Sneezes & Wheezes

Do You Have What it Takes to Be a Respiratory Therapist

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:41:00 +0000

As a Registered Respiratory Therapist and Educator one of the questions I always asked my students was "Why do you want to be a Respiratory Therapist?" For me it was an easy choice. I always wanted to be a doctor but hated school. While in high school I was a candy striper and had a crush on one of the Respiratory Therapists and decided I wanted to do what he did. I loved my job but it did have some downsides.

Today's guest post is by Jillian Gile a writer for An Apple a Day

6 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Becoming a Respiratory Therapist

Respiratory therapy is a quickly growing position in the medical field. As baby boomers age, all areas of medicine are growing, and positions like respiratory therapy are in especially high demand since breathing problems like emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and pneumonia are all very common in the aging population.
If you’ve ever considered a job in the medical field, respiratory therapy might be perfect for you. You get to work one-on-one with patients, see immediate results from your assistance, and have a steady, well-paying job. On the other hand, it is the medical field, and there are certain things you should be prepared for. Here are six questions you should ask yourself before pursuing a respiratory therapy career.

Can You Stand the Sight of Blood?
You won’t be exposed to the blood and gore that a surgical technician deals with everyday, but you will be working in a hospital or clinic, and there will be blood. Some respiratory procedures include drawing blood to test blood pH, which would be indicative of a variety of diseases. If you normally faint at the sight of blood, you might want to think about a different career.

How Squeamish are You?
Again, this is a hospital. There will be blood – and more. Obviously, when dealing with breathing problems, mucous becomes an everyday issue. If you can learn to suppress your gag reflex, you probably will be able to succeed. It is also important that you be able to keep this under wraps, since a patient is not going to want to hear you saying Ewww! Gross!”

Are You Good With People?
Respiratory therapists deal with people, hands-on, all day long. You will be helping babies with breathing problems and elderly people with chronic diseases. You will be teaching individuals of all ages how to use nebulizers and inhalers, and working in the recovery room to help patients come out of anesthesia. This is not a position where you will be simply looking at lab tests, so be sure to practice your bed-side manner.

Can You Handle High Pressure Situations?
Respiratory therapists are often called to the emergency room to assist with heart attack, stroke, or even drowning victims. To put it bluntly, you will be staring in the face of death. Have a serious conversation with yourself about whether you can handle those situations, as this is the precise cause that makes many people drop out of the medical field.

Are You In Good Shape?
Working in a hospital or clinic means that you will be on your feet for long portions of the day – there’s a reason why nurse’s shoes are made to be so comfortable! And because respiratory therapists are often called in on emergency situations, you may have to run from unit to unit, and be quick on your feet. You will also be helping lift, turn, and position patients so that they can breathe easier. You don’t need to be a body-builder, but you might want to start hitting the gym while you’re still in school to make sure you can handle the day-to-day tasks.

Do You Want a Diverse Job?
Think about what kind of job appeals to your personality. If you like the idea of a desk job, where you do the same tasks every single day, respiratory therapy might not be for you. But if you’re looking for an exciting job, with flexible hours and a new challenge every day, it might be the perfect career. Especially if you work in a hospital, you will work different shifts (sometimes overnights and weekends), be on call, and meet tons of new patients every day. Respiratory therapy can be incredibly rewarding – if you’ve chosen the perfect career path to suit your needs.

Jillian Gile is a guest blogger for An Apple a Day and a writer on earning your nursing degree online for the Guide to Health Education.

Take Back Your Sleep - Insomnia and Menopause

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 03:42:00 +0000

As women we hit a lot of milestones in our lives but the one most women dread is menopause. We hear a lot of horror stories about mood swings, hot flashes and the pros and cons of hormone replacement. Did you know there's another symptom of menopause that's most often overlooked? It's insomnia. Yes, I'm talking about those nights when you're so tired you can hardly keep your eyes open yet they don't seem to stay shut.

There was an official study, sponsored by Red Hot Mamas North America and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. that showed that the sleep problems women experience during menopause affect multiple ares of their lives, including work, relationships, intimacy and even parenting. The survey, done by Manhattan Research, polled 900 women who have experienced sleep problems during menopause. Sixty-two percent said they had not talked to their HCP (health care provider) about the symptoms of insomnia and seventy-six percent said their insomnia during menopause moderately-to-significantly impacted their overall quality of life. The women also noted that they experience daytime drowsiness or fatigue, irritability and difficulty concentrating on certain tasks, including their jobs. Additionally they said that insomnia affects their personal and romantic relationships with nearly thirty-four percent noting that intimacy with their husband or partner has been affected.

More information on the survey findings and resources for menopausal women experiencing insomnia can be found at TakeBackYourSleep.com.

While you're at TakeBackYourSleep.com be sure to enter to win the Bedroom Makeover Sweepstakes. The winner will be chosen in January 2011.

NIck's New Heart - A Guest Post by Author Susan May

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:04:00 +0000

According to the American Heart Association around 650,000 to 1.3 million Americans have a congenital heart defect. Approximately 36,000 babies are born with a heart defect each year. That is one in eight. Many of these children have heart surgery and some receive a heart transplant.

Twenty-five years ago doctors had little knowledge to offer parents of these children, especially those with complicated heart issues. These children died. With new heart surgery techniques and heart transplants many of these “no help for them” children are alive and doing well. Many of these children are living to adulthood. This has created a whole new group of heart patients. My son, Nick is one of these patients.

Nick was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome or a three chambered heart. He had his first heart surgery at five days old, went on to have another at three months old and again a one year old. Just before Nick turn two he received a heart transplant. The first year after transplant was intense with us making numerous midnight trips to the hospital. In time, the trips decreased. Nick suffered mostly from sinus and ear infections.
Nick grew and attended pre-school, even rode the bus to school his first day of kindergarten. He has learned to swim, snow ski, water ski, and has seen forty-nine of the fifty states and thirteen countries in Europe. He has been a member of Team Georgia at nine of the Transplant Games. In high school, he was a manager for the football team and played tennis four years.

He has since started college but had to withdraw when an infection settled on the site where his first surgery was preformed. At the point of death, Nick went into surgery again. His main vessel, the aorta, was replaced. He recovered faster and with less difficultly than anyone expected. A few months later he needed a pacemaker for a slow heart rate.
Today, nineteen years and twenty one birthdays later, Nick is doing well despite the hard road he has traveled. He is attending college again and plans to study sports management. He helps coach a local high school tennis team and a nine year old baseball team. He is living life.

Heart transplants are not a fix, but a treatment, so we still worry about rejection and the future. But with all things said and done, it has been wonderful to see Nick grow up, and turn into a young man that understands the value of good health, and that enjoys being alive.

Nick’s life wouldn’t have been possible without the precious gift of a heart. At our house, we understand how important organ donation is every single day.

Susan May’s love affair with books began when she was in the sixth grade and made a bad grade on her report card in math. (She still doesn’t like math.) Not allowed to watch TV for six weeks she filled her extra time with reading.

Her first book, Nick’s New Heart about her son’s heart transplant experience is available now. She is currently working on a her fifth romance novel about a strong, rich man and the woman that loves him, a nonfiction about a WWII flight surgeon and another about her summer trip to Europe with her four teenage children.

