler senso...

Did you know that laughing, crying, angry outbursts, etc can all cause asthma attacks?  American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) list several other causes (or triggers) of asthma attacks. ACAAI divides them in categories: Allergens Pollen (from grass, trees or weeds) Cockroaches Dust mites Animals (their dander) Irritants   Strong odors (perfumes, scented candles, etc) Smoke Chemical fumes (cleaning sprays, etc) Other causes: Illnesses (that pesky cold!) Extreme weather (cold to hot, or dry to humid) Exercise  Strong emotions  Have you ever had an asthma attack from a strong emotions? I have! I had a case of the giggles and could NOT stop laughing. I laughed so hard I had an asthma attack. I also had a very sad situation that had me doing the "ugly cry". That also caused an asthma attack. Unfortunately, when you have asthma, your body over reacts to things that "normal" people experience. With asthm...

          Wahoo! The weather is finally getting warmer where we live. (Sorry for all you people that live in Oregon and Washington and get day after day of rain......)  We are trying to stay active as a family, but what is the best way to do that if you have asthma? It may be different for each person with asthma. The one thing that drives me crazy about asthma is that there doesn't seem to be a one-size-fits-all treatment.  WebMd has some ideas in an article called "Don't Let Asthma Keep You on the Couch" These are a few highlights, but it's best to read the whole article! Tennis, volleyball and golf have short bursts of energy, but then give you time to catch your breath  Hiking, biking and walking can increase your endurance, but won't leave you breathless If you are swimming laps and are short of breath, it could be because you are sensitive to the chlorine in the water  They also list a few exercises that ...

(Allergy & Asthma Today)  Allergy & Asthma Network publishes a VERY helpful magazine once a quarter. It's called Allergy & Asthma Today.  I was reading the Spring 2016 issue of the magazine  and had to laugh out loud when I came across an article called "Don't Make That Bed!"  Okay, I won't!  Hubby is very tidy and always likes to make the bed. Unfortunately, he leaves VERY early for work while I am still curled up in bed. So, he hopes in vain that I will make the bed after I get up. Ha! Dream on...... It's not on the top of my list of things to do in the morning. I just try to get daughter Kitty up and to high school and me to work by 8 am. And neither Kitty nor I are morning people. The "Don't Make That Bed!" article talks about researchers in Kingston University in London. Of all the creepy things to study, they studied dust mites.      Their study showed that if you leave your bed unmade each day,...

(http://www.slashgear.com/asthma-inhaler-prototype-is-nearly-as-slim-as-a-credit-card-22428521/) What IS that silver thing sticking out of the wallet in the screenshot? Why it's an inhaler of course! Silly you, anyone can see that! This story was shared by Allergy & Asthma Network on their Facebook page last week. I read the article and saw the photos and thought, "Come again? What?" The Bloom Inhaler holds 6 puffs from your regular inhaler. The idea behind this is you pre-load 6 doses into this credit card sized inhaler and leave your regular sized inhaler at home. Hmmmm. How does it work? Slash Gear says: "The user inserts the regular inhaler’s canister into Bloom’s matching port and depresses it six times, loading six doses into the slim inhaler. A hermetic seal prevents it from leaking back out, says the company. When the inhaler is needed, the user depresses the upper button and inhales the medication like normal...."  ...

We can't figure out why daughter Kitty is still having a hard time with her allergies and asthma. Are we missing an allergy or asthma trigger in the house? We are in the middle of a bathroom remodel (last week's post). It's REALLY fun to have 5 of us trying to all use the one shower. Sigh. Was there anything else we are missing? This is what we decided to focus on: Make sure we vacuum AT LEAST once a week (this means everything - especially under the beds) Wash the sheets for EACH bed once a week (for us, it works best to pick a day of the week for each bed. So, I wash our sheets on Friday. Kitty's sheets on Saturday, etc. My sons are supposed to wash theirs weekly........yeah, riiiiiight. I'm sure that's getting done!)  Clean the vents (did that when we first moved in....but it's been 11 years. So time to do it again) Change the furnace filters monthly (because we have cats - long story of why we do)  What are we doing right: We...

 My 1950's tub and shower has been the source or arguments between Hubby and I.  I knew the shower was leaking. Hubby said there was NO way it could be leaking. Mmmmhmmm..... The tile wall seemed to be bowing out away from the wall. When I pushed on it, it sounded crunchy (like the tile wasn't stuck firm to the wall like it should be.) Daughter Kitty's allergies always seemed WORSE when she was in the shower. That girl can sneeze 30 times in a row - easy. I knew there was something in the bathroom, but couldn't figure out what was causing problems. I cleaned every inch of that bathroom, and still she sneezed. Asthma Doc was considering starting her on allergy shots - again. (She already had shots for 6 years.) The only thing left  that could be causing problems was the shower.   Hubby kept saying there was no way it was leaking.  Last week I talked about having a housing inspector take a look at your house to see if there's som...