The First Day of School.
My asthma kid’s starting sixth grade, her last year of elementary school, and her sister is a third grader this year.
With school back in session and since Colorado sits poised on the verge of fall, this time of year my focus shifts conversations with the new teacher about my asthma kid’s symptoms and inhaler use, and back-to-school physicals and immunizations for both girls, over to thoughts of cold and flu season.
What lies ahead, and what to expect:
Containing and Coping With the Inevitable Winter Stomach Flu
I’m telling you, the Bathroom Quarantine works if you have enough lead time before contagion sets in.
Keeping an Eye Out for Asthma In Kids with Food Allergies
If your child is allergic to some foods but has never been diagnosed with asthma, please be aware of this possible connection.
Maintaining Health During the September Epidemic
Remember to restart maintenance inhalers before your asthma kids head back to school if they get a summer break from the corticosteroids like AG does, in order to give the medicine time to build up to therapeutic levels. Ensure adequate rest and stress frequent handwashing for everyone.
Keeping a Sick Box
Emergency supplies for influenza, stomach bugs, or any other illness: buy ‘em, throw ‘em in a box, and keep the box handy so you don’t have to drag a sick kid to the store with you.
Wow, the food allergy link is quite interesting, esp to me. Maybe that’d leave a few clues to why my lungs decided to go wonky on me recently. Especially that most of it started when I had a really bad reaction to dairy one day, including trouble breathing . Add to that a reaction nuts a few days later, and when my GP sent me to the ER, I didn’t even realize how short of breath I was (stopping to catch my breath after every 3-4 words). Besides that, some trouble when I’d run around a lot for the last few years, which I had attributed at first to ‘being out of shape’. Maybe there’s a connection that my docs aren’t aware of because of the way I’ve been tested for allergies.