She often speaks to nursing groups, civic groups, and high school health classes about the importance of organ donation. She leads workshops on promotion, rejection, time management, finding the right writer’s conference, collaging and memoir writing.

When her head isn’t in a book, hers or someone else's, Susan is either traveling, cross-stitching or watching chick flicks. Visit her at www.susancmay.com.

Make Your Lungs Happy: 5 Ways to Quit Smoking for Good

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:04:00 +0000

Make Your Lungs Happy: 5 Ways to Quit Smoking for Good

By: Liberty Kontranowski

Quitting smoking is one of the hardest tasks to ever accomplish. However, as more and more municipalities ban smoking in public places, now is a great time to give it a go for the first (or fiftieth) time.

While smoking is dangerous to you and those around you (and even to those who visit your home, whether you light up in their presence or not), it’s important to realize that smoking is an addiction. Certain properties in nicotine have addictive qualities, and to be truthful, they are not all bad. Nicotine can help people focus, make them more alert and can soothe frazzled nerves. It’s the other stuff that cigarettes are made up of – the cancer-causing carcinogens – that are so harmful. In short, if nicotine could be bottled or manufactured without the rest of a cigarette’s components, we might all find ourselves racing out to buy some.

Of course, that is not the case and since there are several natural methods of learning to focus and calm your nerves, smoking should not be considered a good device for achieving those “feel-good” moments.

Quitting: Getting Started

The horror stories surrounding quitting smoking abound. Ask anyone who has quit, and you’re not likely to find a single person say it was easy. So how can you get some help to tackle this beast head-on? Take a look:

Cold Turkey – For those who have said, “I’ve had it, I’m done,” there is the cold turkey method. You simply quit altogether without cutting back, using medications, etc. If you’re a very strong-willed person, or if you’ve recently been diagnosed with an illness or disease that is directly affected by your smoking, this might be the quit choice for you.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy – Nicotine patches are often used in a step-down method, whereby they deliver a certain amount of nicotine to the body, gradually lessening the amounts until the body no longer craves it. Those using nicotine replacement therapies (also including gums, lozenges, sprays and inhalers) are urged NOT to smoke while using these devices, as this will both defeat the purpose of the step-down treatment and may overdose the quitter’s body with nicotine.

Medications – There are medications on the market to help smokers kick their habit for good. Unlike nicotine patches, medications such as Zyban and Chantix do not deliver nicotine into the body, and quitters are allowed to smoke in the beginning of treatment. Once the medication reaches a steady state in the body, cravings are reduced to the point of none at all.

An interesting note: Zyban is really a renamed version of Wellbutrin (generic name, buproprion), an anti-depressant. In clinical studies for Wellbutrin, subjects reported fewer cravings for cigarettes, and thus the manufacturing company pursued FDA approval to repackage Wellbutrin as Zyban for smoking cessation.

Hypnosis/Acupuncture/Herbal Preparations – For every person who has had success with these methods, there are several more who haven’t. They can be costly and are not regulated, so explore at your own risk.

While all of these methods have merit in their own right, medications and nicotine replacement therapies are often favored since they ease the quitter out of the addiction, slowly reducing their dependence on nicotine.

Don’t Forget a Key Component

Possibly the foremost key to success in smoking cessation is simply a change in habit, also known as behavior modification. If a smoker lights up first thing in the morning, they should distract themselves with a shower, cup of coffee or breakfast instead. If a cigarette is part of the daily ride to work, the quitter should take a different route to work, drive with the windows open or take public transportation. Any change in the routine will help offset the quitter’s auto-response to light up a cigarette.

If the hand-to-mouth motion is what the quitter misses most, chewing gum, gnawing on the end of a pen, or drinking a glass of water may suffice. Type an email, write a letter, cook a meal or take a walk to keep the hands occupied.

While quitting smoking is not easy, there are plenty of resources to help a person be successful. There are many websites and support groups available for quitters, and online discussion boards can be a great place to share your successes and downfalls, as well as get and give inspiration.

Best of luck to you on your smoking cessation goals. Your lungs (and family and friends and co-workers) will thank you, for sure!

**

Liberty Kontranowski is a freelance writer and blogger with hundreds of health, sex and lifestyle articles published online and print. She is a frequent contributor to eDrugstore.md, the top-rated online drugstore.

Fit in Your Skin

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:09:00 +0000

Exercising is difficult, at least for me. What's hardest is being motivated and going to a gym with a bunch of people who are usually in better shape than I am and of course I feel they're all staring at me, the short, chubby uncoordinated one in the back who can't quite keep up. I know all it would take is some time and I'd be able to keep up with everyone else in the class but my shyness and lack of self confidence keeps me from going back. I know if I had a physical problem, one that was noticeable to everyone, not just being out of shape I'd have a harder time going to the gym than I do now and of course I'd be inclined to just sit at home and veg. Well, Jackie Warner is about to change that for people with psoriasis.

For those unfamiliar with psoriasis, it's an auto-immune disease. It's the skin working on overdrive producing new skin before the old can slough off. So what you end up with are hard scaly areas of all this excess skin called plaque. I know people with psoriasis, both friends and family and it can be life altering. For some it's able to be hidden by clothing for others it's in areas that are harder to cover. It can make you very self conscious and afraid to go out around people you don't know.

Now you're asking just what or how is Jackie Warner going to make any change for people with psoriasis. I'll tell you. Jackie Warner is a fitness and nutrition expert who's seen firsthand how psoriasis can affect a person's life since her grandmother lived with the disease for many years. She knows living a healthier lifestyle is important to those with psoriasis because they are at higher risk for other serious conditions like heart disease and obesity. With that in mind Jackie's teamed up with dermatologist and psoriasis expert Paul Yamauchi, M.D. and four people living with psoriasis and developed Fit in Your Skin.

Fit in Your Skin is an online resource that offers useful tips on fitness, nutrition and stress management. Yes, stress can make psoriasis outbreaks worse. Joining Fit in Your Skin is free and when you do you get a free copy of the program's health and fitness DVD, featuring a kitchen segment and 30 minute workout with Jackie and her Program Leaders, along with encouraging words from Dr. Paul Yamauchi. The website features a downloadable food & fitness guide, shopping list, wellness tracker, workout playlist and step-by-step instruction guide to the exercises. You'll also find a section on relaxation and a BMI chart.

Armed with the proper tools you can take control of your life and work towards making psoriasis less intimidating and overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of you having a healthy body and lifestyle.

Exercising with Rheumatoid Arthritis

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:27:00 +0000

On top of having Osteoarthritis which I'm sure was caused by normal wear and numerous falls when I was younger, Yes, I admit it, I'm clumsy. I was diagnosed a couple of years ago with Rheumatoid Arthritis. As anyone with both OA and RA will tell you it's hard to get moving and exercise but all the experts say exercise is good for you and it's especially good for those with any type of arthritis.

I must admit though I've never been one for exercise. I did have a membership to Bally's when it was known as the Chicago Health Club and I joined Curves but only went twice. I even went to Jazzercise. The problem is I never kept up with it. I always found something else to do rather than go to the gym.

I now realize that I need to exercise more or should I say I need to exercise period to be able to increase my stamina and flexibility so I was happy when the people at EA Sports sent me their EA Sports Active More Workouts with the accessory pack which includes the leg strap and resistance bands. This is not like exercising at all but more of a challenge where you can see your progress and have fun at the same time. If you want to read my opinion of this fun and challenging activity for the Nintendo Wii you can read it here.

