Once again, I kinda wish I could get some Singulair. It really really helped when I was given that before back home. Not just with the asthma, but with the general allergy fuckery driving it.

But, it’s like 3rd line for asthma treatment under the cookbook formulary system here, if adding regular inhaled steroids doesn’t do enough. (Also not nearly as cheap as the steroids 😑) And there are actual reasons that I don’t even want to try daily doses of even inhaled corticosteroids, with diabetes and a history of Cushing’s so my system is extra sensitive. Seems like an unnecessary risk.

Anyway, Singulair is rarely enough used that it’s not even readily available through Dodgy Online Consultation, because I got desperate enough to look into it a while back.

Feeling a little more human after I managed to get a couple of hours of decent sleep a little while ago. (Plus another about an hour of keeping waking up coughing, but it was just about tolerable and I was so not getting up yet if I could avoid it at all.)

That’s probably better than I managed in a stretch after bedtime earlier, with the inhaler and plenty of Robitussin before getting down. And propping myself as close to sitting up as I can. One benefit to already having the ridiculous pillow nest going: a little adjustment, and we’re good to go 🙄

So yeah, it’s turned into one of THOSE cold/flu asthma flares. The neighbors probably want to strangle me by now, never mind Mr. C sharing a bed with that hellacious cough. (More an issue with some of the attempts at napping, given our usual sleep schedules.) And it’s still early days, from past experience 😩

Even if it’s not doing as much as I would like, at least I do have rescue inhalers which are helping some now. And I have a lot better idea of what helps/does the opposite. Unlike with all the bouts of “asthmatic bronchitis” when I was a kid. No blackouts yet, so far! And I’m doing much better at keeping warm food down with inhaler access! *fingers crossed*

The situation right now is still reminding me too much of that.

Though, maybe best of all? I don’t have to look forward to sitting in a classroom all day–on maybe a few hours of bad sleep, with what feels like broken ribs. And likely with the teacher acting like I keep having coughing fits on purpose to be disruptive* 😑

(I did end up staying out a lot with that every winter, but when each episode hangs on for weeks? Really can’t stay home until it stops. Even without abusive attendance policies then.)

Really wishing this crud would hurry up and finish, but it could definitely be a lot worse.

* Unlike this one professor late on,, who got very concerned at the sound of it and kept trying to get me to go to the ER. A more reasonable response to someone having breathing problems in front of you, but kind of funny in another way.

clatterbane:

Time for another round of “Is this ‘just’ a particularly nasty allergy/asthma day, or am I also coming down with something?” 🤔

I definitely got a snootfull of mold spores I shouldn’t have yesterday and especially after I got up today, but yeah. Hopefully that source is taken care of since Mr. C got home and dealt with the likely source (*crossing fingers*), and I have the HEPA unit running in there to try and mop up the worst of the remnants. With any luck, tomorrow won’t be a repeat.

But, I’ve been frustrated at being pretty firmly on the disabled list tonight. Between that and the antihistamines, I just got up from an unplanned nap a little while ago. When I had planned to push through and get some already overdue aquarium cleaning done.

We even got Indian delivery to try to save some spoons for that, though tbf I didn’t really need to work in the kitchen when I could hardly breathe either. Still irritated at not being able to follow through.

I am the only one here, BTW, who even seems to question whether getting takeout just because I feel like crap is reasonable. The damned pushing in general.

Time for another round of “Is this ‘just’ a particularly nasty allergy/asthma day, or am I also coming down with something?” 🤔

I definitely got a snootfull of mold spores I shouldn’t have yesterday and especially after I got up today, but yeah. Hopefully that source is taken care of since Mr. C got home and dealt with the likely source (*crossing fingers*), and I have the HEPA unit running in there to try and mop up the worst of the remnants. With any luck, tomorrow won’t be a repeat.

But, I’ve been frustrated at being pretty firmly on the disabled list tonight. Between that and the antihistamines, I just got up from an unplanned nap a little while ago. When I had planned to push through and get some already overdue aquarium cleaning done.

