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Tips and Tricks Archive
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Asthma Mom’s Rules for Bedroom Dust
I’ve been living the dust mite prevention life for so long, sometimes I forget that families new to asthma don’t necessarily know about the more subtle ways to battle this allergen. You probably already know about the mattress and pillow covers. And then there’s the stuffed animal process. And the thing about avoiding carpet in [...] -
Asthma Mom’s Rules for Enduring Flu Season
Possible alternate title for this post: My Influenza Prevention Tips, Plus Coping Tricks When Prevention Falls to the Petri Dish of Elementary School Here’s what I focus on in the Asthma Mom household: Getting Flu Shots http://www.flu.gov/widgets/vaccinelocator.html Washing Hands Always, always, always. And then again one more time. Eating and Sleeping Well Connections between nutrition and disease prevention are still not 100% clear, [...] -
Tuesdays are Your Turn – How to Enjoy Fall
Today, the girls finished getting ready for school early, so the three of us hung out on the front porch together until it was time for them to head to the bus stop. While the Sidekick took pictures of the foothills with my phone and AG sang a little Lady GaGa, as she has been [...] -
Health Tips for the School Year
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 [...] -
Already Thinking About Back-to-School, and an Argument for Evaluation
I looked at the calendar the other day and realized AG and the Steadfast Sidekick have only a month of summer break left before they head back to school. AWESOME. I love my girls, you know I do, and they’re fun people to hang out with, but what I don’t love? The summer schedule of a mom [...] -
Tuesdays are Your Turn – Heat
The high in Denver today is forecast for 97 degrees. Which, because this is Colorado, means all the local news and Twitter feeds focus on the heat, the high temperature that will possibly break records today, the dangers of such a hot sunny day, AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HAVE WE MENTIONED THIS TERRIBLE [...] -
Summer Health and Recreation
Today’s the summer solstice, the longest day of the whole year. Here in the Northern hemisphere, it’s the first official day of summer. Have some warm weather health and vacation posts to see you through ’til fall: Who doesn’t love swimming pools? Remember that chlorine can trigger asthma attacks. Are you new to the Denver area or coming [...] -
Asthma Mom’s 10 Rules to De-Trigger Your House
When my daughter coughed and flared all day and night before we achieved that elusive asthma control, walking into my house felt a lot like stepping into the scene of a horror movie. No place felt safe, and while that can be a feature of asthma in general, considering its somewhat unpredictable nature and the [...] -
Tuesdays are Your Turn – Asthma Travel Tips
With all these trip-planning posts lately, the logical next step is a matching reader response: What’s your best tip for good vacation breathing? Mine? On road trips, I always, always bring my daughter’s pillow in its allergen-free cover to protect against her dust mite trigger. Some hotels offer hypoallergenic rooms for a price, but I’ve never stayed in [...] -
Asthma Mom’s Rules for Nebulizers and Little Kids
(Excuse the photo quality. This was pre-digital days.) My daughter started using a nebulizer right after she turned 2, when the doctor diagnosed her asthma. As a 25 year-old mom with no breathing problems myself, I had no idea what I was doing back then. None. The nurse at the pediatrician’s office showed me how to administer nebulizer [...]