I would recommend the EA Sports Active Personal Trainer and EA Sports Active More Workouts for everyone whether you're an exercise fanatic or have an exercise phobia like me.

The Fragile Lungs of Your Premie

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:43:00 +0000

March 11-17 is Premie Week. In recognition of the week I was asked to write a guest post for abla2able. Going back to my days or years working in the NICU and channeling my inner educator The Fragile Lungs of Your Premie was born.

able2able is written by the mom of a special needs child who also happens to be a NICU nurse. able2able is dedicated to education for special needs and features great articles and product reviews aimed at those needs. While you're over there reading my article,(come on I know you will be) look around a bit. I'm sure you'll find it educational and well worth the time.

Especially for Women - You're Having A Heart Attack

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:49:00 +0000

Not being an expert on everything health but still wanting to provide the best information and education to you I’ve decided to turn to other sources to share their knowledge and first hand experiences. This first article written by Kathryn Schleich has particular significance to women. You can also read other articles by Kathryn by following the link in the short biography following this article.
_________________________________________________________________________

Especially for Women - You're Having A Heart Attack

by Kathryn Schleich

Only when a grave-faced Emergency Room doctor explained to my husband and me I was having a heart attack did the strange symptoms begin to make sense? Because the signs of women experiencing a heart attack are often different than those of men had no idea that was part of what was wrong with me. What I realized is every breath seemed just of reach, the left side of my body ached, and I had lost quite a bit of blood due to the ulcerative colitis which triggered the heart attack.
Some heart attacks are sudden and intense – the classic movie attack where no one doubts what is occurring. But most heart attacks build with slow rising pain and discomfort over a few hours or days rather than a sharp pain bringing one to the ground.

As with men, women’s most common symptoms are chest discomfort in the center of the chest. However, women frequently experience the following as well:

Shortness of breath

Tightness in the in the center of the chest

Pain in the jaw area or back.

Learn to recogize differences between men and women experiencing heart attacks, but remember this: Even if you are not sure you are not certain it’s a heart attack, have your symptoms checked out by your physician.
Some of the more common symptoms in men include:

Dizziness

Breaking out in a cold sweat

Pain or discomfort in one or both arms

Light-headedness

Related to heart attacks are strokes and people need to familiarize themselves with the signs of stroke which include the following:

Numbness or weakness it the face, arm, leg, of body

Sudden confusion, speaking, and understanding

Trouble seeing in one or both eyes

Trouble speaking, walking, or loss of balance and coordination

A severe headache with no known cause

Coronary heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of permanent disability. This is why it important to reduce your risk factors by knowing both the warning signs and how to respond quickly. In my situation I found myself being rushed into emergency surgery where a large clot was removed from my left artery and a stent permanently implanted.

Because I was dealing with two separate medical conditions, once the cardiologist repaired my gastro internists could then attempt to repair the ulcerative colitis. At that point my hemoglobin had dropped to 8.2, my potassium was extremely low, and my colon had been severely irritated over the past few weeks. I was placed on powerful steroids to begin the process of healing my colon, ferrous sulfate to repair my weak hemoglobin and a statin drug to keep clots from forming near heart. In all there would be 20 different medications I would take each, some for years to come.

I spent nine days in the Cath Lab of St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul, making excruciating slow progress toward recovery. I started attending Cardio Rehab three days a week, building my strength back up to the four miles I had covered on the treadmill or elliptical at the time of my attack. Gaining your strength back is a difficult process, but if you developed a regular exercise routine, your turn-around time is much faster than for someone who has who has a heart attack or stroke and not and never exercised.

With exercise set small goals you can reach on a daily basis. These can be how far you walk, the number and types of exercises you undertake, monitoring your daily weight especially if you are taking steroids (your appetite can increase significantly), and changes in diet. If you need to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, approach theses concrete changes by understanding what the numbers mean and their healthy range.

An avid believer in exercise and healthy eating, Kathryn Schleich experienced a serious heart attack in 2009 at the age of 51. Through that experience she has made it her mission to educate heart attack survivors, stroke survivors, and those wishing to maintain or lose weight. Schleich is also a nationally published author and can be contacted at kathrynschlei777@yahoo.com. You may also visit her web site at: www.women-write.com.

The Roll of a Parent in a Healthcare Setting

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:05:00 +0000

Today I was thinking about my many years working with kids. This may be insulting to some of you but a lot need to hear it. It's one of my pet peeves.

I worked in Respiratory Care for 30 years. Twenty three of those 30 years was in a hospital setting and at least 15 was in pediatrics with the last 10 being coordinator of PEDS, NICU and Mother/Baby. I was clinical educator and helped teach a Family Asthma Class.

During those years in pediatrics I loved my job. I loved interacting with the children and learning about them. The one thing I didn't like about the job was the parents. I know that sounds harsh but let's look at it from a healthcare worker's perspective.

You bring your child into the doctor's office of hospital because they're sick and you want someone to help them. While there the staff must do some testing and even treatments and some of them are uncomfortable to anybody. A child of any age will fight, not because they're being tortured but because they "don't want to do it" They don't like being held down to have blood drawn and they start fighting before anyone even approaches them with the needle. The child needs to be restrained to get the blood without hurting them or causing any unnecessary damage. A needle and a fighting, flailing child don't go together. So, the staff usually a couple of them will restrain the child to hold them still so the blood can be obtained fast.

Now let's look at what happens when we try to treat that child with a breathing treatment. We must give the best treatment possible to be able to help your child and get them home faster. Children can't coordinate their breathing correctly to use the mouthpiece that most adults can use. We may have to hold a mask on their face to give the medications because the fastest way to get anything into the lungs is to inhale it. The mask is the ideal way to give a treatment and it doesn't do any good if the mask is not at least near the child's face. Sometimes to get the treatment done and get the most benefits we will need to hold your child tightly on our laps, holding their arms down and their head straight while they're breathing. A child will be crying during this but believe it or not crying is good, they're taking deeper breaths and getting more of the medication which is to their benefit.

Now comes the parents. The ones who interfere and don't want you doing anything their child doesn't want or like. The parents who will lay over the child to comfort them while impeding making it impossible to be able to see to draw blood or give a treatment rendering it totally useless. The parent may insist on holding the child to calm them down. This is fine IF the parent will hold the child still and make them take the treatment but holding a child and letting them flail and not allowing the treatment to be given appropriately again is useless.

I miss the days where we could ask the parents to leave the room while anything was being done. This made for a more compliant child because they knew their parent's weren't there to make us stop. This allowed us to get the job done faster with less discomfort to the child.

The roll of the parent is to ask questions, be informed and give consent. Yes you can and should speak up on your child's behalf since they can't do it for themselves. It's also to calm and comfort the child BEFORE and AFTER testing is done. To hold the child and dry their tears. Let the health care staff be the bad guys.

If you insist on bringing your child to a health care facility for diagnosis and treatment at least stay out of the way and let them do their job. Don't interfere and think it's in the best interest of your child because it's not. If the staff needs your help they'll ask for it, if you want to help hold your child ask if you can and take their lead on how to hold, don't be overbearing and controlling. After all, you brought your child to them. If you're going to dictate what is to be done and how, keep your child at home and see if your child gets any better without the experience and knowledge of the health care staff.

