Take A Weekly Breather (TM)

Grandma Diaries: Hawaii They Go

2011-03-11T11:51:00.002-05:00

While my son Dan and daughter-in-law Kristin vacationed in Hawaii for 10 days, I served Grandma Duty to my two youngest grandsons, JD (3 years) and Trey (19 months). It was my first time totally in charge of two little ones since my own were that age. Friends said, “Oh, Nancy, it’ll all come back,” meaning all those instincts and parenting skills. “Just like riding a bike,” said another friend. “Some things you never forget.”

I found both were right and wrong! Basic principles of parenting remain the same but the tools and tactics are all new and exciting. And my youngest grandson had RSV shortly after he was born and takes asthma medication to keep symptoms under control. I kept track of our adventures and bloopers in what I call the GrandmaDiaries. Here are a few excerpts:

Ear Plugs
Ear plugs. How do you get ear plugs to stay in Trey’s ears during bathtime? Kristin showed me how before they left. It looked easy enough. She said we can’t let any water get in his ears because he just had tubes put in. But these little red silicone custom-fit thingie disks just fall out the moment Trey starts wiggling around. After two tries, I gave up. Opted for a quick shallow bath instead.

Too late. Didn’t realize Trey is a fish. Hope I didn’t wreck his ears. I snatched him out of the tub, dried him off and got him ready for bed. Meanwhile, JD entertained himself in the water park formerly known as a bathroom.

Nasal Steroid
How do you get a 19-month-old to sniff nasal corticosteroid spray? Mercy me. They didn’t have nasal sprays for babies when my kids were little. Trey sees the spray coming and turns his grimaced face away. What to do, what to do?

Trey’s nose is a cruddy mess that backs up into his sinuses and ears if he doesn’t get this medicine. Think, Grandma. Think. I reached back into the cobwebbed, rusted-shut drawers of my mind and remembered babies learn from watching other babies. Mimicking was part of the great success behind “Baby Breaths,” the video that shows babies laughing, playing, sleeping and using holding chambers and nebulizers. Babies watched the video and suddenly cooperated with treatments. Would it work with Trey?

JD, Trey and I sat at the table with a bedtime snack. Trey eyed the nasal spray in my right hand and shook his head. I slowly lifted the spray bottle to my nose and pretended to spray it. Then I made a silly face. He laughed. So I did it again each time with a sillier expression and had both boys giggling so hard that Trey never balked when I slipped the nasal spray tip into one of his nostrils and sprayed. He laughed! OMG! Will he do it again? YES! YESSS!

Trey Hates Bubble Gum
Kristin warned that Trey hates taking his bubble-gum-flavored chewable tiny pill. Before she left, I took on the challenge to get the pill into this kid every single night.

But it’s not working. I’d rather give him liquid medicine, but there is none. Kristin said he rejects liquid as bad as pills, but with the pill there’s no mess if he spits it out. What am I to know?
But it’s Day 6 and I found the little stinker has been spitting the pills out behind the kitchen garbage pail. Oh no.

Bedtime Stories
Both boys love snuggling and reading with me on the couch after bathtime. It’s that magical time when JD chatters about the calendar -- yes, he loves knowing the month, day of the week and date and talking about what he’s going to do tomorrow. Trey’s little toes wiggle as JD jabbers and rotates his hands. I read a page and we talk. I think how fast these moments pass. It’s the little things that light up their eyes. My heart swells; these boys are medicine to my spirit. I’m a lucky Grandma. I’m a lucky mom.

Grunge era

2011-02-22T11:53:00.002-05:00

Call me an indoor air quality freak. I won’t be offended – quite the opposite! I’ve just learned that we are absolutely a product of our environment: the one we breathe, eat and sleep with every single day. Just as I can’t expect my car to run well on dirty sticky gas, I can’t expect my body to perform at its best if I continually expose it to and ingest things I shouldn’t.

My husband is a heating and air conditioning contractor so our indoor air equipment is finely tuned to provide breathe-healthy air all year round. We maintain biohazard-free indoor air humidity between 37 and 50 percent depending on the outdoor air temperature and other factors.

So when the ophthalmologist told me I could ease my chronic dry-eye symptoms by raising indoor air humidity higher, I balked. You can’t do that without introducing mold and encouraging a dust-mite population explosion! I walked out of her office with eye-drop prescriptions and a reluctant agreement to at least try using a small humidifier in our bedroom.

Kicking and screaming, I did it. Okay, so that means we change the sheets twice a week instead of once. No biggie – there are no rugs in there and the room is rather Spartan otherwise. We like the clean, clutter-free look and feel. Everything seemed shipshape at first. So imagine my surprise when we returned from a short vacation to find that our bedroom smelled funky.

The nose knows
My husband has learned to trust my sniffer. Walked into a house one time and detected a gas leak that was so dangerous that everyone inside evacuated and a special team had to deal with it. Other people in the house didn’t notice a problem. Another example: I kept smelling moth balls and garbage in one room in our house but only on sunny and windy days. Two home inspectors and 22 cut holes in our drywall later and with still no answers, I stood outside my neighbor’s house and caught wind of the familiar odor. Turns out he’d been throwing mothballs into a utility hole next to his garbage bin in a little hideaway spot that shares a wall with our garage. When we put a light inside, we could see a space from the utility hole leading to the firewall between our homes. Sealed the hole and solved the problem.

But in the case of the mysterious funky-bedroom smell, I was at a loss. For 24 hours I searched. The laundry room and bathroom drains were clean. And the odor was strongest in our bedroom with no other source of water… than the table-top humidifier.

Culprit: the bottom part of the tank
No, I thought. It couldn’t be that – it’s brand new! I retraced our steps – I remembered hearing John fill it with tap water shortly after we got home from our vacation. I had made a mental note to pick up more distilled water at the grocery store, and I did the next day. When I removed the water tank to fill it with fresh water, that’s when I saw it: grunge in the bottom part of the tank. Grunge that collected while we were out of town. Grunge that multiplied happily in the portion of the tank BEFORE it goes through the sanitizer and mist. Grunge in the part of the unit you don’t see unless you go looking for it. GRUNGE that STINKS! AGH!!!

Worse, that kind of grunge is all too happy to take up residence in my asthma-prone airways. Funky water can cause pneumonia, bronchitis and other respiratory nightmares. It’s not likely we’ll ever forget to empty the water tank and the bottom part of the humidifier when we leave home ever again!

Nancy Gets a Flu Shot ...

2010-12-10T11:56:00.001-05:00

How did it get this late in the year without getting a flu shot? I write about flu shots, read research, ask all my friends if they got their flu shots but here I am on December 10, 2010, finally getting around to mine! Okay, so I have somewhat of an excuse. Because I have asthma, I’m not eligible for those grocery or drug store “drop-by” shot programs. I have to make an appointment with my doc which is no problem except that I haven’t been home much lately…so when there was an opening this morning, I grabbed it!

No lines. No fees. No problems. It’s not too late to get your flu shot. Some research suggests that getting a flu shot may just help the immune system fight those bugs that tend to activate asthma symptoms. Shot appointments are pretty easy to get and supplies are plentiful unlike years past. No excuses!

Read AANMA's latest Flu Tips story: http://www.aanma.org/2010/12/flu-tips-for-people-with-asthma/

Enter the breathe-easy sleep zone

2010-10-27T13:17:00.000-04:00

We admit it. We were skeptical at first. When we first heard about the PureZone Personal Air Filtration System , some of us thought it sounded like a gimmick. A machine that blows HEPA filtered air out your pillow case?!!? Wouldn’t it be noisy? Wouldn’t it be cold? Wouldn’t it be WEIRD?

But you know what? Some things you just have to experience. First our ad rep, James, put it on his son’s bed – and Trevor, who has asthma and sleeps fitfully every night, slept quietly all night long, without tossing and turning and throwing all his covers off!

Then Cathy, an AANMA member in Texas, tried it and wrote:

“I used to never feel rested because I have trouble breathing at night – my husband says I make noises in my sleep that don’t sound human! He has to sleep on the other side of the house to get a good night’s sleep. All of this changed the first night I used my HEPA filter pillow. When I woke up, my nose was clear, and I could take a deep breath with my mouth closed for the first time in years. I felt well-rested – I had forgotten what it feels like to be well-rested! After a month of using my pillow each night, I feel like a new person.”

Letter after letter of praise came in.

Will you have the same response? We don’t know, but clinical studies show that the PureZone eliminates virtually all airborne particles in your breathing zone all night long.

We were so impressed we invited them to put the PureZone in our online store. For a free trial or a $50 discount, enter the code AAT50. And PureZone donates a portion of each sale to AANMA!

Breathe at School: It’s the Law in 50 States – Almost!

2010-08-25T13:25:00.007-04:00

First day of school – it’s a rite of passage for kids and their parents. The tearful goodbyes and clawing at the school bus door -- well, it’s not always the children. One mom wrote this morning that she keeps feeling misplaced or like she forgot to pack or do something. “But it’s not Jimmie’s inhaler and auto-injectable epinephrine!”

Jimmie has asthma and food allergies. This summer, Jimmie's mom taught him how to cross the street safely, what to do if his clothes catch on fire and how to call 911 if he sees an emergency. She also made sure he could use his inhaler and auto-injectable epinephrine correctly if she wasn’t around.

“He knows the names of his medications and when to take them,” she said, “but do I feel he’s 100 percent ready to make every decision on his own? Not yet but he’s learning. The school nurse and his teachers know that he’s learning, too. They don’t expect him to get it right every time. I’m so fortunate that my kids go to a school where the staff is supportive.”

BREATHE: There Ought to Be a Law
Students with asthma can carry inhalers in all 50 states, and 46 have laws protecting students' rights to carry and self-administer auto-injectable epinephrine. Students with anaphylaxis need state laws in: New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin -- contact Sandra Fusco-Walker, AANMA's Director of Advocacy, at sfwalker@aanma.org to get involved today.

Learn more about asthma and anaphylaxis medications at school.

Nancy Sander
President and Founder
Allergy & Asthma Network
Mothers of Asthmatics
http://www.aanma.org/
www.facebook.com/AANMA
http://twitter.com/AANMA
http://www.greatamericanasthmachallenge.org/

Jovante Woods made national headlines…

2010-08-23T10:41:00.003-04:00

…but not in a way he and his family would have expected. The 16-year-old football player and son of Ickey Woods, a former Cincinnati Bengals player, died of asthma last week. We posted the story on Facebook and have been following the many news stories. I as reading one in Black Voices on Sports by Boyce Watkins, PhD. At the end, he added thoughtful commentary:

"The death of Elbert Jovante Woods makes me wonder just how safe our young men and women are when playing high school sports. I can remember competing in track and field, where it was common for athletes to vomit after practice, become short of breath and even work out to the point of nearly collapsing. Most of us defined this stress to simply be a part of getting into shape, but I've always wondered whether most coaches are equipped to know when a hard workout has become a health hazard.

How do we know the difference between a kid who's simply whining about a tough practice vs. one who is actually experiencing serious physical problems? I honestly don't know the answer to this question, but it is certainly something to think about."

Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics is concerned, too. It’s not that we think people intend to reject good safety measures (they don’t) but primarily because asthma is an insidious and deceptive disease in which early perception, recognition and response are critically important and easy to miss.

Most asthma deaths can be traced to preventable causes (yes, causes, plural -- as in, more than one, otherwise known as a perfect storm). For example, was Jovante’s inhaler empty? Few people ask this question and even fewer know that inhalers run out of medication before they run out of the propellant. So the inhaler doesn’t feel empty when, in reality, it is. That's why our organization successfully lobbied the FDA to advise manufacturers to place dose counters on metered-dose inhalers; this technology is currently being phased in.

Another mistake comes with being young and invincible and thinking that you haven't pushed yourself hard enough unless you're breathless or throwing up on the football practice field. These long-held stoic but faulty beliefs put our young athletes at risk of fatal respiratory, cardiac and neurologic events.

Each fatal asthma attack can teach all of us something if we pause and honestly explore what went into that perfect storm that brewed silently hours, days and even weeks before. Easily said and terrifying to do -- which is exactly why it doesn’t often happen. While it may have been one event that pushed Jovante over the edge, it was not just one event that got him there. This is true for anyone who dies of asthma.

AANMA is on a mission to eliminate asthma death and suffering, and to ensure that every child and adult receives asthma care consistent with National Institutes of Health Asthma Guidelines. AANMA’s Great American Asthma Challenge asks every person to do their part. It’s easier than you think to bring our nation to zero asthma deaths and improve quality of life along the way! All it takes is one person, family and community at a time taking simple steps together.

AANMA and the newly formed Congressional Asthma and Allergy Caucus will meet to examine life-and-death asthma issues and ways to ensure that all children and adults with asthma know what to expect and how to obtain appropriate care and written strategies that work for each everyone.

In addition, we recently developed and conducted Express Seminars on Exercise-Induced Bronchospasm for School Nurses at the National Association of School Nurses annual conference, sponsored by Teva Respiratory. In coming weeks, a highlights video and resource materials will be posted on AANMA's YouTube channel.

