I take medicine every day. I do my puff in the morning and then I go brush my teeth. And then I do the same thing at night time, and plus I take my pill.
Anthony, 8
Washing my hands
The dust, I hate it. It makes me cough a lot and it makes me have a hard time breathing…I have a dog. When I pet her, then I wash my hands. I wash my hands because when you’re done petting the dog the rule is I have to wash my hands.
Caleb, 8
What I usually do
It’s hard when you can’t go outside when it’s really really cold. You can have fun in the house, though. You can jog inside, or listen to music, or watch TV, or play with your mom or your brother or your sister. That’s what I usually do, when I can’t go outside…I take my medicine every day. If I don’t I might have an asthma attack, or start wheezing really, really bad. And I could be coughing and coughing and then I might get sick. I take the orange medicine two times and the white one four times. And I take a medicine that goes into your nose because it keeps you from having an asthma attack.
Allison, 9
Didn’t know I had allergies
When I had a pet, it was when I didn’t know I had asthma. I didn’t know I had allergies that would make me cough and sneeze. I had a dog, and every day when I came home from school when I stepped my foot in the door I started to sneeze and cough. Then we figured out I couldn’t have a dog for a pet. So my mother got me a fish, so I played with that, but it didn’t do much like a dog or a cat would. It’s very hard, but you get used to it like I did.
Allison, 9
When I take my medicine, it makes me feel better. It makes me feel like a regular kid. I am still a regular kid but I have asthma. And the medicine helps me so that I am not afraid to play outside, and it makes me be OK.
Jared, 10
Keeping Asthma triggers out
My aunt tries to keep asthma triggers out of her house. She puts traps around her house so that rats or any other asthma triggers won’t come in. She keeps her house clean and vacuums a lot so that the dust won’t build up and so that myself and my little brother can come visit her…I can still go outside but I have to wrap up really good with thermals and pajamas on under my jump suit. I can go sledding with my family, but if I fall down in the snow and I am soaking wet, my dad will take me home to let me change into new snow clothes because he doesn’t want my asthma triggers to increase.
Jared, 10
Always have my inhaler
Whenever I know I am going hiking in cold weather, and really all the time during the winter, or when I know I might get a cold, I always, always, always have my inhaler with me in case of an emergency.
Allie, 18
Always put me in the hospital
I don’t necessarily have an issue with animals anymore because of the shot that I take. Before my shot though, I could only visit my cousin at the farm that she owned for like twenty minutes. There were a bunch of farm animals there, and my lungs would fill up and two days later I’d end up in the hospital. When I was a kid my doctors would say, “Did you go to that farm for the holiday?” I’d say “Yep,”– it always put me in the hospital. Nowadays when I go to my cousin’s house I can last the whole day because of this medication I am taking. It’s helped me so much…I use a Peak Flow meter on a daily basis. I have to check my breathing at least once a day. I have to take my medication on a daily basis. If I don’t take it I have a tendency to feel a little winded the next day, not so bad that I feel like I need to go to the hospital, but there is a difference. If I don’t take my medication on a regular basis I am not going to feel 100%.
Bridget, 26
I’m working, and I want to go back to school
I don’t have time to be sick, so I have to take care of my Asthma. I have an air purifier for my house. I have to put covers on my mattresses and pillows. It’s expensive. I have a Peak Flow meter, I have nebulizer machines. I definitely take steps to try to improve my quality of life. I’m working, and I want to go back to school. I don’t have time to be sick, so I have to take care of my asthma. I am in the process of looking for another job in the field that I majored in during school. Some people can quit jobs and not work for a couple months. I can’t do that, because I need health insurance. I have to take medication, and I have to see my doctors on a regular basis. I dish out a hundred dollars a month just on medication and doctors visits. I stay away from cigarette smoke. I am aware of my allergies in other people’s houses when it comes to animals, so it definitely does affect my life on a day to day basis, but I have control over it and try to take steps to improve my health. I go to the gym on a regular basis.
Bridget, 26