Living With Asthma

The spring after we moved to New York City proved to be the first in several major parental learning curves. Jack started coughing one day and eventually it got so bad (up all night, vomiting, etc.) that we needed a nebulizer at home for daily treatments. At the time, the doctor called his “illness” Reactive Airway Disease.

We took him for allergy testing and it came up positive for, basically, pollen- which is something that is incredibly rampant during Spring in New York City.

He ended up in the hospital more than once, and eventually we started looking to other options for helping him cope through the high pollen days.

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We were told to take the following precautions every single day during spring, not counting the medication and albuteral treatments he needed daily.

1. Shower every night, or every day when he gets home to get the pollen off.
2. Remove any bedding that isn’t hypo-allergenic.
3. Remove stuffed animals from sleeping area.
4. Restrict dairy intake.
5. No smoking in the house (obviously not an issue, although we had a problem with our neighbor).
6. Wash everything, including the walls, frequently.
7. Don’t allow pets if they are known allergens.
8. Turn the air conditioning during the day, don’t open the windows.
9. Invest in an air purifier.

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We’ve learned a lot in the three years since we embarked on this awful journey. It took until last year for them to finally call his Reactive Airway Disease actually Asthma, and what to look out for in an initial attack. I still don’t know the triggers sometimes, especially during the months when the pollen count is low. I sense that it can be his food allergies, or other health issues like colds and viruses, as well as stress. I’m learning more and more every day how to manage Jack’s asthma, and how to curb and treat it ultimately.

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I’ve joined up with Sharp Air Purifier‘s campaign, Room to Breathe, to help promote the product and their new social media channels-and of course because it is so relevant in my life and managing Jack’s asthma. I’m always looking for solutions to ease Jack’s suffering and ways to combat it before anything even starts.

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I’ll be posting twice about this campaign and our life, including a giveaway of one of Sharp’s Air Purifier. Feel free to join the #RoomToBreathe #gno Twitter party Mom It Forward is hosting and Sharp PCI is sponsoring on May 14, 2013 from 9:00 – 10:00pm EST.

This post was sponsored by Sharp Air Purifiers and Mom It Forward. All opinions are my own.

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7 Comments

  • I know exactly how you feel, my Son has the same πŸ™ It is such a frightening Thing to go through. The very first Time he had it, we had to call an Ambulance, because we did not have anything at Home, since he never had any of this. But after that he has been having it frequently πŸ™ And we have been frequent Visitors of the Hospital … We have also a Nebulizer at Home, Albuterol and over here our Pediatrician prescribes us also Suppositories, which also open the Airways. We don’t smoke, don’t have Pets and do also all the Things your Doctor said, but it still happens. It is really scary to not be able to know when he will have an Attack, but we’ve been getting better as we go along and now I can tell by the scratchy voice or little barking cough here and there, that he will be in for an Attack at night, so I can prepare all the Medications… You will get better too as far as seeing the Signs and Things like that. Hopefully it will go away as they grow, so they don’t have to live with this scary Thing forever …
    I wish you guys the Best and hugs to the little One πŸ™‚

    xoxo


  • My twin boys were just diagnosed with intermittent asthma (so far it only rears its ugly head when they’re sick). I’m actually waiting for our nebulizer to be delivered as I write this. I’m sure your posts will be a godsend as I learn to navigate this scary thing.


    • Oh Lara, BOTH of them were diagnosed? I’m so sorry. It is so scary. The good thing is that it’s manageable-but it’s also a very strange beast. Jack has had this for three years, and we’re still just figuring out his triggers and how to tell that he is indeed having an attack. The other thing that I was surprised to learn is that they don’t just come on quickly and leave quickly-sometimes Jack will suffer for weeks before it’s completely contained. The good thing is he knows when he is wheezing-which I think is an important sign for them to realize on their own. Jack took himself to the school nurse last week for his inhaler, and the nurse told me how valuable it was that he was able to tell her that he was wheezing.

      I hope that this is something that you are able to manage easily enough and maybe it will even pass sooner than later-I’m sure holding out hope. I will do my best to share the best information and resources! Good luck mama. You’re certainly not alone.


  • My oldest, Dakota, was dx with intermittent asthma at around 6 years old. Long story short, after doing an elimination diet, we discovered he was highly gluten intolerant. We did gluten free for a half year and then let him have small amounts of gluten after that- all his symptoms had completely disappeared after just a month of no gluten. Also, we made sure his Multiple vitamin had the max. doseage for Vit. E, because E is extremely important to lung health. We also don’t do a ton of dairy.


  • As, poor thing! I am constantly surprised at how prevalent asthma has become in children. But I’m also surprised to not see something on that list – that’s eliminating the use of chemicals inside the house. Pretty much all household cleaners contain highly toxic asthmagens. I wrote a rant on my blog this week about it actually. What I hate most is when some companies advertise their cleaners as ‘healthy’ when they are anything but. So along with the great advice from other mamas who actually have experience, please do revise whatever you clean your home with too πŸ™‚ Hope that helps and I hope his asthma will be manageable and maybe even in regression with the right steps to prevent attacks!


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