We're also forming a coalition of school nurses, coaches, parents, physicians, teachers and school administrators to define evidence-based best practices for recognizing and treating serious respiratory issues relative to sports- and school-based exercise programs.

Finally, a shout-out to Chris Draft, Anthony Armstrong and Adam Carriker of the Washington Redskins! All three have asthma, and Anthony caught and carried the first touchdown of the season! Yes, I know it's "only" the preseason, but for diehard fans like me, the season is ON! Winning over asthma is very much like winning a football game: You have got to know where the goal is and have an executable plan that's going to get you there. No one does it alone - it takes a team.

Dr. Watkins, thank you for asking the right question. Now let’s look for the right answers. Jovante's death is not in vain if we learn something from it. May God grant peace to those who love Jovante, and may their hearts be filled with fond memories that never fade.

Nancy Sander
President and Founder
Allergy & Asthma Network
Mothers of Asthmatics
http://www.aanma.org/
www.facebook.com/AANMA
http://twitter.com/AANMA
http://www.GreatAmericanAsthmaChallenge.org/

Get out of his way! (... and meet 3 Redskins with asthma!)

2010-08-16T14:32:00.003-04:00

Anthony Armstrong went over the line this time -- and scored the first winning touchdown for the Washington Redskins this season. Yes, I know it was “only” a preseason game, but it was awesome!
OK, I’m a diehard Washington Redskins fan from way back before Joe Theisman broke his leg on live television. But few fans know that awesome Anthony has asthma! In fact, three Redskins have asthma and aren’t afraid to admit it.

Like Anthony, Chris Draft (linebacker) and Adam Carriker (defensive end) think it’s better to get tough with asthma than to try to tough it out. They each have their own treatment plan.

“It’s not about what you have (asthma), but what you do about it," Chris said in a recent interview with AANMA. "On the football field, performance is all that matters. Nothing else. There are no excuses. You have to take care of your body so it will take care of you out there.” Chris established the Chris Draft Family Foundation and the Asthma Team (TM) to encourage young people with asthma to get an asthma action plan that works for them and then to live by it.

There are times when all three players have been caught short of breath on the football field. They tell their stories in an exclusive interview with AANMA in Allergy & Asthma Today magazine, due in mailboxes next week!

What? You don’t get Allergy & Asthma Today magazine? You must not be a member of Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics! Joining is easy online (or by phone, 800.878.4403) and supports AANMA’s mission to eliminate asthma and allergy death and suffering through education, advocacy and outreach.

Once you join AANMA, you’ll never be alone. There’s tens of thousands of us dealing with asthma and allergies! You’ll get our e-mail news updates, notices of events and new services, The MA Report e-newsletter, and of course, Allergy & Asthma Today magazine for one year! You can pick up the phone and call Nurse Carol Jones or send her an e-mail. You can join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t waste another moment. Join AANMA today! And as soon as you get the fall Allergy & Asthma Today in the mail, open it to page , and read "Get Tough on Asthma." Once you're finished, make three copies. Give one to the local high school or college football coach. Give another to the school nurse and the third to the principle at your child’s school.

Now, where did I put those Washington Redskins M&M’s?

Would you like to meet Chris, Anthony and Adam? Here’s your chance:
Chris Draft has teamed up with Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics to invite kids with asthma (and their families) to visit Redskins Park this Wednesday or Thursday morning, August 18 and 19, and find out how the pros Tackle Asthma!

To sign up, contact AANMA before 4 p.m.Tuesday, August 17. Space is limited; selected families will be notified by 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Send your name, address, phone number and how many family members will be with you to lross@aanma.org or call 800.878.4403 (8 a.m.-4 p.m. ET). Visitors will be invited to watch the Redskins practice from the VIP tent, then talk afterward with Chris Draft and teammates Anthony Armstrong (wide receiver) and Adam Carriker (defensive end), who also have asthma.

On a Clean Streak!

2010-08-10T17:01:00.003-04:00

If it’s too good to be true, it usually isn’t, right? Like every other good cliché, I’ll follow with a few more: “This one is an exception to the rule” and “Try it -- you’ll like it.”

Look, when ActiveIon sent us an Ionator to try prior to accepting their ad in Allergy & Asthma Today magazine, Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics staffers didn’t raise an eyebrow or volunteer to do the testing. We get our fair share of kooky products that never merit ad space, and quite frankly, we thought the ionator was going to be another one of them. I mean, what’s exciting about using an energized water sprayer to clean your kitchen, bathroom and everything in between, and to kill germs? It’s just water, for goodness' sake!

So I took the ionator home to get the testing behind me.

I opened the box, removed the unit (looks cool, sturdy, space-agey) pushed a button to release the plastic water chamber and filled it with tap water. No soap, detergent, bleach, scents, alcohol, fumes or chemicals the names of which I can’t pronounce. Just water.

I snapped the chamber back into place, pointed the nozzle at my clean granite kitchen counters and pulled the trigger. A green light glowed through the water as a fine mist spritzed across the counter. Without fanfare, the water’s molecular structure was changed so that it could adhere to dirt and germs long enough to be wiped away – which I did with my well-worn kitchen dish towel.

Hmm, that was easy enough -- but wait a minute. My kitchen counter was already clean, right? So why wasn’t it as shiny and smooth and soft as the spot I just cleaned? I cleaned another section – same thing! The ionator-cleaned surfaces reflected a perfect mirror image of the overhead kitchen lights, whereas the surfaces cleaned earlier that day reflected the light like the moon on a cloudy night!

OK, game on. If the ionator will do this to the granite, what will it do to my stainless-steel refrigerator – the fingerprint bane of my existence? Spritz, wipe and sparkle. No smears to polish. I took aim at the kitchen sink. I was blinded by the light (couldn’t resist yet another cliché) bouncing off the faucet and how brand new the sink looked -- mind you, without any effort.

Room by room, I put the ionator to the challenge. I was sold. Completely.

Then, last night we had a few neighbors over for dinner. Oh, you should have seen the hubbub in my kitchen last night! It looked like an Activeion ionator infomercial, starting when one of the guests asked what that spray thing was sitting on the counter. I picked it up and said, “My secret weapon. Don’t anyone move.” All eyes turned as I removed and then filled the water reservoir with tap water (I had to prove I was only using tap water), popped it back in the sprayer and pulled the trigger.

I shot a fine spray of ionized water onto the granite countertop, wiped it dry and invited (with flair) my guests to compare the ionator-cleaned spot to an untreated spot. One said, “It’s shinier” and another agreed that light reflecting on the ionator-cleaned spot was sharp and clear but the same light cast a halo on the uncleaned section. Another touched the surface and remarked how smooth it was before picking the ionator up and using it on another section of the countertop.

“Oh! Look, a green light comes on!” someone remarked as she sprayed. By now you’ve probably guessed we're either a very rowdy bunch or in need of a little more excitement in our lives, but the green light gave me a chance to explain that Activeion’s ionator HOM is the greenest way to clean. Not only was my kitchen getting cleaned by the neighbors at the end of our party, but it was getting clean and sterile with just purely ionized WATER from my tap!

It’s easy to store, hold, carry, use. No mess. No drips. No fragrance. No dangerous ozone. No dirty sponges.

Just spray and the stainless-steel sink is spotless. Spray, the refrigerator gook is gone. Spray, stovetop and back wall are grease-free. Spray and wipe away all germs on doorknobs, the phone, the bathroom and and car! The highchair, car seat, crib rails at day care. Every classroom should have one of these!

Best of all, after all that cleaning – my hands were smooth! No irritation from cleaners or from wearing gloves – both of which are a problem for me. I could have sold six ionator HOM units last night! I got up this morning to find my ionator went missing. My husband said a neighbor borrowed it. "What?!" I exclaimed and then went online to buy myself a second one. Technically, the first one was free, and it’s easy to say good things about free products. It’s quite another to... (OK, one more) put your money where your mouth is.

Remember, you are buying the ionizing technology – the active ingredient, water, comes out of your tap. What if you could get rid of the annoying child safety latches and nearly every smelly cleaner under your sink? How much money would you save? Plenty! Try adding it up!

I tend to use vinegar and water, lemon and salt, and vinegar and baking soda to clean most of my house because cleaners choke my airways and eat away at my hands. But compared to the ionator, they're time-consuming.

Just to be very clear, this was my experience not a paid endorsement or “certification” (be wary of these) by any measure. Activeion’s ionator doesn’t need to buy anyone’s seal of approval but yours. It works as advertised or you get your money back. And yes, they pay to advertise in Allergy & Asthma Today magazine! Thank you!

Shopping for School Supplies with Asthma

2010-08-02T16:53:00.001-04:00

I was searching Aisle 3A for plastic pellets to recharge the ongoing rock-tumbler summer science project at our house when I heard it.

My radar zeroed in on a sound coming from Aisle 2B: a wheezing child “chop-talking” to his dad. You know, “chop-talking” – that staccato sharp sentence phrasig where you get out a few words, take a shallow breath and speed through the next couple of words in the hopes that you can get it all out before being whisked away to another aisle – which is exactly what happened. They rounded the corner of 3A and my heart sank.

The boy was all of probably 5 years old, purple shadows half mooned under his eyes. Face dusky white, his mouth curled into an “o” before heaving a single sharp cough. “You OK, buddy?” his dad asked as they continued on to Aisle 4 looking for items on the “back-to-school” list he carried in his hand. “Yeah,” the boy coughed.

I wanted to say, “No, Dad, he’s not OK -- he’s only one or two triggering events away from death’s door!”

But I didn’t. It would have come out all wrong, and why should he listen to me anyway? I could be some crazy woman for all he knows. What if his son has never been diagnosed with asthma? What if he was afraid to leave his son with a sitter while he did the shopping? I thought of the phone call we’d just received from a mom whose 11-year-old son recently died of an asthma attack, and of the words of so many who've lost loved ones to asthma: by the time it looks serious, it’s too late. I started to speak and stopped. I left the store.

I have more than 30 years of experience with asthma. I’m not a doctor or nurse, but I can pick out a child or baby with asthma symptoms a mile away. But this dad only had the experience of his son and whatever the medical care provider had time to impart. He doesn’t know any better. As I unlocked the car door and slid into the driver’s seat, I thought, "Maybe he would appreciate my help."

If only I'd known where he was parked -- I could have slid my business card under the windshield wiper. Instead, I turned the key and backed out of my space, still unable to clear the stoic face of this boy from my mind.

Children who wheeze from the time they're infants or toddlers tend to become that way -- stoic -- as they grow older. They have to be; otherwise, they miss out on too much in life. While parents are trying to discern what’s normal and not (we get this question every day), they're also deciding whether the symptoms warrant another day off from work, another visit to the doctor or paying a babysitter to come to the house. It’s not as if they can keep their children tied down. Families have no idea that they're becoming conditioned to accept a certain degree of asthma symptoms as acceptable or tolerable even when they're dangerously not!

It happens so innocently. We hear it all the time: "Well, he’s just a happy wheezer. Always has been.” “He gets a cold if the wind blows the wrong way.” “She’s been worse. She’ll be OK.” “She’s a tough one, that’s for sure.”

By the time a child is ready for school, they’ve become accustomed to asthma, too! They’ve never known another way. Just like kids who don’t know there are leaves on a tree until they get glasses, kids with asthma often have no idea what it means to take a full deep breath until they’ve done it. Repeatedly. For long periods of time.

Part of preparing kids for school is making certain they start out the year healthy and armed with a written asthma action plan. Teach them when and how to ask for help. They need to know the names of the medications they use and when to use them. This is not optional.

Asthma is serious stuff: 10 children and adults die of asthma every single day! Many more miss school and sit on the sidelines, get picked last for team sports and bullied when they can’t keep up. This is the real world, folks. The stuff we as parents and grandparents don’t see.

And it’s also the stuff we can do something about -- just like teaching them not to take candy from strangers or showing them repeatedly how to cross the street safely until they can do it on their own. When our kids have asthma, our job is to help them breathe well and be all that they were born to be. No child was born to feel breathless, cough, wheeze, be congested, any more than they were born to play in traffic every day.

Check out these back-to-school resources for parents and kids:
-Is your child ready to self-administer asthma or anaphylaxis medication at school, if you live in a state that allows it? Ask your child these questions for starters.

-When is it OK for your child to go to school -- and when is it time to stay home?

-Some children have life-threatening food allergies. As a parent, how can you make sure that your child is safe during lunchtime at school?

-Student-athletes with asthma can thrive on the playing field as long as they're careful. Here are some tips.

Back-to-school tips to share or questions about your student with asthma or allergies? E-mail us at editor@aanma.org!

It’s a Gas: Study Links Exhaled Nitric Oxide with Increased Risk of Childhood Asthma

2010-07-21T09:17:00.000-04:00

Studies suggest that elevated FeNO (exhaled nitric oxide) is a reliable biomarker to identify children at increased risk for developing asthma. FeNo testing is non-invasive -- it's measured in exhaled air. Nitric oxide is a gas given off by inflammatory cells in the airways. The painless test may become standard for annual school physicals someday…we can only hope.
Click here to read about a study by U.S. researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC).