Celiac Disease and Gluten Allergies

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:57:00 +0000

You've probably been seeing a lot more food products labeled Gluten Free lately. Until few years ago I'd never heard of gluten, that is until I had a friend diagnosed with Celiac Disease and another with a gluten allergy. I thought diabetes was bad in counting carbs but how would you like to be looking for foods with no wheat, rye, barley or some food additives.
The problem doesn't start and stop with food. Medication and some makeup can also contain gluten. Yes, that lipstick you use may cause permanent damage if you have celiac disease or a slight discomfort if you have a gluten allergy.

For those that have never heard of gluten it's a protein in specific grains. If a person with celiac disease ingests foods with gluten their small intestines are unable to effective absorb basic nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and even water and bile salts. This may sound like the dream cure for obesity not being able to absorb carbohydrates and fats but your body does need those in order to function properly as well as the other things mentioned. If a person has a gluten allergy the effects of eating foods containing gluten aren't as damaging but they can make you very uncomfortable. Celiac disease does not discriminate based on age, it affects infants as well as adults.

What happens when your body can't absorb the things mentioned above? A lot of things you don't want to even think about:

Early onset osteoporosis or osteopenia
Vitamin K deficiency that can increase your risk of hemorrhaging. Yes Vitamin K is necessary for the blood to clot properly
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
Central and peripheral nervous system disorders most likely due to nutrient deficiencies
Pancreatic insufficiency
Intestinal lymphomas and various other cancers of the GI tract
Neurological problems
Gall bladder problems

Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder which can lead to other autoimmune disorders if left untreated such as:

Dermatitis Herpetiformis
Insulin dependent Type I Diabetes
Thyroid Disease
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Liver Disease

There are also some conditions or diseases that are uncommon but can occur with celiac disease:

Addison's Disease
Chronic Active Hepatitis
Down Syndrome
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Turner Sundrome
Williams Sundrome
Sjogren's Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Alopecia Areata
Scleroderma

The only treatment for Celiac Disease is a gluten free diet. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease please educate yourself. Learn to read food labels and to shop and cook differently. A search on the internet will bring up a lot of information and recipes for a gluten free diet.

This may seem ironic but in my search for more foods containing whole wheat rather than white flour I reviewed a book written by 2 doctors called Healthy Breads in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten Free Ingredients. The section on Gluten Free Breads and Pastries has recipes such as:

Gluten-Free Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella, Olives, Basil and Anaheim Peppers
Gluten-Free Cheddar and Sesame Bread
Gluten-Free Parmesan Bread Sticks
"Super Sam" Gluten-Free Cinnamon Buns

As I'm learning to live and eat with diabetes while still enjoying the flavors I enjoy a person with celiac disease can still enjoy the foods they love, with a little research and modification.

InfantSee and Your Baby's Eye Health

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:27:00 +0000

When you have a baby you go for routine well baby exams, if your child gets sick you immediately call the doctor. Is a vision exam also part that routine care. If not it should be.

We all take our vision for granted until something happens and we loose it. Most people feel if their baby is born healthy looks in their direction when talking to them their vision is fine. Oh, how wrong you might be.

According to the U.S Census Bureau about 4.02 babies were born in 2004. About 4% of those babies will develop Strabismus and 3% will develop Amblyopia. That's about 7% or 100,000 babies born each year at risk for eye and vision problems which may be serious.

Strabismus a eyes that aren't properly alligned. Crossed eyes is one type but the eyes can turn out or up and down. The eye muscles don't work together and this causes the mialignment. If left untreated Strabismus can lead to Amblyopia.

Ambylopia is the medical term for "lazy eye" If left untreated Ambylopia can lead to one eye becoming stronger and the weaker eye can become useless leaving that eye functionally blind.

In 2005 the American Optometric Association and The Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc. launched InfantSee. InfantSee is a nationwide program to provide professional eye and vision care to infants. Infants between 6 & 12 months can be seen by an optometrist. This exam is free no matter what your income. Even at an age when the baby is unable to communicate verbally with the doctor or read an eye chart their eyes can be examined for serious problems and abnormalities. There are over 7,000 optometrists nationwide who volunteer their services to InfantSee. There is a Doctor Locator on their website. To find out more about Infant Eye Screenings and locate a doctor in your area visit http://www.infantsee.org.

Isn't it worth a free vision screening to insure your child's eyes will develop normally and he'll be able to enjoy all the beautiful things there are to see in this world.

Are Certain Diseases Reserved for Old People?

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:51:00 +0000

The past couple of years I've been given a true wake-up call and realize that what I thought were "OLD PEOPLE" diseases or conditions really aren't.

I've had knee problems for years that I contributed to multiple falls. Yes, I was a klutz and very accident prone. My mom use to laugh that I was the only person she knew that could fall UP stairs. After one of my falls they said I had an old knee fracture. After that I fell numerous times and always on the same knee so it was no shock when I was having pain and swelling in that knee that would last for weeks. A few years later I twisted the other knee and after surgery the orthopedic surgeon said I had severe arthritis and Grade 3 & 4 Chondromalacia. Looking it up that's a fancy name for runners knee and it causes severe debilitating pain and can also go along with Rheumatoid Arthritis. After I'd heard the word arthritis I was embarrassed. That's a disease or condition OLD people get. When I'd be limping due to stiffness or pain I'd tell people I twisted my knee or banged it. I didn't want to say "it's arthritis" out loud. Well, last year after complaining to my doc that my hands would swell and I couldn't open doors or hold anything and I'd get lumps on my wrists I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. As devastating as that diagnosis was it's not something I associate only with old age, after all there is Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis so it also affects people younger than I am plus I have a couple of cousins with RA and one of them was diagnosed years ago.

This past July I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. My mom had that and was diagnosed in her late 50's so again that's a disease that I associated with the elderly. Yes, there's Type 1 which a lot of kids have but that's different. There's also Gestational Diabetes but I'm not pregnant so I didn't have that excuse. After doing my research I found people on message boards that are younger than I am with Type 2 Diabetes.

A little over a month ago my doc sent me to a Retina Specialist for an exam after the diabetes diagnosis. Those exams are vital to keeping your vision when you have diabetes since it affect your eyes and rob you of your vision. The retina guy saw something abnormal in my optic nerves and referred me to a Glaucoma Specialist. Did you know ophthalmologists have specialties? I didn't. After 2 exams a month apart the retina specialist said he felt I have early glaucoma. WAIT A MINUTE. That's 3 diseases or conditions in 2 years that I've always associated with the elderly. After all a friends Grandmother had glaucoma, I remember her laying down in the evening putting drops in her eyes. I'm too young for glaucoma. Again, back to the internet and message boards. You'd be amazed with the amount of young people with glaucoma.

Today I had a Trabeculoplasty on my right eye, the left was done last week. That's a procedure done with a laser to open the channel in the eye for the fluid to drain better, lowering the pressures and hopefully preventing any permanent vision loss.

Now for the educational part of this long post:

When you go for an eye exam and they want to check the pressures in your eyes, don't complain, just let them do it. Those pressures are important and tell them something. If they ask if you want them to take photos of your eyes, even if insurance won't cover them, say yes. I tried to find photos of my eyes from the doc I went to in Chicago and they don't keep them past 7 years. I was last there 8 years ago. The last guy I went to didn't take pictures. The doc I'm seeing now really wanted to see what my optic nerves looked like in the past to see how much they've changed.

