Health

Of the two girls, Lauren is generally more prone to sickness. She has allergies, so it seems that for at least 6 months of the year, her nose is running almost constantly. When I realize that it's "that time" again, I try to make sure we've got Claritin stocked up so I can give her some every day. But I don't want to give it to her if she doesn't need it, so it can be a fine balancing act.

A few days ago, the runny nose started. The runny nose is usually accompanied by coughing at night--a result of post nasal drip, fairly easily solved by making sure she sleeps sitting up and maybe gets a shot of medicine, if she hasn't already had a dose.

This week seemed no different, until last night. Then, the coughing was much rougher, and she was breathing very fast, very shallow. I thought it might be bronchitis, so I canceled my classes today and made a doctor's appointment.

Nope. Not bronchitis.

We can't be sure until we see how she responds to treatment, but the doc is pretty sure it's asthma. In hindsight, it's obvious--that was classic "wheezing." I was surprised when the doc got her on a nebulizer almost immediately for a breathing treatment, though; that particular possibility hadn't occured to me.

That first treatment helped, but it's only a start. We have a month's rental on a nebulizer, and prescriptions for Prednisone (a steroid to help reduce the inflammation in her lungs) and Abuterol (the stuff that goes in the nebulizer). We're also getting the industrial sized Claritin, because it seems that the key to managing this is the preventive measures: keep the allergies under control, keep sudden cold air out of her lungs, and try to prevent colds as much as possible. Hopefully we won't ever need an inhaler.