We even got Indian delivery to try to save some spoons for that, though tbf I didn’t really need to work in the kitchen when I could hardly breathe either. Still irritated at not being able to follow through.

One of my cousins did get diagnosed with whooping cough when we were maybe 4, well before the antivax BS had started rolling. His pediatrician couldn’t figure out how he would have even been exposed to it, when they hadn’t had any other reported cases anywhere nearby for years at that point.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if his problem had really been a particularly nasty bout with the exact same Family Asthma Hell set off by a cold/flu. (Pretty much that whole side of the family does it.) Which was how I spent most of every winter from the time I started school, with the constant exposure to minor bugs.

(And it went unrecognized/untreated as asthma until I was about 14, precisely because it does sound like some terrible hybrid between croup and whooping cough. Antibiotics do nothing, but they kept trying escalating courses anyway on the basis that something that awful sounding had to be coming from a chest infection. They just were not looking for asthma nearly as much then, especially dealing with girls.)

But, I’m still boggling at the contrast between when we were kids and now. “Where the hell could this kid have even caught it?!” to whooping cough parties 😱

clatterbane:

clatterbane:

This is also the only time I can remember that a virus is making my asthma flare up, without being super snotty to help trigger it. Weird.

It took me a while to even put together that it’s probably this virus doing it. Guessing it’s not coincidental, though.

I’m also getting a weird rash on my stomach now 🤔 It’s been itching for a while, but I just noticed that a blistery rash is coming up. (Only there so far. *fingers crossed*)

I’m really good at breaking out, but something else that doesn’t seem entirely coincidental.

Time for some hydrocortisone cream and some sleep, I think.

I don’t want to come across as whining excessively. But, I really don’t like getting Muggle sick on top of the existing shit. Not least because it usually fucks up my blood sugar for weeks.

clatterbane:

This is also the only time I can remember that a virus is making my asthma flare up, without being super snotty to help trigger it. Weird.

It took me a while to even put together that it’s probably this virus doing it. Guessing it’s not coincidental, though.

I’m also getting a weird rash on my stomach now 🤔 It’s been itching for a while, but I just noticed that a blistery rash is coming up. (Only there so far. *fingers crossed*)

I’m really good at breaking out, but something else that doesn’t seem entirely coincidental.

Time for some hydrocortisone cream and some sleep, I think.

This is also the only time I can remember that a virus is making my asthma flare up, without being super snotty to help trigger it. Weird.

It took me a while to even put together that it’s probably this virus doing it. Guessing it’s not coincidental, though.

thebibliosphere:

thewoonderkabinett:

thebibliosphere:

thebibliosphere:

Oh my god, food extract is not the same as an essential oil.

Food extract is the flavoring of something cooked down into a carrier oil or alcohol that is safe for human ingestion.

Essential oil is the pure extract of the plant refined down and distilled for concentrated medicinal purposes to a significantly higher strength than simply adding ground up mint leaves to your water. The two are not comparable in any way.

Cinnamon extract and cinnamon essential oil are not the same thing.

One is about 100 times the strength of the other and can also cause acute organ failure. I’ll give you a hint, it’s not the food extract.

Sweet gods I’m not trying to be mean, I want you to be aware and safe and stop putting yourselves and others at risk. Please.

Like maybe my tone is hard to read, maybe it just comes off as really angry but it’s not, it’s fear and worry. I read posts and clutch my head in alarm going “no! No! That’s how people die!” And then I get exasperated because a bunch of people not formally qualified chime in with “um actually this is a lie” and it’s not, it’s really, really not.

I’m not some big pharma advocate. I’m a crunchy witch hippy just like you with salt rock lamps and rose quartz all over my house. I just happen to have spent the last 15 years of my life studying the actual science of holistic medicines and I’m trying to help you not get hurt (or worse) becuase you trusted a sales person with no idea what the ever loving hell they were talking about beyond a sales pitch designed to maximize profit. Gah.