Don't feel you're too old for a certain diagnosis. I've seen babies born with cataracts and that's really an old people's condition, right? Wrong. Nothing is limited to the elderly. It may be more common as you get older but NEVER, I mean NEVER say "I'm too young to worry about that." The lifestyles we lead now can be making our bodies age faster than it did 40-50 years ago. They're coming out with new diagnostic tests that's catching these conditions earlier, before symptoms can begin. They're changing guidelines for certain conditions which again leads to an earlier diagnosis.

The diseases haven't changed but our thinking and prejudices about them needs to. I'm living proof that diseases and conditions reserved for Old People can happen when you're younger. But again, I'm not as young as I use to be.

When Someone Sneezes

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:26:00 +0000

With all the talk about the flu and H1N1 everyone's concerned and rightly so. Yes, you can control what you do to try to prevent catching and spreading the bugs but you can't control what other's do. This is something I've always believed but an incident involving a family member the other day really got me to thinking.

A cousin of mine told me how upset she was when she went grocery shopping and was getting some chicken at the deli. There was a young kid waiting on her and the meat was on the scale as he was preparing to bag it. He turned to the side and let out a huge sneeze without trying to cover his mouth. He continued bagging the meat, and walked off sniffling. A second person cut some more products and my cousin asked him to re-cut the meat and throw the earlier stuff away. She's now lost her appetite and is doing the "what if" game.

Now for the tough question: How would you have handled this? I know what I would have done. I would have asked to speak to the manager and explained what happened. I then would have asked that the scale be cleaned with bleach while I watched and someone else cut my meat and bagged it. If I would have gotten any flack I would have asked for names and called the Board of Health. This is against health violations and needs to be reported. Certain viruses can live on cold surfaces and yes, a scale and slicer are cold surfaces as well as countertops and windows, up to 48 hours. The viruses can also live on soft surfaces such as clothing for up to 2 hours. Next is how body fluids are expelled from the body during a sneeze. When you sneeze large and small droplets are expelled into the air. Some of these droplets can travel within a 3-6 foot radius around you infecting everything within that area. Some of the droplets can remain suspended in the air for a while.

If you feel a sneeze coming on don't sneeze into your hands but into your arm or sleeve. This way you're not infecting everything you touch before you can wash your hands. Don't touch your face, eyes, nose or mouth after coughing or sneezing but immediately wash your hands. If you use a tissue, dispose of it immediately. If soap and water isn't available one of the alcohol based hand sanitizers are great but remember to use with caution with small children. Do not allow them to ingest or lick their hands immediately after use due to the alcohol content.

For your enjoyment here's a video put out by the South Australian Department of Health of a sneeze in slow motion. It is graphic and can have a YUCK factor.

Importance of Being Your Own Health Care Advocate

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:23:00 +0000

I know it's been a while since I've been here but I'm back and ready to start educating again. This time around I won't limit my focus to lung diseases but to all aspects of health care. With a little knowledge I can be dangerous so watch out. Honestly the reality is, I feel that a lot of what is out there is written in a way that can be confusing so I hope to be able to interpret that to make it easier to understand.

A couple of areas where I'm gaining more knowledge that I ever thought I needed was Auto-immune diseases and Diabetes. Auto-immune diseases are running rampant in my family and I was diagnosed last year with Rheumatoid Arthritis and 3 months ago with Diabetes.

So, what I'd really like to talk about today is the importance of being your own health care advocate. After all, if you don't look out for and speak up for yourself nobody else will. You are the one who knows your body best and you know when things just aren't right and don't let anyone, especially your doctor blow you off when you know deep down that there is something wrong. Keeping quiet may put you in danger or worse kill you.

This is something I have first hand knowledge of and I'm going to share my story with you to prove my point.

As I said, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis last year after years of stiff, painful joints that was blown off as arthritis and being overweight. My hands would swell up to the point I couldn't use them and I started developing nodules. Finally my doc asked if anyone in the family had RA and the answer yes sent up red flags and after testing I was given the great news, I can now join the ranks of those with an auto-immune disease.

Fast forward a year and I feel like I've been hit by a truck. Body aches, muscles weak and I'm now sleeping 16-18 hours at night, waking up for bathroom breaks and going back to bed. I've also got some tenderness and itching in the fold of my leg. After a week of this I call my doc to make an appointment but by this time I'm staying awake for longer periods of time so the thinking is, I'm on the mend. Doc thinks it's an RA flare and runs some tests. The next day I realize I'm drinking water like crazy and running to the bathroom every 20 minutes. My vision is now getting very blurry where I can't see the computer screen or watch TV. The yeast infection that started in my leg fold is now running up my backside and it hurts to sit. Call doc and tell them a routine blood test done 2 months earlier had my glucose at 189 which doc said was normal though I'm now thinking he's full of it. I called my doc 3 times before I finally get someone to listen to me and I tell them my mom was diabetic, my glucose on a previous blood test was elevated and I've got all the symptoms of diabetes. The doc says my Sed Rate and CRP which are both indicators of inflammation are elevated and he wants me to start on steroids. This time I insist on being tested for diabetes and to appease me and get me to stop calling I'm told I can go in the next day for a finger stick.

The next morning I'm at the docs office and they do an A1c which is a test that gives the average glucose in a % for the past 3 months. Normal is 4-6 and mine is over 10. Now I haven't seen the doc at all but the nurse calls me into a little room, hands me a monitor and says "welcome to the world of diabetes." They gave me a prescription and a piece of paper with Diabetic Diet across the top and the following directions:

Limit Carbs
Eat meals at the same time every day
Eat snacks at the same time every day
A list of "free foods"
A list of some exchanges for casseroles

There was nothing else on the paper and no other instructions. I wasn't told what my target glucose reading is, how many carbs to eat a day. Nothing. I was told to come back in a month because my doc was going out of town the next day.

That night my glucose reading was 388. I was a basket case. I know it needs to come down but how. A friend of mine is an RN and her husband is diabetic. She gave me basic instructions on limiting carbs and what foods I should avoid. I found the diabetic board on iVillage and they were very supportive and helpful.

In addition I spoke with the pharmacist about the steroids the doc wants me to take. I know steroids and diabetes don't go well together and I was right. Steroids can increase the glucose. WAIT A MINUTE!!!. I'm trying to get my glucose down and I'm suppose to take a med that's going to increase it. It's already close to 400, how much higher is it suppose to go. I quickly decline the steroids and tell the pharmacist I won't be picking up that prescription.

The next day I eat breakfast and take the diabetic med and I'm suddenly sick. Nauseated, exhaustion and headache. I sleep a while but when I wake up I call the pharmacist. That's a normal reaction to the med because it's lowering my glucose and my body isn't use to that. I'm told the next time I'm feeling that way to check my glucose. OK, next day same thing happens. Glucose reading 408. WHAT!!! It's suppose to be going down.

After many tears and research I notice by the end of the week my glucose is closer to 200 so I'm doing something right. It's taken 3 months and my glucose is now between 118-140 which I know isn't normal but it's better than 400. I've still got a ways to go but I never went back to that doctor, he was fired on the spot and I now have a new doctor who I found out specializes in diabetes and is going to be teaching a class in his office at the end of the month.