Interferon: Asthma’s Holy Grail?

2010-07-20T14:23:00.002-04:00

Could there be a cure for asthma on the horizon? Depends on whom you ask and what they know. I’ve sat on both sides of the answer, but now investigators at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center seem to be onto something highly intriguing.

They’ve determined that interferon -- a protein used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, hepatitis C and a variety of cancers -- blocks the production of Th2, cells known to cause inflammation leading to asthma and atopic dermatitis.

Normally, Th2 cells help protect against infections by secreting chemicals that bring on inflammation. However, Th2 cells tend to get carried away in some people -- causing them to over-react when exposed to otherwise harmless substances such as animal dander, pollens and pollutants. Like tapping the first in a long chain of dominoes -- once Th2 cells become reactive, a whole set of inflammatory chain reactions take place, causing common allergic diseases such as asthma and atopic dermatitis.

“This finding is incredibly important because humans are being treated with interferon for a variety of diseases, yet no one has tried treating asthma patients with interferon,” said J. David Farrar, MD, assistant professor of immunology and molecular biology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study. “The current therapies for asthma are inhalers and steroids, both of which offer only temporary relief.”

Dr. Farrar says that in isolated human immune cells, interferon targets and blocks Th2 cells before and after they form. In effect, interferon removes the key domino from the lineup.
But at what doses, and which patients are candidates for therapy, and when will a therapy be ready for use in what ages of patients and… ? So many questions, so little time! That’s why we’re writing about this topic in the Winter 2010 issue of Allergy & Asthma Today. Do you have questions you’d like to ask Dr. Farrar about this study? Send them to editor@aanma.org.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Exxon Mobil.

As seen in AAT: Take the sting out of dry, red eyes

2010-07-06T13:45:00.001-04:00

Most give it little thought, but we give it a lot! Allergy & Asthma Today advertisers are the best! They help us provide free news, reports, firsthand stories, practical tips, feature articles and other services provided by AANMA.

Advertisers don’t buy their way in; they earn it. They submit an ad for which every claim must be substantiated in writing and on file at AANMA. If we’re not familiar with the product from personal experience, we take it for a test drive – with the exception of prescription medications, of course.

For example, Laurie Ross, AAT Managing Editor, and I both tried OcuFresh eye drops and found them to be soothing. I suffer (ugh) from dry eye and am constantly using one eyedrop brand or another. What I liked about OcuFresh, besides the important fact it's preservative-free, is that each sterile vial contains more than enough liquid to flush both eyes. Laurie is a swimmer who's constantly fighting the chlorine red-eye. She said using OcuFresh took the sting out right away. She also took some of the sting out of the price by printing a coupon at the OcuFresh website: www.ocufresh.com.

We know that each person will come to their own conclusions about any of the products advertised in our magazine, but we hope you know that we give them an honest twice-over before including them in our advertising line-up and before we can blog about them. Of course, our “try it” approach isn't scientific and we don’t rely on or acknowledge any self-ordained or paid-for certification programs -- these may give the appearance of being unbiased and/or scientific, but they simply aren’t.

Do you know of a product or company or service that warrants inclusion in Allergy & Asthma Today magazine? Tell us at editor@aanma.org.

NASN conference was a success -- and "Fit to Breathe" kit coming soon!

2010-07-01T14:05:00.000-04:00

At Chicago O'Hare Airport and anxious to get home after hosting "Fit to Breathe Express Seminars on Exercise-Induced Bronchospasm (EIB) for School Nurses at the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) 42nd annual conference.

AANMA loves school nurses -- and according to their exit surveys, they appreciate us, too. "This was the best session I have attended so far at this meeting!" "Thank you for the AeroChamber holding chambers and TruZone peak flow meters and MDI training." "I could have spent the entire day learning from Dr. Michael Foggs and sports nutritionist Lisa Dorfman, and the workshops were great!"

So glad our friends at MBM Productions recorded the program. Soon you'll be able to watch a short segment and order the "Fit to Breathe" kit for use in your school. E-mail editor@aanma.org and we'll notify you in a couple of weeks when it's ready. Thank you to Teva Respiratory for sponsoring the "Fit to Breathe" seminars!

New app for iPhone points you to the nearest ER

2010-06-30T14:23:00.000-04:00

A new application for the iPhone -- the EMNet findER -- locates the nearest ER in the U.S., and gives you directions and other information you may need in an emergency. Our friends at the Emergency Medicine Network (EMNet) at Massachusetts General Hospital launched the free app this week.

Carlos A. Camargo Jr., MD, MPH, PhD, a prominent ER physician, asthma expert and director of EMNet, has worked closely with AANMA on a number of projects through the years. In an interview with Boston.com, he said:

"In talking with parents of children with asthma and allergies, it's clear that travel is a particularly stressful time for these families. One of the reasons is the uncertainty about how/where to get emergency care should they need it. It occurred to our team that we could use our research database to create a simple application that would quickly connect families with the nearest ER -- wherever they were in the United States."

The app pulls all of this information from a database of 5,000 ERs. It also makes it easy for users to dial 911 or the local ER.

Click here to download the app!

Greetings from the NASN conference in Chicago!

2010-06-29T16:05:00.002-04:00

Just checked into my hotel on Miracle Mile in bustling Chicago. Walked through the lobby to the elevator amongst a sea swimming with school nurses attending the National Association of School Nurses conference. So energized, happy. Their laughter was contagious.

I’m the last to get off the elevator. As the doors parted, I was hit with that fragrance some hotels use to cover up musty odors. It was worse in my room. My eyes are burning and my lungs ache. Already puffed my inhaler and threw open the window to let the less polluted air in. Someday soon, I hope hotels get the message that travelers would rather have clean rooms than rooms that smell like there’s something bad to hide.

I have to go to the registration desk to pick up my badge now; we’re hosting Fit to Breathe Express Seminars on Exercise-Induced Bronchospasm for School Nurses. (Click here for great free resources related to asthma & exercise.) Thankful to partner with Teva Respiratory!

Thomas Platts-Mills, MD, PhD, AANMA medical advisor -- elected to the UK's Royal Society!

2010-06-28T14:46:00.001-04:00

Hooray for Thomas Platts-Mills, MD, PhD! Dr. Platts-Mills, a member of AANMA's Medical Editorial Board and a professor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, has achieved the rare honor of being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for his research into the causes of asthma and allergies. He's the first allergist to ever be elected into the Society!

Read more here:

www.newswise.com/articles/uva-allergist-elected-as-a-fellow-to-the-royal-society

From the article:

"University of Virginia Professor of Medicine Thomas Platts-Mills, MD, PhD, has achieved the rare distinction of being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for his research into the causes of asthma and allergic disease. The Royal Society is the United Kingdom’s National Academy of Science and the oldest scientific academy in the world.

Only a small number of Fellows are physicians, and Dr. Platts-Mills is the first-ever allergist to be elected. His election was based on more than 30 years of research on the role that dust mite, cat and cockroach allergens play in the development of allergic disease and asthma. His recent work, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008, looked at patients who developed a life threatening allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, during treatment for cancer. In February 2009, he led a study on anaphylactic reactions that occurred several hours after eating beef, pork or lamb. Both of these discoveries are related to IgE antibodies to a complex mammalian sugar which appear to be induced by tick bites. This represents a paradigm shift in the understanding of allergic reactions, including those to food. (More information about this study is available at http://www.royalsociety.org/.)"

Cottonique: Love at first sight

2010-06-11T12:06:00.000-04:00

Cottonique. It was love at first sight, but would it last a lifetime? As I slid the chemise over my head, I noticed its softness and sturdy construction. It made me feel cozy all under. But would it be the same after the spin cycle in my washing machine? Would it stand up to the heat of my dryer?

I plucked it out of the pile of freshly laundered clothes and folded it. It felt softer and kinder. So I wore it again, this time as a tank top underneath a lightweight jacket. Just a simple little thing, but it looked great.

Next time I took it out of the dryer, I wore it as a pajama top. Yes, spending this much time together means this love has lasting power. I’m about to go to http://www.cottonique.com/ and order some more great cotton apparel.

I should mention that I have latex allergies and have seen my share of unmentionables that remain unmentioned because although they were latex-free, they also didn’t fit well or feel anything like Cottonique’s latex-free, formaldehyde-free, dye-free, chemical-free, Spandex-free, pH-balanced, 100 percent natural cotton apparel with inverted seams technology.

So yes, I’m in love and hope you’ll feel the same whether you have latex allergies or not.

Disclosure: Cottonique did not ask for or pay for this blog posting. Have you tried a product you simply love? Share it with me at editor@aanma.org.

Wheezing Babies: Is it Asthma or Something Else?

2010-06-04T11:49:00.002-04:00

Not even the doctor knows the answer to this question until time, trial and error reveal the truth. But the secret to preventing severe symptoms is never allowing them to become severe in the first place. Alas, how do you know if you should treat the symptoms as if they're caused by asthma? Are you over- or under-medicating your baby? At what point do you say the treatment plan is or isn’t working?

Figuring out why a baby is wheezing is a little like trying to tango to a waltz. That’s why we were most interested to see new research published in the June 2010 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) demonstrating the virtues of measuring exhaled nitric oxide, a non-invasive marker of airway inflammation in babies. I thought you might want to share the article with your pediatrician or asthma specialist, so I’ve posted it below. We’re also posting it on the new website for AANMA’s Great American Asthma Challenge.

Aerocrine makes NioxMino, the small portable device that measures exhaled nitric oxide. If inflammation is detected, the physician can prescribe an inhaled corticosteroid to use while the cause of inflammation is sorted out. If inflammation is not present, the physician knows to look for other causes of symptoms.

The only downside: the test is not always reimbursed by insurance companies -- yet. Work with AANMA to let insurance companies know just how important it is to reimburse for diagnostic tests and monitoring that allow us and our children to zero in on the causes of asthma and treat them more specifically and strategically so we can move on with our lives. Sign up for the Great American Asthma Challenge, and e-mail editor@aanma.org to get added to our list of potential advocacy contacts on reimbursement issues.

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Highlights - June 2010

Exhaled nitric oxide, lung function, and exacerbations in wheezy infants

Clinicians generally cannot distinguish infants and toddlers with transient wheezing from those with early persistent asthma. Debley et al recruited 47 infants and toddlers with three or more prior episodes of physician diagnosed wheeze into a longitudinal study to determine whether exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) was associated with lung function, response to bronchodilators, changes in lung function over time, or subsequent exacerbations of wheezing.

They used a flow regulated (50 mL/sec) single-breath method to measure FENO, and the raised-volume thoracic compression method to measure lung function with assessment of albuterol responsiveness. The authors found that FENO was associated with bronchodilator responsiveness, and that higher levels of enrollment FENO were associated with subsequent decline in lung function and exacerbations of wheezing treated with systemic steroids over 6 months. Enrollment FENO was superior to both enrollment lung function and bronchodilator responsiveness in predicting subsequent exacerbations of wheezing.

Although follow-up into the school-age years with a larger cohort is needed to definitively evaluate the predictive value for asthma, these data suggest that FENO measurement in wheezy infants and toddlers is a promising objective biomarker that may prove useful clinically and improve our understanding of the evolution of asthma in young children.

--“Exhaled Nitric Oxide, Lung Function, and Exacerbations in Wheezy Infants and Toddlers” Remarks by Debley et al. (JACI June 2010 / Volume 125, No. 6

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) is the official scientific journal of the AAAAI, and is the most-cited journal in the field of allergy and clinical immunology.

PRECIOUS Breathers is AANMA’s special program to help you identify respiratory problems in children under 5. Everything about PRECIOUS Breathers is geared to little ones and the big people who love them! Here, you’ll find basic info about various reasons why your child might be having breathing problems—from common causes such as colds and teething, to more serious conditions such as asthma that require medical treatment. You’ll also find an online library of practical, family-friendly articles about some of the specific causes.

Breathing for Two: Expectant moms with asthma may not receive most appropriate medications when discharged from emergency departments

2010-06-01T16:24:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine is newly pregnant with her second baby – perhaps only a week or so. She and her husband have been hoping this day would come for at least a year. She’s already started her prenatal vitamins, taking daily naps and daily walks, staying hydrated and eating healthy, fresh foods while trying to avoid preservatives and unnecessary chemicals.

But she doesn’t give much thought to breathing for two because “I haven’t had asthma problems in forever,” she said, “and I don’t expect I will.” She may be right, but many people don’t perceive the early stages of airway inflammation, and others aren't aware that the asthma they thought they “outgrew” is silently smoldering and subtly restricting airflow--a dangerous situation for a developing baby.

By the time symptoms become noticeable or wheezing is audible, there is as much as a 15 to 20 percent decrease in lung function. Additionally, an expectant mom may attribute mild breathing problems to the extra weight she is carrying and not think about asthma.

Many expectant mothers are wary of taking any medications -- however, treating asthma correctly through avoidance of known allergens, irritants and respiratory viruses as well as using inhaled medications is extremely important. Yet a new study conducted by researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center showed that expectant moms treated in the emergency department are less likely to leave the hospital with a prescription for an inhaled corticosteroid than other patients, despite national treatment guidelines advising their use.