I see this so often in the Mommy world. There was a lady not long ago in one of the mom groups who was really worried about her toddler. He’d had a persistent cough for weeks and the doctor couldn’t figure out why. Someone asked, well what have to tried to treat it with, so far? She said she was using a humidifier, honey, and eucalyptus EO in the shower every night.

Yeah.

In case you were wondering, eucalyptus can cause respiratory distress in young children.

Sadly I don’t wonder. I have a friend whose daughter died from a home made menthol oil chest rub. She wasn’t even ten yet, but her mom– a qualified aromatherapist– thought she’d be old enough to handle it. She went into respitory distress and died seizing in her mother’s arms on route to the hospital. It was one of the most harrowing stories I had to listen to during my holistic training. She stood up there, on this podium next to a bunch of ponzy scheme essential oil sellers who looked like they wanted the floor to swallow them, and said “I killed my child with good intentions”.

I’ll never forget the look on her face.

So to reiterate, children under the age of ten should not be directly exposed to things like eucalyptus oil, peppermint or wintergreen. If you are using such things in your house and your child starts to complain of headaches, lethargy and general “feel worse”, don’t just assume it’s the cold/flu. Those are all signs of menthol sensitivity and they only get worse with increased exposure. Ventilate the room, take them outside if you can until the air clears. Do not apply again.

Rapid onset wheezing may be a sign of allergic reaction or possible asthma attack triggered by the menthol too. If they tell you their chest is warm or fuzzy when you use it, that’s another sign it’s not going down well with them. Again, ventilate the area or remove anything you applied to them. Administer inhalers if necessary. Watch for any more labored breathing or if they suddenly go limp or you can’t wake them up. If they do call 911.

This can also apply to people with allergies and asthma who are otherwise healthy.

One of the safest, natural ways to alleviate congestion is with just pure good old fashioned warm steam. Keep the air moist, drink plenty of warm fluids. Menthol can help relieve the feeling of congestion, but there’s limited evidence to suggest it actually clears the airways. And for the love of god don’t inhale mustard or horseradish (I’ve seen that suggestion on posts too, though how you’d get those oils I don’t know). That’s literally what tear gas is made of.

I too have recently joined the asthma club :/ Any advice on useful resources for cutting down the learning curve?

slashmarks:

copperbadge:

I mean, I have literally had the diagnosis for like, a week, so I haven’t got much to go on 😀 Mine is specifically exercise-induced, it only happens when I run, so my inhaler is a preventative, I use it before I run. I’m afraid I can’t help much, Anon!

Readership, if you want to chime in feel free, but remember to do it in comments or reblogs, not asks!

Coughing and nose running can be asthma symptoms. If you suddenly are coughing a ton or your nose won’t stop running, use your inhaler.

Keep your emergency inhaler with you and physically accessible 24/7. (I fail this constantly, but I know I should.) You will think it is unnecessary and that you will definitely not need it until you definitely, definitely do.

More applicable to children than adults, but: do not allow other people to separate you from your inhaler or put you in a situation where you will have to jump through hoops, go to another room and/or ask for it while you can’t breathe.

I don’t personally use one, but some people use medical masks on a daily basis to reduce attacks that are caused by air irritants (allergens, smoke, etc). So, that’s an option if you’re getting a lot of attacks.

This is more a general allergy thing, but: high allergy exposure actually causes and worsens anxiety. If you also have anxiety or panic problems and suddenly are having a ton of problems for no apparent reason, it’s entirely possible that it’s because of a spike in allergens and has nothing to do with you at all.

Some inhalers need to be washed regularly and/or primed before you use them, and the way you take all inhalers isn’t identical (in particular, some you start inhaling before you press the button, some at the same time). Read the instructions and find out, before you have an attack. It is hard to look up instructions and understand them while you can’t breathe.