So, at the end of my long story I just want to say, if I hadn't insisted on the doc testing me for diabetes who knows where I'd be right now. I can tell you I don't think I'd be here trying to tell other's the importance of being your own health care advocate. It may save your life.

Flu Season is Upon Us

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:38:00 +0000

Just thought I'd send out a friendly reminder that flu season is fast approaching and it's time to be getting that flu shot.

You can get it from your physician, quick care center, health clinic and some pharmacies have them available.

How To Tell Someone Their Perfume Is Irritating?

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:10:00 +0000

I check the stats for this site periodically to see how people found it and what they’re searching for when they do. I recently saw that someone did a search for the phrase “how to tell someone their perfume is irritating.” This is a toughie because you don’t want to offend anybody. The problem is your fear of hurting someone’s feelings is actually hurting you physically.

If it’s someone you know you could quietly let them know that you enjoy their company but with your allergies or asthma some fragrances are very irritating to your airways and ask if they could tone it down or possibly forgo the perfume when you’re going to be getting together. If they’re a good friend and care about you they should respect your request and not want to hurt you. If they don’t seem to understand let them know that you find it difficult to breathe and you’re having problems for a several days or more afterwards. Some people just don’t understand how something as innocent as perfume can irritate airways and cause them to become tight.

If it’s someone you don’t know well you could avoid any situation that involves them. You may miss out on some fun but isn’t it better to be able to breath than eat at a certain restaurant.

I have asthma and I have a problem with a lot of fragrances. I don’t wear perfume for that reason. I do shower gels and body lotions. My husband had a cologne when we first met that really got me to wheezing and coughing. He asked me to get him cologne that I could tolerate for Christmas. Now that’s all he wears.

Some people have problems with cleaning solutions. When I worked at the hospital we had a regular patient that had a sign on her door for housekeeping. They could not use anything stronger than water when cleaning her room. I also remember a patient in pediatric intensive care. That poor kid was on a continuous nebulizer for two days before we could start giving him treatments every 2 hours. One of the doctors who the nurses nicknamed Dr. Colognie because of the cologne he wore was on call and he started to come in to see the patient. The nurses stopped him at the door and told him he was going to have to see the patient long distance or take a shower before they’d allow him into the unit. Of course the doctor was offended but the nurses stood their ground. It was better to offend the doctor than have the patient rebound and go back on continuous nebulizers or worse, a respirator.

I have also asked people not to smoke around me. I do not allow smoking in my home or car and I will not subject myself to passive smoke when out with friends. If one of my friends smoke and very few of them do, they sill go outside when they light up.

Don’t be afraid to speak up if something is hurting you. It’s better to loose a friend than loose your life.

Medical Equipment Companies

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:17:00 +0000

It's been a while since I posted anything new and for that I apologize. What I have today is a post I wrote for another blog I do and I feel it's equally important to the visitors who come here. Rather than rewrite the post please visit What Medical Equipment Companies Don't Want You To Know on my Weekly Beef Blog.
In that post I give you my experience in working in homecare and how to protect yourself from being taken advantage of. Feel free to share your opinions whether negative or positive (I like positive the best though). I'm a big girl, I can take it.

May is Asthma Awareness Month

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Thu, 01 May 2008 18:06:00 +0000

May is Asthma Awareness Month. Throughout the month there will be increased activity in the area of Asthma Education and the risks of second hand smoke. There are also asthma screening centers sponsored by Astra Zeneca set up throughout the country. The asthma screening is in it’s 12th year and provides free screening questionnaires and breathing tests to adults and children.

When you arrive at the screening center you will be given a questionnaire to fill out. Kids 8-14 will get their own form to fill out. For kids under the age of 7 the parents fill out the form. After filling out the questionnaire you will be given a short, painless breathing test. This consists of you breathing deep and blowing out hard and fast into a tube that measures the speed and amount of air you exhaled and inhaled. After the test you will go over the results with an allergist who may have more questions for you.

If there is no screening center in your area there are online questionnaires to fill out and you can discuss the answers with your physician.

The following links are furnished by the American College of Allergy
Asthma & Immunology.

Locate a screening center near you click

For online asthma questionnaires click

For public education consumer quizzes click

For public education fact sheets click

Take Control of Your Asthma, A Guide for People With Asthma click

Children's Cold and Cough Medicines

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:07:00 +0000

By now you may have heard that the FDA recommends that over-the-counter cold and cough medicine not be used in children under 2 and they’re still debating on it’s use in children under 11. The reason is that serious life threatening side effects can occur. They sited that from 1969 to 2006, at least 54 children died after taking over the counter decongestants, and 69 died after taking over-the-counter antihistamines..

You may be asking why these medications were on the market to begin with. These were tested medications in adults. There were no tests done on young children. It was figured that these were safe to use and they could be given to children in smaller doses. One of these medications given in the proper dose will probably not cause any harm. The problem comes in giving too much of the medication or a combination of medications containing the same ingredients. This can cause an overdose.

Cold and cough medicines often contain 1 or more of the same or similar active ingredients. Since many cold medicines are multisymptom an example is 2 medications that contain an antihistamine. Another example would be if you are giving your child a cold medicine that lists acetaminophen or ibuprofen as an ingredient, do not give anything else containing these ingredients to reduce a fever.

If you choose to give any of these medications to your child you need to read the label thoroughly so you aren’t overdosing your child on any ingredients. You should only use the measuring cup or spoon provided with the medication. If in doubt ask your physician or pharmacist about any OTC medications for your child.

The following brands of cough and cold medicines that were voluntarily recalled by the manufacturers last year:

• Dimetapp Decongestant Plus Cough Infant Drops
• Dimetapp Decongestant Infant Drops
• Little Colds Decongestant Plus Cough
• Little Colds Multi-Symptom Cold Formula
• Pediacare Infant Drops Decongestant (containing pseudoephedrine)
• Pediacare Infant Drops Decongestant & Cough (containing pseudoephedrine)
• Pediacare Infant Dropper Decongestant (containing phenylephrine)
• Pediacare Infant Dropper Long-Acting Cough
• Pediacare Infant Dropper Decongestant & Cough (containing phenylephrine)
• Robitussin Infant Cough DM Drops
• Triaminic Infant & Toddler Thin Strips Decongestant
• Triaminic Infant & Toddler Thin Strips Decongestant Plus Cough
• Tylenol Concentrated Infants' Drops Plus Cold
• Tylenol Concentrated Infants' Drops Plus Cold & Cough

Support Groups, Message Boards and Forums

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:24:00 +0000

If you have chronic illness it’s good to find a support group. You can interact with people who understand what you’re going through and how you feel. You can also share ideas with each other. If you are unable to get out of the house or if there’s no group in your area you can find many message boards and forums online.

These virtual social areas can be your lifeline when you’re feeling down, they will cheer you on when you’re having troubles and the members share useful information.

Searching the internet can be tiring and frustrating. I’ve created a list of support groups, forums and message boards for Asthma, COPD and Sleep Apnea.
I will be adding to the list as I find other groups and sites that may be helpful. If you have a favorite one that’s not listed, post it in the comments or use the contact me button and I’ll be sure to add it to the list.