Expectant mothers with a history of asthma should be evaluated by an asthma specialist such as a board-certified allergist, measure exhaled nitric oxide (an indicator of airway inflammation) using NioxMino, and monitor lung function using a peak flow meter at home.

Learn more:
Breathing for Two -- Expectant moms with asthma face special challenges. This 17-page booklet gives you straightforward, dependable answers from reliable experts. Available through the online AANMA Store.

PRECIOUS Breathers is AANMA’s special program to help you identify respiratory problems in children under 5. Everything about PRECIOUS Breathers is geared to little ones and the big people who love them! Here, you’ll find basic info about various reasons why your child might be having breathing problems—from common causes such as colds and teething, to more serious conditions such as asthma that require medical treatment. You’ll also find an online library of practical, family-friendly articles about some of the specific causes.

Former NFL Player Jarvis Williams Dies of Asthma Attack at 45

2010-05-27T16:01:00.002-04:00

Today, we learned that Jarvis Williams, a former defensive back for the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants, died of an asthma attack at 45 on Tuesday night.

Williams had been a volunteer football coach at Interlachen High School in Putnam County, Florida, since early this year and his friends and colleagues said he appeared to be in good health, according to an article by the Associated Press. Williams leaves behind his son, who followed in his dad’s footsteps and currently plays football for Jacksonville University.

We know the statistics: Ten people die of asthma every day.

But statistics are cold – they don’t tell the stories of the lives that were suddenly lost or what went wrong when everything seemed so right. Williams was devoted to his family and the young people he coached. According to the Interlachen High School principal, Williams, a professional athlete, had seemed to be in good shape and perfectly healthy, shattering the myth that only people with severe, debilitating asthma are at risk of death.

NFL linebacker Chris Draft, who was recently signed with the Washington Redskins, knows firsthand what it’s like to have asthma suddenly take your breath away on and off the playing field. In college, his symptoms nearly sidelined his hopes of playing professional football until he found the right medical care and treatment plan. Determined to help others overcome asthma and lead active, healthy lives, Chris founded The Chris Draft Family Foundation in 1996 to inform and inspire people and families with asthma.

Earlier this month, Chris Draft and I launched the Great American Asthma Challenge, the first-ever grassroots movement to eliminate asthma death and suffering. I contacted Chris earlier today to tell him about Jarvis Williams. We agreed that the news multiplies our resolve to enroll every family affected by asthma in the Great American Asthma Challenge.

A mom whose son died of asthma at age 6 once said: “I thought asthma was a way of life. I never knew it could be a way of death until it happened to my son.” A 2-year-old died in her father’s arms while he gave her a breathing treatment – only two hours prior, she’d been released from the emergency department across the street from their home. She died without a struggle.

Help change the future of asthma by taking steps today to eliminate needless asthma death and suffering. It’s easier than you think. Look, Learn, Act:

www.aanma.org

www.chrisdraftfoundation.org

www.GreatAmericanAsthmaChallenge.org

AANMA ♥s Nurses!

2010-05-10T13:11:00.001-04:00

May 6-12 is Nurses’ Week. Do you have a nurse you’d like to thank? Someone special who helped you or your family?

I have a favorite nurse: Carol Jones, RN AE-C She joined AANMA more than 20 years ago and volunteered many times throughout the years. Carol understands asthma from a personal perspective as well -- she has asthma, as do her husband and grown children. Carol now answers your medical questions through AANMA’s Patient Support Center at (800) 878-4403 ext. 117 or aanmahelpline@aanma.org.

We'd love to hear about nurses who touched your life -- send us an e-mail to editor@aanma.org and we'll share results here!

We're in the home stretch!

2010-05-04T15:26:00.001-04:00

We’re in the home stretch for Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill 2010 (May 5) and I just finished a live televised segment with Chris Draft, NFL Linebacker, on WJLA TV. From there I dropped Chris at his next meeting and drove to my hotel. Room’s not ready so I’m sitting at the corner table of the restaurant facing Dupont Circle. It’s a perfect sunny day and the first chance I’ve had to notice all day.

You’d think after 13 years of hosting this annual event in which Congress listens and responds to issues affecting people with asthma and allergies that it would all be rather routine by now. And you’d be right --except that every single year something pops up that's unexpected.

Like the first year when we expected only one member of Congress to speak and 16 showed up! All of them spoke about their personal experience with asthma and allergies, and promised to help us address each of our issues. And they’ve proven faithful.

With their help, students with asthma can now carry inhalers at school, and in 46 states, they can carry their auto-injectable epinephrine if prescribed for anaphylaxis. With their help, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) no longer reimburses for illegally mass-manufactured nebulizer medications.

Each year is an advocacy success story that took a year or more of hard work prior to and following each event. I remember the year after September 11 and the anthrax attacks on Congress created a security snafu in which our event materials, signs, booth etc. didn’t arrive until after the Congressional briefing began. No matter -- our staff set up a fire bucket brigade line and silently loaded the room unnoticed by the audience. At the end of presentations, we invited them to the screening and fair, and as people turned around to look, there was an audible gasp of surprise: the room was transformed.

And so were the issues of access to specialty care, diagnostic testing and appropriate therapies as deemed by the patient/family and medical care provider.

Tomorrow we’re expecting 10 members of Congress to join us, most of whom have already signed up for the Great American Asthma Challenge pledging to do their part to eliminate asthma death and suffering in the United States. You can sign up, too! Just go to www.aanma.org and follow the Great American Asthma Challenge logo.

The Great American Asthma Challenge needs you! Right now, we have sections for families, medical care providers and legislators, but we’ll be adding sections for coalitions, working groups, volunteers – because this, as Chris Draft says, is a TEAM effort: Together for Effective Asthma Management.

Hope you can join us for the Congressional and Press Breakfast Briefing tomorrow morning! But if not, stop by the Allergy and Asthma Health Fair and Screening in Rayburn Foyer. It’s very easy to get to (just one block from the Capitol South stop on the Metro blue and orange lines) and you’ll get a FREE pulmonary functions test, exhaled nitric oxide test and consultation with an allergist – a $500 value, and you can take the test results with you! (Click here for more details.)

Okay, time to get ready – come what may, it will be another great Asthma Awareness Day on Capitol Hill!

Nancy

Hear “Dr. Jackie” talk about AANMA’s free asthma screenings – tonight on NBC4 in DC, 4-5 pm!

2010-05-03T13:08:00.003-04:00

Tune in to NBC4 in Washington, DC, tonight, between 4 and 5 pm ET, to hear Jacqueline Eghrari-Sabet, MD – a.k.a. “Dr. Jackie,” a board-certified allergist with Family Allergy & Asthma Care – talk about the free asthma screenings that will be offered at AANMA’s Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill on May 5!

Eghrari-Sabet is a medical expert and regular contributor to health segments for NBC4. She’s also contributed her expertise to articles that have appeared in The Washington Post, Parenting, Self and Ladies Home Journal. She has spoken at national and international conferences on allergy and asthma.

Asthma & Allergy Health Fair and Free Asthma Screenings

11 am - 1:30 pm

Wed. May 5, 2010

Rayburn House Office Building, Rayburn Foyer (2nd floor)

50 Independence Ave. SW

(Just one block from the Capitol South station on the Metro orange and blue lines.)

Click here for more details about Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill!

See You at Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill on May 5!

2010-04-30T11:58:00.001-04:00

We’re in the home stretch preparing for our 13th annual Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill event and the launch of the Great American Asthma Challenge, the first-ever grassroots movement to eliminate asthma death and suffering.

It’s crazy good at the office. Yes, we’d all like a few more hours to our days and a few of us would like to dream about something other than work in our sleep, but a year’s worth of advocacy efforts is going to pay off on May 5, when 10 members of Congress and NFL Linebacker Chris Draft announce plans to tackle asthma death and suffering once and for all!

It's all happening on Capitol Hill on May 5, starting with a Congressional & Media Breakfast Briefing (8:30-10:30 am, Rayburn House Office Building, Gold Room, 2nd floor) followed by the Asthma & Allergy Health Fair and Free Asthma Screenings (11-1:30 pm, Rayburn Foyer, 2nd floor) -- Click here for more details and directions.

For the 13th year, Talal Nsouli, MD, board-certified allergist, and a team of allergists, nurses and respiratory therapists provide free asthma screenings and consultations. Free pulmonary function tests, NioxMino exhaled nitric oxide tests, TruZone peak flow meters, AeroChamber Plus holding chambers, Allergy Control® Pristine® pillow encasings -- all are available while supplies last at the Asthma and Allergy Health Fair.

Be there if you can! It’s just one block from the Capitol South Metro station (on the blue and orange lines) to the Rayburn House Office Building at 50 Independence Ave. SW. Bring the kids --- the screening is for people of all ages!

And please pass this link -- www.aanma.org/advocacy/aadch -- to your members of Congress:

Click here for members of the Senate.
Click here for members of the House of Representatives.

Many thanks to ExxonMobil, Teva Respiratory, Novartis, American College of Allergy, Asthma &Immunology (ACAAI), Aerocrine, Phadia, Pharmaxis.

OK, I’ve got to run. Have to finish up the agenda and prep for media interviews… need to… SEE YOU THERE!

Sunshine on My Shoulder

2010-04-21T10:31:00.003-04:00

Extolling the virtues of vitamin D is easy. Plentiful as supplied by Mother Nature, it is often found wanting in children and adults with asthma. A growing cadre of evidence suggests a link between vitamin D levels and asthma severity: the lower the level, the more severe the asthma. Patients with more severe or chronic asthma problems tend to require more inhaled corticosteroid as well. When vitamin D levels are raised, the corticosteroid appears to be more effective.

Makes you think a little about the whole chain of events that take place. If vitamin D levels are low, so is calcium absorption. Calcium builds strong bones, and bones house the marrow where our immune system is fed. Corticosteroids -- oral forms in particular -- deplete calcium, and over time can cause the bones to crumble.

Now, I realize this description is vastly oversimplified, but which came first -- vitamin D depletion or a wayward immune system? While researchers figure it out, eat healthy wholesome vitamin-rich foods, play outside (do not overexpose skin to the sun – 15 minutes is enough) and keep moving! If being outside means inhaling dangerous levels of pollen and fumes, ask your medical care provider to test blood levels of vitamin D. Prescription-strength vitamin D is now available in once-weekly small gel caps.

Come to Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill on May 5, 2010 and take the Great American Asthma Challenge pledge to do your part to eliminate asthma death and suffering in the United States. Learn more at www.aanma.org/thegaac.

An Update from our Friends in Haiti

2010-03-17T08:38:00.006-04:00

We received the following update from Caleb and Debbie Lucien at Hosean International Ministries (HIM) in Pignon, Haiti. AANMA members and friends generously donated supplies to HIM, a nonprofit organization that has a large school campus and an orphanage -- HIM has taken in about 300 adults, teens and childrens since the earthquake. Caleb, director of HIM, and his wife, Debbie, are friends of AANMA and have children with asthma and respiratory issues. (Click here to see our original call to AANMA members to help.) Here is Debbie's note:

Thanks to all there at AANMA for all the hard work on our behalf here in Haiti. Just this past Thursday, a large cargo plane brought about two dozen boxes of supplies from AANMA contacts across the U.S. It was so amazing to me that people have responded so generously. These medications and clothing supplies were taken to our camp, categorized and are being distributed.

Currently, there are about 330 long-term residents at the camp. Some people come and go, but these 300 plus have settled in to at least finish the school year. About two-thirds of the residents are children and teens who have been sent by their families so they can complete school and find food. While it's been challenging taking on so many "foster kids," especially this group that has experienced its fair share of trauma, things are going reasonably well.

We've had a lot of volunteers come and give of their time and love to coordinate activities for them as well as invest in improving the camp facilities. Right now we are building better shower facilities etc. for them.

The majority of supplies we are receiving continue to go to the capital city area where the needs are extreme. Enclosed is a picture sent to me today by an American nurse volunteering in Port au Prince last week -- authorities are reporting there are over 400 "tent cities" like this now throughout the country.

It's humbling when I see how people are forced to live, and that even as rough as our camp facilities are, they are nice compared to the conditions most are living in. Please just encourage your members that the supplies they are sending are getting through and helping those in need.

We really appreciate you all!

Blessings, Debbie Lucien in Haiti

To ship items to Haiti, use this address:
Caleb Lucien/Hosean International (Relief Supplies)
3170 Airmans Drive, Unit 1076 HIM
Fort Pierce, FL 34946
To pay for shipping from the U.S. to Haiti, it’s helpful if you also send a check for $1.75/pound to the same address but in a separate envelope (the check could get lost if it’s shipped with the box).

AANMA Shoeboxes for Haiti

2010-02-18T15:43:00.001-05:00

Chances are there’s an empty shoebox in your closet. You could stow receipts in it, store art supplies for the kids, stash emergency cash or stuff it with old cell phones -- but no use would be more important than filling it with love and sending it to Haiti’s earthquake-fragmented families.

