I returned to work when my daughter, Micaela, was almost a year old. Until then she was a healthy little girl. She had caught a few colds but nothing too severe. Fortunately, at the time, I worked for the school board and had the Spring, Summer and Christmas breaks off.
After a long search for a home daycare, I placed Micaela with a wonderful lady close to my work. Within a short time, Micaela began coming down with colds, which would then turn into, what we were told at the time, bronchiolitis. The first couple of episodes did not concern us too much. We had expected her to get sick once she started daycare after being exposed to her new surroundings and other kids. However, after the first few months she started a cycle of being sick for two or three weeks and healthy for just one. Summer came and she was home with me – and healthy. When she returned to daycare in September, she was sick through Christmas and the cycle started again. We were feeling frustrated as parents not knowing how to help our daughter.
By the end of January she became quite sick. I will never forget the day we had to take her to Emergency. It was a Saturday morning. She was lying on the floor and I noticed that she was lethargic and was struggling to breathe. I called my husband and we literally raced through traffic to get her to the Children’s Hospital.
When we arrived, I went to the front desk. The intake nurse asked me if she had asthma. I told her that our family doctor was treating her for asthma but was unable to diagnose it as such. The nurse wrote on the form “cough” and asked me to take a seat. Then she spotted my husband holding Micaela in his arms and asked to check her breathing and her heart beat. The next thing I knew she was asking him to follow her and for me to sign her in at the registration desk. When I went to her room, I found her lying on a bed wearing a nebulizer mask and doctors and nurses surrounded her. I looked at my husband; you could see the panic settling in with both of us. All we could do was look on as they helped her.
It was explained to us that her airways had so much inflammation that the amount of air allowed through her airways was that of a piece of thread. That was one of the scariest times for us. We felt extremely lucky to have gotten her to the hospital in time for them to help her. After several treatments, and a very long day, we were finally sent home in the wee hours of the morning. She slept in our bed that night although we didn’t get much sleep.
We were contacted later to attend the Asthma Clinic at the Children’s Hospital to help us learn how to control, and more importantly, prevent her asthma attacks. We learned that asthma affects about three million people. Six out of ten people with asthma do not have control of their disease. Poorly controlled asthma may lead to a severe, life-threatening asthma attacks and permanent lung damage. Asthma symptoms do not have to be tolerated and asthma control is attainable for the majority of Asthma sufferers.
While what causes asthma attacks are still unknown, researchers have determined that asthma can be caused by both hereditary (inherited) and environmental factors.
Allergens such as dust mites, indoor and outdoor moulds, animals, pollens and irritants such as smoke, fumes, chemical cleaners, perfumes, paints and weather changes can all contribute and trigger an asthma attack.
With smog, pollen and severe weather changes, you might think that you're more likely to encounter more triggers outdoors than indoors. In fact, the opposite is true. We spend 90% of our time indoors. This, along with changes in how our homes are built, has lead to poor indoor air quality and more triggers, in our homes. Fortunately, a great deal has been learned about asthma triggers that exist inside. By educating ourselves about indoor hazards, we discovered simple ways to reduce Micaela’s triggers.
I cannot change the fact that two of my three children have asthma. As a parent, I often struggle with this. I can however, make changes to their environment in order to reduce their triggers. In doing so, I hope that I am teaching them to make those changes for themselves in the future.
We have made simple changes in our home and the environment around us. Because of this we have noticed a difference in our kids’ health. Don’t get me wrong, we haven’t eliminated their asthma attacks but we are making progress. Every year things get better.
Whether your kids have asthma or not these are some simple changes that you can make to attain a healthier home:
•Use organic bedding.
•Encase your pillow, mattress and box spring in mite-allergen impermeable encasings or use wool bedding products.
•Launder bed linens in very hot water (55 degrees Celsius) once a week.
•Place a de-humidifier or air purifier in the rooms your child spends the most time in (their bedrooms, playrooms or living areas).
•Remove carpets, especially in the bedroom.
•Use chemical free cleaning products such as Norwex products.
•An organic whole-food, plant-based diet accompanied by chemical-free fish and meats can also help.
The past few years have been a huge learning experience for my family. In reflection, it is one that I feel extremely lucky to have had considering the severity of Micaela’s asthma attack. We gained a new appreciation about the environment we live in and the footprint we choose to leave behind.
~ Wendy Godfrey
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