Nebulizer Therapy

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:33:00 +0000

If you’ve been reading this blog you’re already familiar with an MDI or inhaler. You’re probably thinking, that’s great for someone with the ability to coordinate the breathing and actuation of the inhaler that’s required but what do we do with a young child or an elderly relative. An inhaler can still be used with the addition of a spacer which slows down the delivery of the medication allowing greater benefits with less coordination. These spacers can be used with a mouthpiece or a mask. To get even greater benefits a nebulizer is the treatment of choice.

A nebulizer compressor is a machine that turns a liquid into a mist. Most of the medications available in an MDI/inhaler are also available as a liquid. These medications have to be mixed with a sterile saline solution but most now come in pre-mixed vials.

There are many nebulizer compressors available. They are small and will fit on a night stand or end table. They are small enough to take take with you when going out of the house but they require electricity and are not small enough to fit into a purse or handbag. There are smaller, portable nebulizer compressors on the market with rechargeable batteries but a lot of people complain that they lack the power of the larger ones. A nebulizer treatment usually takes about 10 minutes. With the portable nebulizer it may take 15-20 minutes for 1 treatment but the machines are small enough to fit into a larger purse or they come with a small case to carry with you.

A nebulizer treatment can be done with a mouthpiece or mask but because the mist is a constant flow there no coordination of breathing required. A mask can be used on an infant but you can aim the small hose attached to the nebulizer towards the face, though this is not the preferred method it can be less tiring when the child is combative during treatments. There are pediatric masks available that look like fish or dragons.

When using a nebulizer, whether using a mouthpiece or mask, it is desirable to be sitting or at least have the head elevated. This allows for deeper breathing and also uses gravity to help in getting the medication delivered deep into the lungs. Not every treatment will take the same amount of time. Treatment times may vary by a couple of minutes even when using the same machine. Don’t gauge the duration of the treatment by the clock. It is important to use all of the medication in the medication cup.

Rescue medications and inhaled steroids can be used in a nebulizer. It is important to rinse your mouth after use of an inhaled steroid just as you would with an MDI.

Cleaning
Rinse the nebulizer kit or medication cup and mouthpiece after each treatment and let it air dry, You also need to clean it daily in warm soapy water and disinfect it with 1:3 mixture of vinegar and water (1/2 cup vinegar and 1 ½ cups water). Allow the medicine cup and mouthpiece or mask to soak for 20 minutes. Rinse well and allow to air dry. It is not necessary to clean the tubing connecting the medicine cup to the machine since air is the only thing flowing through this tube.

Maintenance
Most nebulizer compressors have filters which need to be checked regularly, usually once a week. These start changing colors when they need to be changed or cleaned. Your equipment provider can provide you with extra filters and nebulizer kits.

Sleep Apnea

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:40:00 +0000

Apnea means without breath. Sleep apnea is when a person stops breathing during sleep. You may not realize there’s a problem.

Sleep apnea can be serious if untreated. It can cause or contribute to high blood pressure, poor memory or forgetfulness, headaches, weight gain and impotency in men. It can impair your judgment at work and may lead to automobile accidents.

There are different levels of sleep and your body needs to go through these levels for your body and brain to rest. With sleep apnea you don’t get to the most important level of restorative sleep or you don’t spend enough time at that level. When you stop breathing your heart rate changes and your oxygen level drops. Your body doesn’t know what’s happening but it arouses you just enough for you to start breathing again. These arousals may not be significant enough that you’re aware of them but your body suffers as a result. You’re not getting enough sleep. This is why you may wake up feeling tired when you thought you slept an entire night. You may stop breathing a few times during the night or you may stop hundreds of times.

If you are waking feeling tired, waking up with headaches, having trouble staying awake during the day. If you can’t sit through a movie without falling asleep or your spouse or partner complains of your snoring you need to mention this to your doctor. Your doctor may refer you to a specialist in sleep disorders. You will most likely be scheduled for a sleep study.

Sleep Study
When you are scheduled for a sleep study will most likely be spending the night at a clinic, either free standing or in a hospital. This study may be scheduled over 2 nights, either consecutively or several days or weeks apart. The first night you will arrive at the clinic and be taken to a bedroom. You will bring your pajamas or some comfortable clothes for sleeping. You will most likely be told not to have any caffeine the day of the study. After you change your clothes you will be wired. The technician will attach small electrodes to your scalp to measure brain waves. You will have electrodes on your chest to monitor your heart and chest movement for breathing. You will have an airflow sensor on your upper lip which measures airflow from the nose and mouth as well as a small sensor on your eyelid. This measures eye movement during sleep. In addition there will be electrodes or bands on your legs to measure leg movement for restless leg syndrome and you’ll have a probe on your finger to measure your oxygen level. There’s also a small camera in the room so they can watch you while you sleep.

Now you’ll be asked to go to sleep. At this point you’re thinking, yeah right, like I could sleep with all this on. You’d be amazed that you actually do fall asleep. It may not be as restful as your use to at home but you do fall asleep. The technician is in another room watching monitors with all your electrical readouts and a TV monitor.

The technician will wake you in the morning and you can change clothes to go home or go to work. Yes, some people go directly to work after a sleep study.

The second night is called a titration study. You are wired the same with one addition. You are hooked up to a CPAP machine. This machine delivers a constant flow or air that you breathe during the night. It is delivered through a mask either nasal or full face. A nasal mask covers your nose only and a full face mask covers both the nose and mouth. A full face mask is used for people who breathe with their mouths open. At this point you’ll again be instructed to go to sleep. You may feel like you slept as much or should I say as little as you did the night before but what you don’t realize is, you got a more restorative sleep. You might notice you’re not as tired the next morning. If you usually wake with a headache you don’t have one.

During the night the technician was adjusting the pressure on the CPAP machine and the electrodes were measuring how you did at each level. The physician will look at this data and determine which CPAP pressure is best for you.

Treatment
Now that you’ve had the sleep study and titration study the doctor will order a CPAP machine for you. These are obtained from a medical equipment center. The technician or respiratory therapist will instruct you in the use and cleaning of your machine. You will also be fitted for a mask. There are various brands of masks available as well as nasal prongs and nasal pillows. The right mask for you is the one that works and is the most comfortable. I know, you’re thinking nothing will be comfortable but I guarantee, once you start using one and give it enough time you won’t want to sleep without it. You can do a search for CPAP Masks on the internet and you’ll see the many options available. There are fewer options for people who are mouth breathers than those who are nose breathers but they are coming out with more and more options all the time.

If you feel the pressure on your machine is too high and you can’t sleep try using the ramp setting. This will drop the pressure down to a more tolerable level for a period of time, usually 20 minutes or more, allowing you to fall asleep. The pressure will gradually increase during that time until the prescribed pressure is reached. By this time you’re sleeping and not even aware of it. If you wake during the night you can always press the ramp button again. If you’re use to waking during the night to go to the bathroom or just being unable to sleep don’t be surprised if you find you’re sleeping the entire night.

If you’re having trouble with the mask you’re using, talk to your home care provider and look for alternatives. Don’t put the machine in a closet and forget about it. Untreated sleep apnea can lead to serious health problems and permanent heart problems.

Before you say I don't know what I'm talking about, I don't know what it feels like to sleep with that machine and mask on my face I have to tell you, I not only did education on the use of the machines but I've used one myself for 2 years. It took some getting use to but I'm sleeping much better and I would not sleep without it.