Each survivor has an unfathomable story. We cannot comprehend how they and the volunteers and caregivers are coping – we’ve never walked a day in their shoes.

But your empty shoebox collecting dust can fill a heart with hope and smiles. Packed with crayons, stickers, granola bars, pocket-sized rain ponchos, duct tape, batteries, beads, thread and fabric, bandages, soap, small toys or bubbles or anything else you place inside will transform a life.

As you gather treasures to place inside, envision the face of the person you would like to receive it. A mom? An elderly man? A baby girl or boy? A student? A volunteer? A physician or nurse? Draw a picture or write a note directly on the inside of the shoebox lid. On the outside, clearly write, “AANMA SHOEBOXES FOR HAITI” and the designee(s) such as “for a new mother,” “for a boy/girl.” You get the idea.

By the time you tape the lid shut and drop it in the mail, you’ll have had so much fun, you’ll probably go shoe shopping just so you can fill more boxes!

-Here’s how to ship your shoebox to Haiti securely: Make sure that the lid is taped securely onto the box. You can simply write the address onto the shoebox or a label placed on the shoebox, or you can put the shoebox in a separate box from the post office. You can buy boxes at the post office or order them from http://www.usps.com/.

-Here’s the address:
AANMA Shoeboxes for Haiti, C/O Caleb Lucien,Hosean International
3170 Airmans Drive, Unit 1076 HIM
Fort Pierce, FL 34946

-To pay for shipping from the U.S. to Haiti, it’s helpful if you also send a check for $1.75/pound to the same address but in a separate envelope (the check could get lost if it’s shipped with the box).

(HIM is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in the U.S. and a recognized NGO in Haiti. For more information: http://www.hosean.org/.)

This project does not specifically address AANMA’s mission to eliminate asthma- and allergy-related suffering and death—but it has everything to do with helping people in dire need.

Mr. Whiskers Feels Your Pain, Simba

2010-02-11T11:45:00.010-05:00

Mr. Whiskers, a disgruntled feline who grudgingly acquiesces to bathtime for the sake of his family's respiratory health (with no shortage of growls and hisses), was a hit among readers when his column recently appeared in the Holiday Issue of Allergy & Asthma Today magazine. AAT reader Brenda Cruse has a cat who can relate--and she sends us the following tale.

Also be sure to check out my recent post featuring photos of my daughter-in-law, Kristin, administering a cat bath with a sensitivity that even Mr. Whiskers might admire. (Click here to read the post.)

Here's Brenda's cat-washing story:

"I have asthma, and our cat Simba is my constant irritator. He takes a nap on my pillow, and I spend the night coughing, wheezing and puffing albuterol. We've made lots of other comfy spots for him to rest, but he does seem to enjoy our bed!

We've found that if Simba gets a bath every two to three weeks, my symptoms are much better. My husband is usually the bather. Simba is a LARGE cat. He's about 25 pounds of well-fed, spoiled kitty-with-an-attitude.

One day last summer, I had asked hubby to give Sim his bath. He choose to do this while I was out somewhere. I came home and parked my car in front of the house, as I usually do. I hear this terrible screaming noise coming from a cat. I thought I had hit the neighbor's cat, it was so terrible and painful! I jumped out, got on my knees and started looking for an injured kitty. No kitty anywhere.

I hear more painful screams from a cat. I go in the house and start looking for my cats to make sure they're all OK. Devil Cat and KC are in the front window, Simba is nowhere around.

I go upstairs, still hearing screams from a cat. I see the bathroom door is closed--and I hear curses coming from my husband. I open the door to find Simba in the tub with my husband just about lying on him to keep him in the tub. The shower is running and the screams and curses are getting louder. The cat is doing his best to get out of the tub, and my husband is doing his best to keep cat in the tub. Curses are flying, claws are out and kitty is not happy.

At this point I'm laughing like a loon and my husband is screaming to close the door. I pull the door to close it--and clean kitty shoots out of the tub straight into the litter box and proceeds to lie down and roll! Simba has no idea what's coming next. Another bath! We pick him up and attempt to put him back in the tub for Round Two. It takes both of us to keep the cat contained and claws away from our skin. The painful screaming from the cat resumes, the curses resume and bath day has just gotten funnier. Trying to get clumping litter off a long-haired cat who's already fighting mad is not an easy task!"

We loved this story and some of the other “cat bath tales” we’ve received. However, we noticed a theme: When it comes to our beloved pets, some of us can be pushovers to a fault. Here are some tips for behavior modification – for pets and the humans who love them:

First, if your cat has made himself at home on your pillow -- donate your pillow to your kitty. Put it on a chair next to your bed. Buy yourself a new pillow, slip on dustmite-proof encasings for the pillow and your mattress, and when you make up your bed each morning, put your pillow in the closet and don’t bring it back out until you climb into bed. Little by little, inch the chair with your old/pet’s new pillow closer and closer to the door. Eventually, move the pillow outside your door and make your bedroom a cat-free zone. (PureZone has options for allergen-proofing your sleep space.)

Second, having to use albuterol every night is not a good sign at all. According to national asthma guidelines, this falls into the category of high risk of death or other serious encounter and long-term damage to your airways. Have you talked to your allergist about immunotherapy (allergy shots) or other medications that can help?

Third, try washing your bedding two and three times a week in an allergen-neutralizing laundry detergent such as those from Ecology Works. No special washing machine or dryer needed. And consider using a HEPA vacuum cleaner. I’ve had my Miele for 12 years and it works as great as the first day I bought it. In the same period of time, most people spend more than I did on multiple vacuums.

Listen, it’s been a while since we surveyed our entire readership population, but the last time we did, more than 50 percent of AANMA members fessed up to being hopelessly in love with their pets. The good news is there are things you can do that may give you the best of all worlds. Check out the Indoor AIRepair kit developed by AANMA with EPA for tips on making the air in your home more breathable .

Stay warm!

(By way of disclosure, any companies featured above did not and were not asked to pay for mention on this blog. AANMA does not endorse products, and if we mention them on this blog, it is purely informational.)

Nancy Sander
President and founder
Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA)
2751 Prosperity Ave. Suite 150
Fairfax, VA 22031
703-641-9595
http://www.aanma.org/
http://twitter.com/AANMA
www.facebook.com/AANMA

How Precious Is Your Little Wheezer?

2010-02-01T15:16:00.000-05:00

I can’t help but show you this picture of my wonderful daughter-in-law, Kristin, giving a nebulizer treatment to my youngest grandson, Trey. A month ago he was diagnosed with bronchiolitis while I was visiting them in Sugar Hill, Ga., for Christmas, and the poor little guy is still wheezing.

He’s was only four months old months old when all this started (see my post from Jan. 4 for the whole story), so when the doctor prescribed nebulizer treatments, we had to find a place in town to buy the nebulizer in a hurry. Not impressed with the compressor options available or the nebulizer set-up (medicine cup, mask and tubing) that came with it. The machine is noisy, and more medication streamed into the air than into his little airways.

Being the grandma that I am, I ordered Monaghan AeroEclipse®II Breath Activated Nebulizers and baby masks sent to their house (the nebulizer is the part that the medicine goes into; click here to read an AANMA article for parents of very young children about using nebulizers). What a difference! No more escaping mist, and Dan and Kristin love that they can see that the baby is actually getting the medication, thanks to a little green ball on the cap of the medication cup that moves down when the baby is inhaling-- and as soon as the baby stops inhaling, it pops back up.

That little green ball does more than just reassure grandparents like me and parents like Dan and Kristin. It’s the mechanism that allows the flow of medication only during inhalation.

Trey is five months old now, but he’s officially one of AANMA’s PRECIOUS Breathers! While he hasn’t been diagnosed with asthma as yet, with our family history, Dan and Kristin are taking no chances. They already had him blood tested (Immunocap) for allergens they knew were already in the home (a cat, a dog, dust mites, etc.)--and so far, so good.

Trey’s pediatrician is treating both the bronchospasm (with a nebulized bronchodilator) and airway inflammation (with a nebulized corticosteroid) in hopes of staving off the development of long-term symptoms. Trey was too young to get an H1N1 flu shot, but the rest of the family got theirs when the vaccines first came out.

What does all this have to do with AANMA’s PRECIOUS Breathers program? PRECIOUS Breathers is a growing group of families of babies, toddlers and preschoolers who, like Trey, wheeze, cough and exhibit other symptoms of asthma but may or may not yet have a diagnosis. It’s important to treat symptoms and use as many preventive options as possible to give these little ones a great start. And that’s what PRECIOUS Breathers is all about.

Babies grow at an amazing rate, and their little brains, muscles and organs need plenty of clean air to grow to the fullest potential. You would never allow someone to place a plastic bag over your child’s face for even a moment. While that example may seem drastic, that’s what asthma and other respiratory conditions do during those coughing and gagging and wheezing episodes--they restrict breathing!

PRECIOUS Breathers is for parents--even those who think they're asthma and allergy experts because of personal history. My son, Dan, grew up with exercise- and virally induced asthma, and his sister Brooke’s asthma was very severe. But his perspective as a parent is very different, and he’s now reading AANMA’s website, our magazine, Allergy & Asthma Today, and all our e-mail updates and blogs with new appreciation. Kristin, a physician’s assistant, recently remarked, “Why didn’t they teach us this stuff when I was in medical training!”

The nuances of raising wee ones who may or may not have asthma can be perplexing, and that’s why we created PRECIOUS Breathers; start-up funding was made possible in 2009 by AstraZeneca.

Sign up for PRECIOUS Breathers today and we’ll send you a little PRECIOUS Breathers iron-on logo! Put it on a onesie or a toddler T-shirt. Tell us your story. Send us a picture and we’ll post it (first name and age only) on AANMA’s PRECIOUS Breathers web page!

Be part of the first generation of parents utilizing never-before-available resources to minimize the progression of asthma.

By way of disclosure, Monaghan Medical, AeroEclipse II, Immunocap (Phadia) did not and were not asked to pay for mention in this blog. Start-up funding for PRECIOUS Breathers was provided during 2009 but is now an unfunded project supported by your donations and AANMA membership fees. Thank you!

Nancy Sander

President and founder

Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA)

2751 Prosperity Ave. Suite 150

Fairfax, VA 22031

703-641-9595

http://www.aanma.org/

http://twitter.com/AANMA

www.facebook.com/AANMA

American Idol Turns A Paige Onto Hollywood

2010-01-20T16:17:00.002-05:00

I love watching American Idol. Last week it was Larry Platt’s “Pants on the Ground” that became an overnight sensation, but tonight, I think all of us with asthma or kids with asthma are cheering for Paige Dechausse.

What an inspiration! However, did anyone else notice that she used her inhaler incorrectly on the show? She did a “press and breathe” maneuver, rather than the correct “breathe/press” technique.

What’s the difference? Pressing the inhaler first leaves most of the medication in your mouth--where it's swallowed and winds up in your stomach. Instead, begin a slow, deep breath while pressing the inhaler. This carries the medication deep into the airways.

Better yet, use a valved holding chamber and the timing of the inhalation becomes less important. Why a valved holding chamber? The valve allows medication to flow only one way--into your airway--when you're ready to take a full, deep breath.

Valved holding chambers come in a variety of sizes for people of all ages, with and without masks. The PARI Vortex comes with a duck mask for young children, but having used one recently with my 4-month-old grandson, I discovered it wasn't possible to tell if he was actually inhaling the medication. Twenty-four hours later we were back at the pediatrician’s office giving Trey a breathing treatment. This time when he went home, it was with a prescription for a nebulizer machine and medication.

The new AeroChamber MAX with Flow-Vu has a distinct advantage, particularly for giving inhaler medications to children. There's a small flap or valve that's so sensitive that it shows you when the baby is inhaling the medication.

I don’t know about you, but I hope Paige makes it in Hollywood. It’s going to be fun to watch. A key to her success will be to keep her lungs healthy, exercise and inhale that medication deep into her airways. Remember: “breathe/press”!

Good to the Last Drop

2010-01-13T13:50:00.004-05:00

The prescription label says: "Take one teaspoon of medicine every 12 hours." Not the teaspoon used to stir tea, but one you use to measure salt or baking soda in a recipe. At tea spoon is not a teaspoon by any measure!

But getting the teaspoon of medicine out of the spoon into your tum (or trickier yet, your baby’s mouth) is not always easy. Sure, you can use one of those tiny plastic cups packaged with the medicine, but the residual medicine slides back down into the cup and you wind up not giving or getting the full dose. You could try adding a few drops of water, giving it a swirl and downing the rest, but that really makes a mess. (Trust me; I tried it.)

My son uses a syringe shooter (that’s what I call it) to squirt medicine into baby Trey’s mouth. Most of it goes down his throat before he has a chance to think about spitting it back out. The benefit of this tactic is that there's no medicine left in the syringe. I think that’s the best way to make sure the full dose is given every time no matter how old you are.

