Just thought I'd send out a friendly reminder that flu season is fast approaching and it's time to be getting that flu shot.

You can get it from your physician, quick care center, health clinic and some pharmacies have them available.

I check the stats for this site periodically to see how people found it and what they’re searching for when they do. I recently saw that someone did a search for the phrase “how to tell someone their perfume is irritating.” This is a toughie because you don’t want to offend anybody. The problem is your fear of hurting someone’s feelings is actually hurting you physically.

It's been a while since I posted anything new and for that I apologize.  What I have today is a post I wrote for another blog I do and I feel it's equally important to the visitors who come here. Rather than rewrite the post please visit What Medical Equipment Companies Don't Want You To Know on my Weekly Beef Blog.
In that post I give you my experience in working in homecare and how to protect yourself from being taken advantage of.   Feel free to share your opinions whether negative or positive (I like positive the best though).  I'm a big girl, I can take it.

May is Asthma Awareness Month. Throughout the month there will be increased activity in the area of Asthma Education and the risks of second hand smoke. There are also asthma screening centers sponsored by Astra Zeneca set up throughout the country. The asthma screening is in it’s 12th year and provides free screening questionnaires and breathing tests to adults and children.

By now you may have heard that the FDA recommends that over-the-counter cold and cough medicine not be used in children under 2 and they’re still debating on it’s use in children under 11. The reason is that serious life threatening side effects can occur. They sited that from 1969 to 2006, at least 54 children died after taking over the counter decongestants, and 69 died after taking over-the-counter antihistamines..

If you have chronic illness it’s good to find a support group. You can interact with people who understand what you’re going through and how you feel. You can also share ideas with each other. If you are unable to get out of the house or if there’s no group in your area you can find many message boards and forums online.

If you’ve been reading this blog you’re already familiar with an MDI or inhaler. You’re probably thinking, that’s great for someone with the ability to coordinate the breathing and actuation of the inhaler that’s required but what do we do with a young child or an elderly relative. An inhaler can still be used with the addition of a spacer which slows down the delivery of the medication allowing greater benefits with less coordination. These spacers can be used with a mouthpiece or a mask. To get even greater benefits a nebulizer is the treatment of choice.

Apnea means without breath. Sleep apnea is when a person stops breathing during sleep. You may not realize there’s a problem.

Sleep apnea can be serious if untreated. It can cause or contribute to high blood pressure, poor memory or forgetfulness, headaches, weight gain and impotency in men. It can impair your judgment at work and may lead to automobile accidents.

People with COPD know that you can have good and bad days. On the bad days everything seems to take your breath away. You just can’t seem to get a deep enough breath no matter what you do. You’re exhausted and have no energy what so ever. Below are some things you can do to help make those bad days a little easier.

My 2 year old nephew came home from daycare last week with a high fever. The pediatrician said she thought he had RSV.

RSV stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus. It’s the leading cause of respiratory infections in children. Almost all children have had it at least once before they’re 2 years old. It’s not an infection limited to children, adults can also be infected. In fact you’ve probably had RSV several times throughout your lifetime. In most cases it presents itself as a bad cold. It’s more severe in premature infants, children under 6 months or who have another health condition that that affects their heart, respiratory or immune system.

Inhalers or MDI’s are classified into two types. Rescue and Preventative

Preventative
The preventative medications are also called Inhaled Steroids. There are many different inhaled steroids used. They are usually used twice a day. One or two puffs in the morning and the same at night. These medications MUST be used as prescribed every day. Just because you think you’re doing well doesn’t mean you don’t need to use this medication anymore. This medication is the reason you’re doing better. With the inhaled steroid you are trying to prevent an asthma attack or exacerbation (flair up) of your COPD. You are decreasing the frequency of the attacks and hopefully making the attacks you do have less severe.

I’m going to continue a little more about Asthma before getting into the other lung diseases like COPD (Emphysema and Chronic Bronchitis), Bronchitis, Pneumonia, Sinusitis and Flu.

If you have asthma you probably have allergies. Allergies trigger the release of histamines in the body which are what make you break out in hives, sneeze, cough and develop a stuffy or runny nose. They can also cause your airways to swell making it difficult to breath.

If you’ve been diagnosed with asthma there’s a good chance you’ve done a Peak Flow either in your doctor’s office or in the hospital. A peak flow measurement is an indication of how fast you can exhale in a very short amount of time. It’s the asthmatics equivalent of a glucometer used by diabetics to check their blood sugar.

If you have moderate to severe asthma your doctor may have prescribed one for you to use at home. Some hospitals use a disposable peak flow meter and you may be able to take those home with you. No matter how you got it you should use it. You don’t need to measure your peak flow every day but it’s a good tool to use if you start feeling tight or having other indications that your asthma is starting to act up.

When you are prescribed a new medication you are told how to use it. This is easy if it’s a pill or liquid. If you can count and measure you’ll be ok. Problem with inhalers is the instructions leave a lot to your interpretation. 2 puffs 4 times a day. 2 breaths daily. What does that really mean? You’ve been told HOW OFTEN to use the medication but you weren’t instructed on HOW to use it.

About 15 years ago a 14 year old neighbor of mine died from an asthma attack. When I told people that Harry died I got responses like “I didn’t know you could die from asthma.” “How did he die from asthma?” I thought everybody knew asthma was a serious condition. It was then that I realized that even people with asthma didn’t realize it was serious or could be life threatening.

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Thank you for contacting Sneezes & Wheezes. I do read all emails as soon as possible but please be patient as it may take a couple of days to respond.

Dee

Dee has a 30 year history in the healthcare industry as a Registered Respiratory Therapist and educator.  She has worked both in a hospital and home care setting instruction patients in their diseases and treatments.  In addition Dee has been part of the education team for several COPD and Asthma educational classes and support groups as well as hosting a CPAP Clinic when in homecare.  Dee has served as the clinical educator for the Respiratory Therapy Department of a hospital in a suburb of Chicago while working with the students from the college's Respiratory Care Program.

Since leaving the workforce Dee is enjoying spending time with friends and family as well and finding other ways to be helpful and offer support or education when needed. She is currently CL (Community Leader) of the Workers' Comp & SSDI Support Board on iVillage

Dee is also the proud author and owner of What's That Buzz a product review site as well as contributing reviews to MomGadget.

Dee also has a little more time to enjoy her favorite TV shows which she discusses on TV Chat

Sneezes & Wheezes started out as a place to come for easy to understand information about lung diseases, tests, treatments and therapies.  Since it's beginnings Sneezes & Wheezes has evolved into more.  You can now find information on various health issues as well as issues in the news but it written in a style that will hopefully alleviate any anxiety or fears.