My Life as an Asthma Mom

One of the most common things I see when I am helping families with asthma is expired inhalers or empty inhalers. Check yours now. Go ahead.....I'll wait. Well? What was the date? Was it expired? Was it empty? It's one of those things you don't think to check. I just carry my inhaler around all the time in case I need it and don't think to check the number of doses left or the expiration date. I just assume it will always be there when I need it. And I LOVE that they put counters on the back of inhalers, but you actually have to LOOK at it! I was on a work trip out of state and my lungs weren't feeling well. I chalked that up to the Texas humidity. But I just didn't feel right.  I happen to check my daily controller inhaler - but it was empty! I don't even know how long it was empty, but the counter was at 0. That would explain the cranky lungs! I have had families that were surprised that their inhaler was on 0. The...

** You'll have to turn up your sound if you want to hear the video** Yes, I love my country! In fact, we attend parades, decorate the entire house (inside and outside) with patriotic decorations and buntings. I also LOVE watching "A Capitol 4th" and the other programs PBS broadcasts for Veteran's Day and Memorial Day.  In fact, my dad was a waist gunner on a B-17 during WWII.  And I proudly display his old black and white photos with his squad. But, none of those make it hard for me to breathe. Fireworks do.  I'm not against those fabulous aerial fireworks that the cities light off during festivals.  I have a REALLY hard time with neighborhood fireworks. It's not just one neighbor lighting off fireworks and making the air smoky. It's a combination of street, after street, after street, of neighbors lighting off fireworks. Not to mention all the sirens I hear and the firefighters probably rushing to yet another ho...

It's that time of year again - Independence Day (or as most people call it - the 4th of July!) I like fireworks as much as the next person - but only aerial fireworks like the cities shoot off for the city festivals. (I'm not a fan of those carnival rides though....) Am I just old and cranky? I only like aerial fireworks and not neighborhood fireworks? Well, yes. I mean - I am old and cranky - but there's a reason why I don't like neighborhood fireworks. About 15 years ago, Son #2 had been outside playing with friends (as kids do during summer.) I looked out to check on the kids and noticed that the neighborhood was suddenly full of smoke from a forest fire about 15 miles away. So, I quickly called all of the kids to come into the house.  Son #2 started coughing, so I started giving him Albuterol breathing treatments. He had already been hospitalized before for asthma (and pneumonia), so I was worried.  As the night went on, he was still co...

This falls under the category of strange but true - losing my voice with asthma. And this happens to be my husband's favorite thing! Ha ha. When I have a severe asthma attack, or get bronchitis or pneumonia, I lose my voice. It usually happens after a bad coughing spell. I can't speak above a whisper.  The first time it happened, I was really surprised. It doesn't seem to last very long -  if I'm sick, it will last for a few days. This was a problem this spring when I had bronchitis. I couldn't call Asthma Doc's office to make a doctor's appointment, because they wouldn't be able to hear me on the phone. So, I had to have whisper to daughter Kitty that I needed her to call Hubby. She told him what was happening, then he called Asthma Doc's office to make an appointment for me. Sigh. If I have a sudden asthma attack and use my inhaler, I can also lost my voice. It will usually last for a few hours. Then, just as sudd...

(Photo of the article from Family Circle Magazine) Do any of you feel like you are embarrassed by asthma? I read an article in Family Circle Magazine about kids that are embarrassed to use their medication. The article was talking about how kids won't take their asthma inhalers, check their blood sugar levels, or give themselves insulin for their diabetes. Why? Well.....I guess because they don't want to look different.  Everyone wants to "fit in". Have your kids felt that way? Most of the times our kids won't tell us even if they DO feel that way. You know, that would mean they would have to talk to us.... But, even adults can feel too embarrassed to use their inhaler in public. I found a scientific paper called "Stigma in the Lives of Asthma Patients: A Review From the Literature."  The researcher looked at all of the scientific studies about the stigma about asthma (embarrassment), and how that affects...

Sadness causing an asthma attack? Yep, it can. Sunday is one of those days I would like to forget. . Even though we have allergies and asthma , we have 2 kitties (long story….we inherited them from our neighbors). Anyway, my sweet little Siamese Kitty seemed really tired Saturday night. We thought he was spending a little too much time wandering around the neighborhood. He came home and curled up on his favorite chair, nothing unusual about that. Sunday morning, I woke up to see if he wanted breakfast. He didn’t look good. I’ll spare you the details, but we bundled him up on his blankie and rushed him to the closest animal hospital. They suspected leukemia or distemper. But let’s face it, either one is fatal. After $600 in tests, it came back as positive for distemper. The vet told us that Siamese Kitty was really sick, and that of the cats she had seen that had actually survived distemper (very few) were permanently brain damaged and needed special care...