Mr. Whiskers Meets His Match

2010-01-11T08:22:00.008-05:00

After reading the Holiday issue of Allergy and Asthma Today in which Mr. Whiskers lamented getting dunked and bathed regularly by his allergy-prone family, my daughter-in-law, Kristin said she’d been bathing her cat every two weeks for years, ever since he was eight weeks old. Her reasons had nothing to do with allergies or asthma and everything to do with completing microbiology courses in medical school. Just because cats spend a lot of their leisure time preening doesn't mean that they're clean, she told me.

After Kristin and my son married, their combined menagerie consisted of a cat and two dogs, and before long, they added two precious boys to the family. So during the Christmas holidays when she offered to show me how to bathe a cat, I grabbed my camera and headed up the stairs behind her. Also pictured in the photos are JD, my 2-year-old grandson, and the family cat, Cat.

First you have to catch the cat!

Important: Clip the cat's claws!

Firmly and calmly hold the cat in place while drenching his fur. Be careful to keep water out of his eyes and ears.

Apply cat shampoo from head to tail.

Gently massage the face and tear ducts.

Rinse cat thoroughly.

These are the faces of a clean cat and a happy Kristin!

Post-Holiday Bug, and the Magic Italian Garlic Cure

2010-01-05T14:46:00.001-05:00

All the traipsing through airports, day-after-Christmas shopping, shoveling snow without a muffler around my face, hugging my sick little grandsons and visiting pediaticians has landed me in bed honking and hacking. I'm cuddled up with a nebulizer, box of tissues, Ricola cough drops, Vicks VapoRub and both a nasal and inhaled corticosteroid. Oh, and my laptop and iPod Touch (a Christmas present from my husband).

Nothing like a dose of reality. It’s been eons since I’ve had a respiratory infection or asthma symptoms that I couldn’t nip at the first sign. As I retrieved my Aeroneb from the top shelf of the linen closet, I wondered if I had all the parts needed, if it would start and if I’d saved the instruction booklet. I unzipped the small case to find everything intact; the palm-sized, battery-operated base powered up on the first try. I plugged the power connector into the back of the nebulizer cup, poured the medicine in and instantly a fine mist silently streamed into my burning airways. I must remember to store it that way when this episode is over.

My husband has already been exposed to whatever I have, but I insisted that he sleep in the other room last night. Even so, while I was coughing up a lung, he was at the door asking if I was OK (no)--and in the rare moments of silence when I had stopped coughing, he was checking to make sure I was still alive.

It’s always worse at night, although the daytime version is no picnic either. John is taking me to the internist at 3:00 to find out if this really is bronchitis or if it's pneumonia or a sinus infection. I don’t feel like crawling out of my blankets, brushing my hair or changing out of my sweatshirt hoodie, flannel jammies and knee socks and climbing into uncontaminated clothing to go to the doctor’s office or anywhere at all. Maybe I could just roll the blankets around me and go in dressed as is. Somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen.

What I really want is Sandra Fusco-Walker’s (AANMA’s Director of Patient Advocacy) magic Italian garlic cure. Rather, I want someone to make it for me, since John’s specialty is pouring cereal. Here's her recipe: Boil two heads of garlic until fork-tender. Slice in half, separating the top from the bottom. Heat olive oil in cast-iron skillet, season the garlic halves and cook until golden on both sides. Smear onto French bread, and watch out! Talk about pulling the plug on mucus!

It seems this crud is everywhere but it has no name--no epidemic or pandemic status in the news. Despite pumps of hand sanitizers at every cash register and in my purse, this bug needs no handshake to multiply. Just the holidays.

Commiserate at editor@aanma.org.

(By way of disclosure, Aeroneb, Ricola, Vicks and Sandra’s Magic Italian Garlic Cure did not pay for mentions in this blog.)

Happy New Year -- and Reality Check

2010-01-04T14:57:00.002-05:00

How many of you spent the holidays hacking, honking, sniffling, sneezing, wheezing, feverish, nauseated or dashing to the bathroom? Or taking care of kids doing any of the above?

I spent part of the holidays in Atlanta with my oldest sons, Mike and Dan, Dan’s wife Kristin and my two littlest grandsons. Mike and Dan met me at the airport shortly after midnight. On the ride home, Dan said that J.D., his 2-year-old, had been diagnosed with croup earlier in the day. He was hoping that the baby, who's four months old, wouldn’t get it. The baby was cutting two bottom teeth but otherwise happy.

Then, the next day, the baby started wheezing. Kristin, a physician’s assistant said, “It’s just a little wheeze.”

“But it doesn’t belong there,” I said.

“He’s teething; babies get congested when they're teething,” she replied. I had to agree, but something about the wheeze seemed eerily familiar to me--it reminded me of when my daughter, Brooke, was a baby, before she was diagnosed with asthma. But Trey was happy, alert and cooing. All seemed fine.

By nightfall, however, Trey took a turn for the worst. The next morning, Dan took the baby to the pediatrician. Diagnosis: Broncholitis or RSV. Either way, Trey was producing more mucus than his little body could get rid of. He had his first breathing treatment and was sent home with a Xopenex metered-dose inhaler and a valved holding chamber with a little duck mask on it.

For the next two days, we gave Trey his medication on schedule but he grew worse. We were never quite sure if the baby was inhaling the medication. Three puffs every four hours should have done the trick, but we could see no improvement.

The next morning, Kristin had to drop J.D. off at day care and go to work, so Dan and I took Trey back to the pediatrician. This time we saw Dr. Furr. She listened to his chest and explained that while people love to debate the merits of holding chambers vs. nebulizers, there were times when a nebulizer was the best route because the medicine is wet and you know the baby is getting the medication. She gave the baby a breathing treatment at the office--and sure enough, he fired out a huge mucus plug splat onto the floor. His cheeks regained color and he smiled.

Dr. Furr explained that RSV is viral bronchiolitis, but that not all bronchiolitis is caused by RSV. Whatever the cause, she expected Trey to be really sick for a few weeks. She asked about the family history of asthma – Dan and I both have it, as do his sister and youngest brother, Joe. Dan and I don’t have allergies but Brooke and Joe do. She said to wait and see what develops, but that it would be no surprise to her if the baby develops asthma. If that's the case, it would be time to talk about pets, dust mites and other known allergens and how to avoid them.

It was a little odd standing in this room watching this conversation take place between my son and the pediatrician about my grandson, in contrast to when Brooke, the daughter who taught me everything about asthma and allergies I didn’t want to know, was a baby. This physician works in a busy office seeing patients with all kinds of ailments--the largest pediatric practice in the area--and yet she efficiently and effectively explained the diagnosis, answered all of Dan’s questions, told him what to expect after giving Trey his medication and how to know when to bring him back for additional treatment.

Wow. All in 15 minutes. With a smile on her face and a caring touch of her hands

Despite the coughing and hacking (in addition to sick animals and a few sleepless nights), the seven days spent with the family were precious and humbling. They were a reminder that just because you raised children once, doesn’t mean it would be any easier to do it again! A reminder that the never-ending work is offset by the unexpected leaps of joy over the smallest of things. A reminder that being a parent teaches you more about yourself than you could imagine, no matter how young or old your children are.

And how were your holidays?

Anaphylaxis 101: Get the Facts, Be Prepared

2009-12-23T09:12:00.000-05:00

Karen was pruning a wayward philodendron plant when she broke out in hives and had a difficult time breathing. It was the first time anything like this had happened to her so she washed her face and waited for symptoms to subside. She didn't know she'd just had an anaphylactic reaction or that her frightening symptoms, while short-lived, could have been life-threatening. She didn't think to notify her doctor but decided to stay away from the plant in the future, just in case it was causing these symptoms.

Karen's story is not unusual. Many of us are not aware that hives; swelling; rashes and difficulty breathing; nausea and vomiting; and severe gastric pain can all be symptoms of anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening condition. Rather than go through life in fear of the unknown or next episode--get the facts.

AANMA is partnering with EpiPen this holiday season to make families aware of what steps to take if an anaphylaxis emergency take place. Most anaphylactic reactions are rather dramatic and scary. Knowing what to do ahead of time is important. And because EpiPen has recently introduced a new design (with very simple instructions), you'll want to take a moment now to get the details.

Be prepared. Refill your prescriptions before the holiday rush gets away from you. And don't forget to ask family members to review the website before the holidays as well!

Perfect Presents and Last-Minute Dashes

2009-12-21T15:54:00.001-05:00

It’s a white Christmas in the Washington, D.C. metro area – which is relatively rare. Having lived here all my life, I only remember a few, and they all involved blizzard conditions. I remember being a gawky 11 year-old and stepping through knee-deep snow across our front yard to Kathy’s house to play Barbies when suddenly I plunged into a drift so deep that only my head and arms and the yellow Barbie-doll case stuck out.

This snow is photo-perfect--but driving? Impossible. Even now with the roads plowed, perils abound. There’s the black ice. The cars that didn’t scrape the 20 inches of snow off their rooftops, sending the snow flying like a missile onto the cars behind them. The scarcity of parking spaces. The lines at the gas stations.

So, hunkered down with my hot decaf coffee, I finished my Christmas shopping online and found a great website with a few functional funsies for the people on your list with allergies:

The Spoon Sisters has the CUTEST little "Dust Bunny" microfiber dusting mitten. I love the microfiber dust cloths I use at home, but this one was way too cute. He’s (or she’s) machine-washable and one-size-fits-all. Ordered one for my daughter, Brooke, who loves bunnies but hates dust (and dusting – don’t we all).
It’s easy to find plenty of washable and adorable stuffed toys for little ones, but I love this wild and zany book, "Stupid Sock Creatures – Making Quirky Lovable Figures from Cast off Socks." They don’t mention the author’s name in the write-up – but someone really ought to do something about that, because these critters are simply too fun to pass up. And since they're socks, they're washable--which is a must for dust-mite control.

Now, to make sure that dust mites have no interest in orgies (yes, all they do is eat, poop, have sex and babies) the key is to control indoor air humidity. (Get a hygrometer from the hardware store; indoor air humidity should be between 35-50% but no higher.) But to de-nature the body part and fecal matter or little live wires still clinging to life, make sure you wash clothes in a product such as The Ecology Works Anti-Allergen Solution Laundry Detergent. One 40-oz. bottle washes 40 loads and is 100% biodegradable, plant-based and free of perfumes. You can even wash clothes, Stupid Sock Creatures that you make, washable stuffed toys and the Dust Bunny in COLD water! No need to turn up your water heater and gas or electric bills, buy a new washing machine (unless you need one) simply to rid your washables of dust mites. Check it out at http://www.ecologyworks.com/.

If you want these items in time for Christmas, move on it today! Or draw a picture, print out the website page, wrap it in a box and put it under the tree--but these are gifts that can be truly appreciated.

And please have a great time with your family and friends!

Happy Holidays!

By way of disclosure, AANMA does not endorse any products or manufacturers and was not paid to mention the websites or products mentioned in this blog post.

Pleasie No Cheezie; Cheapie Makes Wheezie

2009-12-17T15:21:00.000-05:00

I as watching HGTV recently and saw a tip segment that recommended using cheesecloth as cheap air filters -- you place the cheesecloth behind ventilation grills in your house. I checked around online and found a lot of little tipster blogs recommending the same thing.

Trouble is, it’s bad advice for a number of reasons. Your home’s heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system controls the quality of the air circulating through your home -- and ultimately into your lungs and bloodstream. It's true: You are what you breathe! So changing or cleaning your air filter on a regular basis should be Priority No. 1.

Second, a well-maintained system costs less to operate than one clogged with bacteria-laden dust! A dirty system forces motors, fans and coils to wear out faster than one a system that gets an annual or biannual check up. You can buy maintenance contracts that cover parts and service from reputable HVAC companies.

Third, if you don't use the right type of filter for your system, or if you neglect to clean the filter or to maintain the unit properly, you could void your warranty. Then you're looking at BIG money that you would not have needed to spend.

And finally, you never, no not ever want to impede the flow of air to any vent in your home, in any manner. That means no cheesecloth, furniture, cardboard or other obstruction should get anywhere near the floor or wall registers that allow air to flow into a room or the return vents (these are where the air inside the room gets sucked back into the HVAC unit, filtered and then sent through the ductwork to the floor or wall registers completing its circuit). This not only creates the problems described above -- it can alter the distribution of air, making it damp or cold in some rooms while others are too hot.

With the holidays upon us, the turkey and ham in the oven, the kids running in and out of the house, friends and family joining the throng – we want and need to breathe clean air. Nothing cheezie, please!!

A Gift to Remember

2009-12-09T16:45:00.000-05:00

A Gift To Remember

So you’ve been crunching the holiday budget and need to cut back on spending here and there. Join the crowd. Cut back on junk food, use coupons and carpool but do not ration or skip medications or dodge your asthma action plan!

Would you want to receive a gift from your parents knowing they can’t afford their high blood pressure, diabetes or heart medications? Would you want a gift from your brother if you knew he didn't refill prescriptions for your niece and nephew?

Gifts that mean the most come from the heart, not the wallet. Your family and friends would rather you give the gift of health to your children or yourself. They might also appreciate...an empty photo album with a promise to help organize the photos to go inside. Or try a homemade voucher redeemable for babysitting, washing the car, taking out the trash, folding laundry or running errands. Try posting this blog on your FaceBook or Twitter pages and help friends with asthma and allergies discover many helpful resources and support.