Better Living With COPD

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:13:00 +0000

People with COPD know that you can have good and bad days. On the bad days everything seems to take your breath away. You just can’t seem to get a deep enough breath no matter what you do. You’re exhausted and have no energy what so ever. Below are some things you can do to help make those bad days a little easier.

Housework
• Make the bed while you’re still in it. What that means, if you sleep alone, spread the covers over the bed before getting out of it. That way when you do get out of bed you just need to straighten them. If you share a bed with someone have them pull the covers up on their side when they get up.

• When changing the bedding, work your way around it. Do everything on one side before proceeding to the other. Put an upper corner of the fitted sheet on the bed then move to the lower corner on the same side. Before leaving that side, put the top sheet and blanket on that side of the bed. Move to the lower corner on the other side then finish with the upper corner. Pull the top sheet and blanket over and the bed’s made.

• If you share a dresser with someone and they have no problems with breathing try to put your things in the upper drawers. This prevents you from having to bend over too much which can make breathing difficult.

• When cleaning don’t feel you have to clean the entire house in one day. Get a push cart of some sort with wheels and put all your cleaning supplies in there. If you find something that belongs in another room put it on the cart to put in it’s proper place when you get to that room. Don’t be running all over the house carrying things in your arms and putting things away one at a time. This is exhausting even for people with good healthy lungs.

• In the kitchen, put what you use regularly at a level where you can reach them without stretching or bending. If you use the same pot every night leave it on the stove. If it’s clean who cares. This saves you from having to dig it out every day.

• When you’re cooking, fix enough for 2 or more meals and freeze it. It doesn’t take any more time to fix 2 meals than it does to fix 1. When you’re having a bad day you can still have a home cooked meal without much work.

Personal Care
• A shower chair works wonders. It makes it easier to shower and reach your lower legs. A hand held shower head is also great. It makes it easier to rinse off.

• If you have room put a chair in your bathroom. This makes it easier to shave, brush your teeth and fix your hair.

• Women, get an easy, no fuss hairstyle. It’s very tiring keeping your arms up putting rollers in you hair or using a blow dryer and curling iron.

• If you know you’re going to have a busy day, get things ready for bed in the morning. Put your pajamas out and pull down the covers. That way you can collapse into bed in the evening when you’re exhausted without too much work.

I know when you have breathing problems like COPD you feel like you can’t do anything anymore. This is not correct. You may have to give up some things and modify how you do others but you still need to move and be semi active. I’m not saying you need to go out and run the next marathon but don’t give up on life. There are some great things you can do. There are exercise programs designed for people who are semi ambulatory. One such program is called Chairobics. These are exercises you do while seated.

RSV

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:42:00 +0000

My 2 year old nephew came home from daycare last week with a high fever. The pediatrician said she thought he had RSV.

RSV stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus. It’s the leading cause of respiratory infections in children. Almost all children have had it at least once before they’re 2 years old. It’s not an infection limited to children, adults can also be infected. In fact you’ve probably had RSV several times throughout your lifetime. In most cases it presents itself as a bad cold. It’s more severe in premature infants, children under 6 months or who have another health condition that that affects their heart, respiratory or immune system.

RSV is highly contagious and can be passed when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It can also live on cold surfaces such as table and counter tops and doorknobs as well as hands and clothing. If an infected person or someone who handles an infected person touches a cold surface and someone else touches it, they can be infected. One of the best defenses against this or any other disease is good hand washing.

Symptoms
Symptoms of RSV can range from those of a common cold to a runny nose, wheezing and coughing, irritability and restlessness, low grade fever around 102 or higher, nasal flaring and retractions (a pulling in of the chest when breathing).

When I worked in pediatrics and a baby came with breathing difficulties during RSV season they usually tested positive. One of the things I remember most is the cough. It sounds like a choking cough and they have a lot of mucus in the back of their throat. In young infants it wasn’t unusual to have them sleeping in an infant seat or car seat. If the child is not old enough to blow their own nose a bulb syringe or nasal aspirator may be needed to clear excess mucus.

RSV is usually seasonal, about 4-5 months from November thru April.

They can test for RSV by doing a nasal culture. It use to take several days to get the results of the culture back but they’ve made advances and there are some tests available that can give the results in a few hours. There are also vaccines available for infants with high risk factors. These are given during the peak season for RSV infections.

Treatment
In mild cases there is no treatment except non aspirin fever reducers such as acetaminophen. In more severe cases hospitalization may be required and some may require oxygen. If hospitalization is required the child will most likely be placed in contact isolation with hospital personnel wearing gowns and gloves.

Preventative & Rescue - A Tale of Two Inhalers

noreply@blogger.com (Dee) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:24:00 +0000

Inhalers or MDI’s are classified into two types. Rescue and Preventative

Preventative
The preventative medications are also called Inhaled Steroids. There are many different inhaled steroids used. They are usually used twice a day. One or two puffs in the morning and the same at night. These medications MUST be used as prescribed every day. Just because you think you’re doing well doesn’t mean you don’t need to use this medication anymore. This medication is the reason you’re doing better. With the inhaled steroid you are trying to prevent an asthma attack or exacerbation (flair up) of your COPD. You are decreasing the frequency of the attacks and hopefully making the attacks you do have less severe.

Don’t worry about all the horror stories you’ve been hearing about steroid use, side effects and abuse. The inhaled steroids are not the same ones the athletes are misusing. The side effects are less than taking a steroid by mouth or injection. With those the medication has to go through your system before reaching your lungs. An inhaled steroid is going directly to your lungs where you need it and it can be given in a significantly smaller dose.

You would use these medications following the instructions in Puffer Perfection, with the exception of holding the mouthpiece away from your lips. With the inhaled steroids you need to put the mouthpiece between your lips, with your lips sealed tightly around it. Some of these medications, Azmacort being one, have a built in spacer. The mouthpiece still goes between your lips but the canister of medication is farther away. Advair is a round, flat purple disc. This has a dry powder inside. You have to twist the disk to expose the mouthpiece, press the lever on the side down, exhale, put the mouthpiece into your mouth and inhale deeply. Remove the mouthpiece from your mouth and hold your breath for 10 seconds. If you are to use a second puff you need to press the lever again before inhaling. Advair has a counter which starts with the number of inhalations/doses. It counts down to 0 each time you press the lever and inhale.

It’s very important to gargle and rinse your mouth after using an inhaled steroid. This will help prevent a mouth and throat infection.

Rescue
Rescue medications are also called bronchodilators. These are inhalers that will open the airways, relax the muscles around the airways and help you breathe easier. These medications may be prescribed to be used 2 puffs 2, 3, or 4 times a day or every 4 or 6 hours. You may also be told to use them as needed. These should be carried with you whenever you go out away from home in case you start having trouble. These are used following the instructions in Puffer Perfection.

If you are using your preventative medications as ordered you may find you are not feeling as tight between doses of your rescue medications. If you are told you only need to use your rescue medication as needed you may find you hardly need to use it at all. This does not mean you will never need to use your rescue medication. You still need to keep it with you, just in case. You never know what will trigger an attack.

Do not stop using your rescue medication as prescribed by the doctor until you check with him first. There may be a reason he wants you to keep using it several times a day. Let your doctor know you want to work as a team in managing your asthma or COPD. Discuss it with him and he may be agreeable to having you use it less often or as needed.