Kids sure give Spring Break an entirely different spin than it used to have in college. Instead of grabbing some friends and heading out of town at the last minute, you know the prep work that trips with children entail.
The packing.
The snacks for the car or plane.
The books and games and toys.
The coordination of driving or flying with bedtimes, mealtimes, and pit stops for pint-sized bladders.
At least my girls are now both old enough not only to self-entertain in the car but also to rummage through the cooler themselves for juiceboxes or snacks, and there are no more side-of-the-interstate stops for leaky diapers or carsick toddlers. AG can even pack her own suitcase now, with minimal supervision.
But asthma has this superhero-like power to complicate normal parenting, as we’ve seen with the stuffed animal issue, and traveling’s no different. I’m already getting a few things ready, even though the girls’ Spring Break doesn’t start until a week after Easter. Beyond the obvious step of simply making sure to pack all medicines and devices that daily life with asthma requires, here’s what I do:
1. Bring Extra Medication
If AG’s inhalers are less than half-full, I go ahead and have the pharmacy refill them before I leave. This way I don’t have to worry about running out or dealing with a new pharmacy on vacation, and I also know I’m not coming back home with near-empty prescriptions to refill on top of all the laundry and unpacking from the trip. An old messageboard friend of mine had a young son with very severe asthma. He flared so frequently that she never traveled without prednisone, either, although thankfully I’ve never had to do that.
Recently, I read a great tip that suggested having your doctor write up a list of all asthma medications, including dosages and generic alternatives, if you’re traveling out of the country. Drug names differ around the world, so accurate records like this can save time in an emergency.
2. Pre-treat for Airplanes
AG starts up with the coughing fits a few minutes after stepping off a plane every single time we fly. While the dry, recirculated air inside the plane doesn’t seem to bother her during flights, after we’ve landed something about the change in air pressure from the cabin to the airport does. We’ll be driving this Spring Break, but when she does fly I usually give her two puffs of Albuterol right before we take off or in the air to avoid problems later.
Drinking plenty of water during a flight isn’t a bad idea, either, since dry air inside the cabin can provoke flares in some people.
3. Request Hypoallergenic Bedding in Hotels
You can ask for hypoallergenic pillows and sometimes even blankets, and some hotels feature entire rooms refitted for asthma/allergy sufferers. The rooms usually have wood or laminate flooring rather than the usual carpet, non-vinyl wallpaper, hypoallergenic bedding, and even special air filters. Generally, hotels market hypoallergenic rooms as amenities so they can get more money out of you.
4. Research Your Destination
Check out the climate, outdoor allergens, air quality, and other possible triggers where you’re headed so you know what to expect. If, for example, you’re visiting Louisville in April, you’ll want to bring allergy meds. Pollen.com is a given, but The Weather Channel website tracks all kinds of health information like ozone levels and flu counts, in addition to regional climate information.
Check out more tips for traveling with asthma here. Do you have any of your own?
Great tips…thanks! We havent traveled much since our ag diagnosis. And when we do I will find out about Hypo-allergenic rooms etc. I have never seen a room like that, so I need to ask! I know I have major allergy problems when we travel and stay in hotels. I bring my own pillow now, and have at least the ag girl bring her own pillow……..I’m sure the special rooms have a special rate, but it would probably be worth it, esp. not to have coughing fits when all six of us are in a suite together
………
I request the non smoking room. I’ve gotten a few “we can’t guarantee that” responses which I always follow up with “I can guarantee we won’t be there if I don’t get one.” With no allergies, I don’t worry about bedding or carpet, but I can’t handle smoke and particulate embedded in the curtains or carpet.
I always bring full inhalers and portable neb and solutions. I’ve had to spend three hours in a pharmacy trying to get an emergency inhaler and it’s no fun.
I also travel with a note from my doc and my med list if I’m going by air incase any of my asthmatic paraphenalia should represent a potential terrorist threat.
Blessedmom, I always used to bring AG’s pillow, too, but I am very careless and got sick of having to buy new pillows and covers all the time when we forgot them!
Asthmagirl, I like the doctor’s note. That’s a good tip I hadn’t thought of. We’ve never gotten the “I can’t guarantee that” but we HAVE gotten a room that reeks of smoke and had to deal with transferring rooms late at night with 2 cranky children, grrrrr.
When I was writing about travel, Stephen mentioned another thing that wasn’t on my list–weather.
Humditity makes me flare, and he put this very well: “Some places can be very humid, especially during the summer months. This can make breathing miserable if you’re a touchy asthmatic.”
The few days before I left for Minneapolis with school, it was raining/humid here, so I was flaring up, and realized how important taking the weather into account is.
I also travel with a power inverter…so that if we are on the road, and my AG needs a neb treatment (we are generally on the every 4 schedule)…I can plug the inverter into the power point, plug in the neb compressor and hand her the cup in the backseat. That way, we don’t have to plan our stops around treatment times, and we don’t have to stop travel to do a treatment.
I also get hospital recommendations from our pulmo, if he has one, and keep the name, number and directions in my suitcase.
Great tips, Kerri and Sara. Thanks for adding your input!