Make this a holiday you’ll remember because of what you and your family and friends enjoyed together rather than what you gave or got.

Take care, Nancy Sander

Makes No Scents at All

2009-11-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

Oh, no. Holiday travelers beware! This news comes straight from corporate Holiday Inn headquarters:

“Holiday Inn has over 3,000 properties across the world and each one is getting a facelift with improvements in bedding, landscaping, and believe it or not, a Holiday Inn scent. Every hotel is now obliged to plug in a lobby 'scent machine' producing a mild aroma of ginger, white tea, citrus and musk. The cheaper Holiday Inn Express sites will be pumping out a scent of sweet grass and green tea.”

www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/09/26/new-logos-for-holiday-inn-hilton-worldwide/#

It’s enough to make me gag, along with this warm and fuzzy little article posted below:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/realestate/commercial/26inn.html

All I can say is: What are they thinking??? Who are they fooling???

First, good hotels – just plain old regular hotels that want to stay in business – should continually improve their product if they want to attract and keep our business. They should be well-lit outside. They should be neatly landscaped. The beds should be comfortable and the pillows as well. So, what do they want? Applause?

But hotels lobbies should not smell, nor should franchise owners be obliged to make their lobbies smelly unless they want to dramatically limit the number of people who will even consider using a Holiday Inn hotel. When hidden scent generators send chemical cocktails wafting through the air, sinuses and airways will suffer. And after a long day on the road or in the air, the last thing we want to do is choke in a scented hotel lobby or nurse a headache or tight chest all night because someone thought it might be a good idea.

I mean, where are you going to go? How will you book another hotel at the last moment? And will you get the same rate? How many times will you need to walk through that lobby during your stay? Is that where the free breakfast will be served? Where is the scent piped in from? At the lobby desk? Will Holiday Inn reservations clerks notify potential customers that they scent their lobbies?

What if you have asthma and you work there? Will you be conveniently dismissed because you miss too much work due to asthma? Will you have to file for workman’s compensation or unemployment? Will your health insurance rates go up when you file for COBRA?

Whose bad idea was this? Leaves me to wonder if the scent machines were simply a cheaper alternative to changing out musty carpets and drapery or mold growing behind the wallpaper.

To be honest, I’ve never made a hotel reservation thinking how nice it would be for the lobby to be chemically infused with imitation molecules that leave a slimy feeling in my nose, mouth and throat and that grip my chest. The real kicker is that the cheaper hotels get only two scents and one of them is green tea (why not just serve some) and the other is sweet (freshly mown) grass?!

I want my hotel to be a respite, one where the people who work there are happy for my business. I need their smile more than a scented reminder that I have asthma and will need to reach for my inhaler before handing over the credit card. It’s not too much to ask for clean bedding, a comfortable bed, a clean bathroom and clean air filters, clean ductwork and no mold. And every bit of this can be accomplished without ever using a scented cleaner.

I know because I’ve experienced the PURE Room hotel room now installed in many hotels across the country. Once you’ve tried one, nothing else compares. When making hotel reservations, don’t just ask for a non-smoking room and a scent-free lobby - ask for a PURE Room. It’s what every hotel room should be: clean and odor-free.

By way of disclosure, PURE Room advertises in AANMA’s quarterly magazine, Allergy & Asthma Today but has no idea I’ve written this blog. Please share this blog post with your friends and let Holiday Inn know what you think about their stinky plans.

Safe travels,
Nancy

ACAAI Meeting Yields Real World News...And The Saga of the Stinky Sink

2009-11-16T15:11:00.000-05:00

Sandra, Marcela, Carol and I just got back from the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology.

Sandra Fusco-Walker, AANMA's Director of Patient Advocacy and I attended many meetings relating to preserving and increasing patient access to the medications our physicians prescribe (don't you just hate it when you pick up a script at the pharmacy and it isn't what you and your doc discussed?), to diagnostic and monitoring testing, and of course access to our allergists (they go beyond the diagnosis and symptom treatment to address the problem at its core).

There are a lot of justified concerns among sister organizations that the current health care reform tornado sweeping through Congress will leave many of us breathing its dust. We encourage you to be in contact with your members of Congress. I just wrote my Senators and asked them to take the time necessary to do this job right. Our system isn't completely broken but it might wind up that way if we rush legislation.

Carol Jones, RN AE-C presented a poster on the impact of the CFC to HFA Transition on people contacting AANMA's Patient Support Center. She'll be sharing results in an upcoming issue of The MA Report newsletter (are you on the email list to receive it? If not, sign up at editor@aanma.org). She also worked at our booth along with Marcela Gieminiani, AANMA's Director of Programs and Services. Marcela also directs AANMA's Hispanic Outreach Publications and Services (HOPS) - a busy lady.

On a lighter note: While at the conference, Jim Burnett, President of Ecology Works, stopped by our booth with a sample bottle of Vital Oxide. Because he knows I'm a stickler for details, he had a boatload of scientific evidence at the ready to support the miriad of claims made on the Vital Oxide label and then some!

Vial Oxide Disinfects as it Cleans Kills 99.9% of Bacteria MRSA, Norovirus, E. coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Legionella pneumophila, Aspergillus niger.

My first reaction was, "this stuff has got to stink" and since I'm extremely sensitive to some scented or chemical sprays, I was reluctant to give it the whiff test. But I did and wow! I was so impressed I read further:

...provides mold and mildew preventio, broad-spectrum disinfection and odor elimination.

I thanked Jim and tucked the sample in my bag before heading off to my next meeting. Over the next few days, I used Vital Oxide to disinfect my hands instead of the hand sanitizer I'd packed (which dries my skin terribly). At the conference, in the hotel, at the airport.

It was middle of the day when I returned home, opened the door and caught a whiff of something foul. My husband swears I was a beagle in my former life because he could smell nothing.

Following the odor up the stairs across two rooms and into the kitchen I zeroed in on the culprit within seconds. The garbage disposal. Before unpacking my suitcase, I tackled that stinky monster, wrestled with every cleaning trick in the book until it was spotless. But the smell was still there.

Remembering the Vital Oxide sample was in my roller bag, I retrieved it for the ultimate test. Could it get rid of the smell? Following instructions, I sprayed every reachable component of the disposal and waited for it to dry. After unpacking my bags, I returned to find that NO smell remained. I didn't get another foul whiff from the sink again until four days later. I Vital Oxided it, waved my arms and commanded "stink be gone" as my husband grinned and shook his head. But it worked!

I will get to the bottom of the stinky sinky even if I have to call a plumber but I figure if this product can do what commerical disposal cleaners, lemons and rock salt, vinegar and baking soda, and ice cubes could not do alone, what could it do on other things? We'll just have to wait to find out because normally, our house doesn't stink.

But seriously, we saw a lot of great products and news at the American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology meeting that we'll be sharing with you over the next few blogs or so.

A post script: I sent an email to Jim about the experience and he wrote back that he had the same stinky sink issue we have and he did the same thing. Then he said, "Its funny, we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on tests proving we take out hospital-grade bacteria like norovirus, MRSA, and H1N1, but the fresh clean absence of odor is always what most people are first to notice. This quick odor removal is a result of the magnetic like attraction to sulfur and nitrogen bonds. Vital Oxide "disassembles" the malodors on a molecular level - no nose numbing cover up or heavy masking fragrance."

By way of disclosure: This blog is not a paid endorsment of Vital Oxide, Ecology Works, or National Allergy Supply Company , but I sure hope they will advertise in a future issue of Allergy & Asthma Today and support AANMA's patient education, advocacy and outreach efforts. Don't you? Drop a hint at: http://www.ecologyworks.com/.

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try Another Doctor’s Office

2009-11-02T14:15:00.003-05:00

After hearing from many of my neighbors about how difficult it was to find the H1N1 flu shot, I called my doctor’s office. No problem. He fit me in that morning, no lines, no waiting - in and out of the office within 10 minutes.

I’d also heard that the H1N1 vaccine was supposed to hurt more than seasonal flu shot. Maybe it depends on who’s giving it. No pain and all gain for me.

A few neighbors said their docs weren’t giving the shot at all because the paperwork was onerous. So I expected it would take more time to fill out the papers than it would to get the shot. But it didn’t! So I asked the nurse what the squawk was about. She said she had no idea. I signed my name in three places on three different clipboards and headed to work.

I called my son in Atlanta, and he reported a similar experience. While at the pediatrician’s office for the baby’s well check, the whole family received their vaccines. The pediatrician was adamant. Said he’d seen what happens to the little ones who get really sick. No one was leaving his office without a vaccine as long as he could help it. I’m relieved.

Now that I’ve had both flu shots, I feel free to go to the movies, go out for dinner, spend hours in a bookstore, stand in line at Starbucks (venti decaf skim cap), shop for groceries or get on a plane without fear of seasonal or H1N1 flu or the horrible, lingering airway inflammation, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath lasting months after recovery from the virus.

NEW: Adverse Reactions to Vaccines is a special supplement to Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (October 2009, Volume 103, Number 4, Supplement 2) just released by the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI). World-renowned allergists and immunologists wrote and edited this supplement for primary care physicians and allergist/immunologists who encounter patients (or parents of patients) like those of us with an elevated risk or history of adverse reactions to vaccines. Find out more at Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) in my blog post, To V or Not to V: This Is the Question.

Allergy-Free Fall Holidays

2009-10-27T11:42:00.004-04:00

Fall holidays conjure a cornucopia of delectable visions: homemade pumpkin pie, candy corn, turkey with savory stuffing and glistening cranberry sauce. But indulging in these special-occasion treats can be risky for the 12 million people in the U.S. with food allergies.

The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) and its allergist members -- doctors who are experts at diagnosing and treating allergies and asthma -- know that food allergies don’t have to get in the way of holiday fun. ACAAI offers the following tips to protect you, your child and holiday guests with food allergies:

1. Tricks and treats: Purchase treats that your child can enjoy safely, and swap them for treats with allergens after trick-or-treating. Send candy your child can consume to school parties or send non-food goodies such as Halloween stickers.

2. Be the class baker: Volunteer to provide the snacks for holiday parties at school to ensure there will be foods available that your child can enjoy.

3. Inform your guests: Let guests know that you or your child have dietary restrictions, and offer to let them bring holiday themed plates, cups or napkins, rather than food.

4. Give your host a heads-up: If you’ll be attending holiday festivities away from home, let your host know about your food allergy. Offer to bring safe foods for you and others to enjoy.

5. Don’t overlook the turkey: Basted or self-basting turkeys can include common allergens such as soy, wheat and dairy. Your safest bet is choosing a turkey labeled “natural,” which by law must be minimally processed and should contain nothing but turkey and perhaps water.

6. Hang on to food labels: If you’re the host of a holiday feast, keep the ingredient labels from the food you’re serving for allergic guests to review before digging in.

7. Carry medications: Always have emergency medications on hand just in case unrecognized food allergens are hiding in holiday treats.

8. Discuss strategies with your allergist: An allergist can help you prepare for the holiday season and suggest allergy avoidance techniques to keep you or your child safe. Your allergist also can help you and your child become “label detectives” so you both know what ingredients to watch out for.

For more information about allergies and asthma, and to find an allergist near you visit http://www.allergyandasthmarelief.org/.

This information was posted by Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA).

AANMA Inhaler Poster in the New York Times!

2009-10-22T14:54:00.001-04:00

What fun to pick up a copy of the New York Times... and there on the front page of Sunday's Metropolitan section, is a photograph of a school nurse and a student... and right there, hanging on her wall, is AANMA’s Inhaler Poster!

The article was about school nurses being on the front lines of H1N1 containment and featured Nurse at P.S. 70 in Long Island, NY. I love that she hung the poster at the student’s eye level. Click here to read the article.

Yeah Nurse Akhtar! And thanks to our sponsors who made it possible for us to develop, produce and distribute the poster:

- The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI)
- AstraZeneca
- ExxonMobil
- Teva
- Children's Hospital Boston
- EMNet
- Center for Pediatric Emergency Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center

Eggs, Flu, Young

2009-10-14T15:55:00.002-04:00

Eggsactly thirty years ago, my daughter, Brooke, was diagnosed with food allergies – egg being one of the foods producing dramatic hives and wheezing. Getting the diagnosis wasn’t easy. Oh, the symptoms were quite evident but in those times, food allergies were more or less considered a disease of neurotic moms and there just wasn’t much direction or advice in the medical literature.

So each flu season, I faced a quandary. Flu shots contain trace amounts of egg protein. Should I waltz my daughter to the doctor for a shot that could make her sick -- or risk the ravages of the flu that could mean months of lingering asthma symptoms? The more questions I asked, the more controversy I found… that is, until we consulted with an allergist who, after testing Brooke, said it would be possible to give her the shot in gradual doses over the period of an hour or so. Eureka!

Fast forward thirty years, and parents of children with asthma and egg allergy face the same question, this time with an H1N1 twist. The good news is that H1N1 flu vaccine is prepared in the same manner as the seasonal flu vaccine.

Here’s a primer of sorts if your child has confirmed or suspected egg allergies and has asthma. You can also find more information from the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI).

1) Consult with an allergist.

2) Tell the allergist about symptoms that your child experienced when eating or touching eggs – raw (found in lemon meringue pie, for example), cooked, in baked goods, etc.

3) Mention any history of life-threatening egg allergy symptoms such as difficulty breathing, throat swelling, wheezing or fainting. These usually indicate the need for additional testing before administering the H1N1 vaccine.

4) The allergist will use skin prick testing: a small droplet of egg protein and another droplet of the H1N1 vaccine are placed on the skin. A tiny prick is made underneath each droplet.

Negative test results indicate that no allergic reaction occurred during the first phase of testing. In the second phase, the allergist will inject a small droplet of the diluted vaccine into the skin.

If your child still shows no signs, symptoms or skin reaction, your child can get the full dose of H1N1 vaccine but then must wait a full 30 minutes at the allergist’s office before leaving. That way, if your child shows symptoms such as hives, flushing or shortness of breath, the allergist and nursing staff are prepared to recognize and treat it.

A word of caution: A negative skin test to egg-based H1N1 vaccine does not mean you or your child no longer has egg allergies! So don’t go home and think you can serve up scrambled eggs or stop reading food labels!

OK, so what happens if the test result was positive, i.e. show that your child is allergic to the vaccine?

“If the test result is positive and the person is at high risk of complications from the flu because of pre-exising respiratory or heart disease, the vaccine still may be given using desensitization procedure,” said Sami Bahna, MD, PhD, president-elect of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), and professor of pediatrics and Medicine and Chief of Allergy and Immunology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. “This is compatible with the 2009 Policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics.”

The vaccine would be administered under the skin in gradually increasing doses at 15 to 20 minutes until the total dose is given. Dr. Bahna cautions that the procedure should be done by an experienced physician in a medical facility where measures are readily available for treating any potential reaction. The allergist is well trained and qualified for that.

A final note: FluMist vaccine is not approved for use in kids or adults with asthma, or for those with members of the immediate family who have asthma. The antiviral Relenza is known to provoke coughing and wheezing in patients with asthma. Tamiflu is a reasonable alternative but it must be used in the early stages of the flu.

And the last word: ACAAI states that even though most cases of H1N1 are mild, many of the children who have died were ones who had asthma. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just released updated data showing that the most prevalent underlying illness among patients hospitalized with H1N1 was asthma (26 percent of all adults hospitalized with H1N1 had asthma). In most cases, it appears that symptoms begin to improve and then the child’s symptoms rapidly decline. Contact your allergist now to discuss specific actions to take should your child or someone in your family develop seasonal flu or H1N1 symptoms. By all means, get both flu vaccines in a medical-care setting where reactions, if they occur, can be monitored.

Kids and adults with asthma are at high risk of complications and death from seasonal or H1N1 flu. You can find more information on AANMA's website.

In the mail at last! New issue of Allergy & Asthma Today magazine

2009-10-08T13:40:00.007-04:00

AANMA is jumping for joy!! Allergy & Asthma Today magazine is in the mail! I feel a little like Neville (Steve Martin) in “The Jerk,” delirious upon receiving his copy of the Yellow Pages phone book at his front door. Why? Oh, my! Well…

Not only is this issue one of my top favorites, it almost didn’t get printed! This summer, our six-year-old servers collapsed and self-destructed - including our antiquated backup system. We lost EVERYTHING. Yup. Everything. Sparing you the gory details, we were able to piece things back together thanks to some very creative people at OSSI and our diligent staff. But it took time and working blind while continuing to provide members services as if nothing had ever happened.

The sleepless nights… If things hadn’t come together when they did, we wouldn’t have been able to share Juanita Rembert’s cover story, "Juanita’s Determined: Six Generations of Asthma Stop Here," and her mission to spare other urban Chicago families the same fate as her 21-year-old granddaughter, Tamika, who died of asthma while pregnant with her second child, leaving a two-year-old son with severe asthma and a grieving family with aching hearts. Learn more about the campaign “STOP ASTHMA DEATHS NOW” and how you can get involved.

Also featured is The AANMA Challenge: Planning to Win. It’s your blueprint (a.k.a. customizable written asthma action plan) to getting and keeping asthma symptoms under control. It’s a MUST-HAVE for every adult and child with asthma. Planning to Win was published with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and contains all the important details that generic asthma action plans leave out. Written by AANMA’s staff and medical advisory board, Planning to Win is for real people who are serious about shutting the door to asthma and moving on with their lives.

I am so glad we got this issue published because John Walsh, Co-Founder of the COPD Foundation, shares his inspiring story of how he and his identical twin brother learned they both had Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic disorder that leads to chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders (COPD). Not all that wheezes or causes shortness of breath is asthma, even when symptoms may be very similar. Few people write or talk about it better than John.

If this issue of Allergy & Asthma Today had not gone to print, we’d be hard-pressed to tell the full story of Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill 2009: We’re on a mission…to STOP ASTHMA DEATHS NOW! We’re asking members of Congress to fix federal and state health policies – currently, some of these policies deny Medicaid patients adequate care and access to allergists and other specialists and medications consistent with NIH Asthma Guidelines. With healthcare reform debates in full swing, we need your willingness and financial support to make sure that no matter what happens in this process, people with asthma, allergies and related conditions do not suffer.

So I am thankful – yes, giddy - that the magazine is out! I am delighted our sponsors and advertisers have been patient: The American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, PURE Allergy Friendly Rooms for Your Next Hotel Stay, AeroChamber Plus Holding Chamber (Forest Pharmaceuticals / Lupin Pharmaceuticals and Monaghan Medical), OcuFresh Eye Wash (at your local pharmacy without a prescription), Allergy Zone’s NIOSH N95 Disposable Respiratory with Exhalation Valve (not just for flu protection – you can actually breathe while mowing the lawn and wearing one of these), NIOX MINO, The Childhood Asthma Control Test by GlaxoSmithKline and our Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill sponsors: The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; ExxonMobil; TEVA; Schering-Plough; Genentech; Novartis; Aerocrine; and ImmunoCAP.

It’s incredibly wonderful to have everything back up and running, and even better knowing that through the process, good friends were by our side.

Catching Z-z-z-z-z's

2009-10-07T11:34:00.002-04:00

Are your child’s nighttime asthma symptoms robbing you of precious sleep? Leaving you bleary-eyed and dozing in traffic the next day while your little one has made a miraculous and energetic recovery by morning? It’s a common occurrence leaving parents perplexed. You wonder, Did last night’s horrific coughing, gagging and wheezing really happen, and was it as serious as it seemed? The answer to both questions is most likely "Yes." And it’s possible to put an end to all of it.
The culprits for nighttime symptoms due to post-nasal drip resulting from nasal allergies could be airborne allergens circulating around your room. But which ones? Allergy testing can reveal the sources - but getting rid of them is another story. Get help with AANMA’s Indoor AIRepair kit, which you can download for free.

Another tip to try (30 days free) is PureZone; a HEPA air-purifying system that creates a sleep zone of purely filtered air. When I first saw the prototype of the product, I was skeptical that it could possibly work. Kids with asthma and allergies tend to toss and turn all night. So James, another skeptic who works with AANMA tried the unit to see if it would affect his son’s allergies and nighttime symptoms. After one night, he called and said it was the first night that his son had slept through without tearing off the sheets and blanket from tossing and turning and coughing.

It’s really a rather ingenious feat of engineering: a quiet fan tucked next to the mattress draws air from within the room through a soft HEPA filter tunnel into a washable pillow case covering your own pillow. When turned on, the white noise tunes out the rest of the world and the pillow case billows like a cloud.

You don’t feel air blowing on you – at least, I didn’t – but you notice that the air you breathe is, well, nice. Better still, significant research shows that patients who have allergy symptoms and asthma that worsen at night reported dramatic improvement in symptoms when using the product.

By way of disclosure, PureZone has not paid for this blog mention. AANMA makes no endorsements or claims about this or any product we write about. We hope you enjoy learning more about your options - let us know what you think!

Danish research: children born today are likely to live to the ripe old age of 100!

2009-10-06T09:02:00.002-04:00

The question, in light of these findings: How well will our children with asthma fare throughout the next 90 years? How well will their lungs carry oxygen to their developing and subsequently aging hearts and brains? Will they have lung capacity sufficient to take walks and enjoy time with their great-grandchildren?

Is this good or bad news? The answer resides in the quality of one’s health and happiness, and in how well the planet is holding up then. The news about our children's expected longevity is all the more reason to protect and maintain healthy asthma-free airways in our children with asthma and allergic conditions today.

So much has changed in asthma care over the last two and a half decades since AANMA began in 1985. We now have a better understanding of the science, novel noninvasive diagnostic and monitoring tools as well as more effective and targeted medications with fewer unwanted side effects.

With a written asthma action plan - a strategy for overcoming, not coping with, symptoms - there is no reason we cannot usher our children born today into adulthood with healthy airways. Then, it will be up to them to use what we have taught them to stay healthy and active for 82 additional years!

Yes, it’s an awesome responsibility - but you’ve got help. AANMA has developed a new section of our website dedicated to families - PRECIOUS Breathers. The site is made possible through an AstraZeneca sponsorship (thank you!), and every word is written and produced by AANMA.

Not only will you find tried-and-true practical advice and create new friendships with families just like yours, you can ask questions through the Parent Support Center staffed by Carol Jones, RN AE-C. She knows your challenges - she spent the last “more than a couple of decades” working with families as an asthma and allergy nurse and is a certified asthma educator. She’s also experienced that whole family asthma boot camp thing with her husband, children and herself!

Check us out. You’ll be glad you did.

FDA: No more luring kids with flavored cigarettes

2009-09-22T13:25:00.000-04:00

Today the FDA announced that it is banning cigarettes with fruit, candy and clove flavors. In many cases, tobacco companies have created these flavored cigarettes with the expressed intention of attracting young people. FDA's newly created Center for Tobacco Products intends for this ban to help cut back on the droves of young people who are drawn to smoking cigarettes every day.

Smoking can exacerbate asthma and other respiratory conditions--not just for the smokers themselves, but for people around them who have these conditions. It is crucial to nip this problem in the bud, and to keep kids from thinking that smoking is enjoyable or "cool." The ban on these products is a step in the right direction.

During an FDA media briefing, which AANMA participated in today, officials shared a few pertinent facts:

Every day in the U.S., about 3,600 youths between the ages of 12 and 17 start smoking; about 1,100 go on to become daily smokers
1 out of every 5 U.S. deaths can be traced to tobacco use
Smokers tend to die about 14 years earlier than non-smokers

Particularly troubling were memos from tobacco company officials that were quoted during the call. Lawrence R. Deyton, MSPH, MD, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, mentioned directives from tobacco company higher-ups to develop cigarette flavors such as cola, apple and honey--because teenagers are known to like sweet things.

Deyton referred to these flavored cigarettes as a "gateway," noting that many smokers take their first puffs during their teen years and that these flavors are designed to "attract and lure kids into addiction." Let's hope that the new ban will help steer young people away from the deadly path of cigarette addiction.

Asthma: No Laughing Matter

2009-09-17T21:02:00.000-04:00

Laughter may be the best medicine unless your airways are raw with inflammation - the kind associated with asthma. Researchers in Australia found that as many as one in three people with asthma start wheezing, coughing or feeling short of breath when laughing!

Laughing asthma is really just another form of exercise-induced asthma and both are signs that airway inflammation is out of control and I'm not joking. Need more convincing evidence?

Your allergist can measure various aspects of lung function using a machine called a spirometer. But to know if allergic asthma is causing airway inflammation, there is a new test now approved by Blue Cross Blue Shield that measures exhaled nitric oxide (eNO), a by-product found in your breath (no, it doesn't smell bad) if your airways are inflamed. The test is non-invasive, easy to do for kids and adults.

This new technology takes us just one step closer to customizing asthma action plans to meet your specific needs...such as laughing until your sides hurt but without asthma symptoms!

To learn more about eNO, visit AANMA's website and search eNO. You can also visit Aerocrine or Aperion websites. And no, they didn't pay for these links but if I'd asked them to help sponsor this blog, I would tell you that, too.

Is Asthma Serious?

2009-09-17T15:52:00.000-04:00

Seems like a silly question. But it isn't. That's why Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) is conducting a short survey to see exactly what others think.

Personally, I hate taking surveys. I don't answer the automated phone calls - you know - the ones that come during dinner saying, "Help the country be a better place to live by taking our short...." Click. I'm so bad, I begrudgingly fill out the US Census survey every five years.

But this survey is different. Even I would take this survey because I care about asthma. I can't take the survey because I work for AANMA the nonprofit organization asking the questions. We're on a mission that we simply can't complete until we better understand how you answer the question: Is asthma serious?

By way of Honest Abe: There are no sponsors for this survey. No advertising. No links to other sites and no pop-ups. Take the survey and then watch for the results on September 25th, 2009. Thank you!!