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Asthma & Allergy group: Asthma bloggers: Share your holiday asthma safety tips here

Janeen — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:23:36 -0800

Over the river and through the woods can be a wonderful adventure, unless you suffer from asthma. Once you leave your safe, comfortable environment, triggers may lurk all around you.

Last year I wrote Surviving the holidays with allergies. Many of these suggestions also apply to asthma sufferers.

1. Know your triggers and try to avoid. If pets are your trigger, you may need to avoid a home that has pets.…

Asthma & Allergy group: Snacks and prednisone

kerri — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:54:05 -0800

Hi all,

Those of you who follow my blog will know that I started my first course of prednisone yesterday to attempt to get me out of the yellow-zone [thank you, germy university students who made me sick . . .]

I prepared myself by reading Danielle's post entitled Surviving Prednisone, and took a lot of her advice.

So, in addition to having stocked up on an…

Asthma & Allergy group: A link between allergic rhinitis and asthma?

Janeen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:20:40 -0800

While reading this article by Medical News Today today I came across an interesting statement and one that holds very true for my son: "'Allergic rhinitis has been shown to increase the risk of asthma three-fold, and investigators found that when rhinitis began in the first year of life, the development of asthma by age 6 was twice as high as when it started after the first year,' Dr. Pawankar said".

Really…

Asthma & Allergy group: Allergies, Asthma and the Holidays

Janeen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:03:01 -0800

Are you planning yet for the holidays? I am. The holidays are stressful enough but when you add asthma and allergies in the mix it makes it even harder. There are so many things to consider for staying safe during the holidays.

Last year I wrote Surviving the Holidays with Allergies. There are many great tips for keeping healthy with asthma and allergies during the holidays.

Other great lin…

Asthma & Allergy group: asthama n nasal allergies are same desease at different sites

newhaekker — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:44:35 -0800

basic mechanism of these two diseases is same.so is the treatment .antiallergics not thuo routienely used in asthmatics do improve asthma n anti asthmatic drugs have good effect on nasal allergies

Migraine group: Blue light and Migraine

Ellen S — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:24:40 -0800

I've been asked to write content about sleep here at WEGO Health. In my searches to find something interesting, I ran across a few articles about blue light I found interesting. Maybe someone here has more information they would share...

The article in Harvard Medical School's Division of Sleep Medicine's press release tells readers that exposure to blue light at night "directly and immediatel…

Asthma & Allergy group: Uncontrolled asthma due to not taking medication

Janeen — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:26:36 -0800

This article from Yahoo News talks about a study done at Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland that shows that some people with stubborn asthma aren't using their medication as prescribed by their doctors. You can read my entire blog post here.

Basically the study is saying that patients aren…

Migraine group: Migraine and the adenosine/caffeine connection

Ellen S — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:48:22 -0700

Adenosine is an important brain chemical that helps us to sleep. Caffeine blocks adenosine from its receptors and creates an adrenaline rush/stress response. Caffeine also attaches to dopamine receptors resulting in a false sense of "feeling good". We used to think that caffeine's affects were short lived, but a new brain imaging study I blogged about here shows that's not the case.

I've long been…

Migraine group: Headache and Migraine blog carnival

Ellen S — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:22:56 -0700

Thanks to Diana Lee for organizing and often hosting the Headache and Migraine blog carnival each month. Find information about it here.

I've been a bit lax about keeping notes here on Diana's Headache and Migraine blog carnival, so I'm going to try a bit harder. If you'd like to be reminded about it each month so you can submit a blog post, feel free to reply to this message an…

Asthma & Allergy group: Asthma blogger: Do you blog about your asthma attacks?

Janeen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:36:11 -0700

Since I don't personally have asthma, I can only give second hand or clinical information (my son has asthma and you can see my entire blog post regarding asthma and blogging here)

I can describe what I see and I can give clinical details of asthma:

1. Severe wheezing when breathing in and out
2. Persistent cough
3. Rapid breathing
4. Chest pressure and/or pain
5. Difficulty talking or a…

Migraine group: Handling Migraine misinformation - what are your rules?

Ellen S — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:47:16 -0700

As Health Activists, we frequently run into posts by community members that may feel slightly misleading to the reader. In some cases the information is blatantly off the mark altogether. I've seen community leaders deal with this in various ways that range from simply giving the correct information, to starting a flame war, to belittling those who are trying to help. How do you handle misinformation in your groups? Do you appreciate the kinder, gentler approach to patients as well-meaning pe…

Migraine group: Medical risks with Migraine - a free teleconference

Ellen S — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:41:40 -0700

The last Sunday of every month is the time Health Activist Megan Oltman donates FREE to anyone wishing to participate in informative teleconferences.

Tomorrow, October 25 Megan will be talking with Dr Elizabeth Loder about medical risks associated with Migraine disease. For more information, you can contact Megan Oltman on MyMigraineConnection.com, by going t…

Asthma & Allergy group: Food Allergy Parents: How to help food allergy kids who feel left out at snack time

Janeen — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:18:31 -0700

To read my entire blog post, go here.

Basically I'm talking about "snack envy". I'm talking about gold fish crackers, cookies with sprinkles, teddy crackers, anything that is geared towards kids, that is a staple of little kids snack time that is off limits to most food allergy children. It's hard to explain to a small child that she can't have these fun looking snacks that all her friends a…

Parenting & Children's Health group: Has your school been hit by the H1N1?

Janeen — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:01:50 -0700

According to this USA Today article The Swine Flu is spreading rapidly through schools. A few schools by us have already closed due to record illness. Strep seems to be going through our school, although this could be a secondary illness caused by H1N1. It's inevitable. Kids are going to get sick!

So what do you do when your kids come down with the flu or another illness that knocks…

Asthma & Allergy group: Asthma, H1N1 and the H1N1 vaccine

Janeen — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:40:42 -0700

I'm bringing this topic to you guys because you are in the "high risk" group with H1N1 due to your asthma.

I wrote a blog post here about some of my confusion with the whole situation so far.

Some things we are trying to do to protect ourselves are:

1. Washing hands a lot.
2. Eating healthy.
3. Trying to get enough rest.
4. Getting exercise and fresh air.
5. Trying to stay away from anyon…

Diet, Weight Loss & Nutrition group: Fitness, Weight loss and Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Ellen S — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:59:27 -0700

A recent article in Science Daily got me to thinking about my hubby's snoring issues which are obviously related to his weight. I blogged about it here:

News for the overweight sleep apnea patient

He is not super overweight, but like many men, he refuses to go to the doctor for his health 'issues', so I don't know if his snoring problem is a symptom of apnea or anything worse, (but…

Asthma & Allergy group: Using the Aerochamber with your MDI

Janeen — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:08:28 -0700

There are so many asthma medications and delivery systems available. The Aerochamber is just one of the ones that we use. Every once in a while I feel like I need a refresher.

ICYou has a great instructional video on how to use the aerochamber (and I think I've posted this once before a couple of years ago):

We like the aerochamber. Trying to get my son to take his inhaled medication without it is not fun. But when he first started to use it, he hated the aerochamber. He hat…

Migraine group: "Dear Migraine...."

Ellen S — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:08:44 -0700

I want to write a letter to my Migraine.

"Dear Migraine Beastie..."

Hmmm. That's where I get stuck.

I've wanted to do this for a long time. I've never quite gotten 'round to finishing it though. I begin, but the brain fog takes over and I can't get through it. I think it would be cathartic for Migraineurs to do this though, and it might even give some insight to non-migraineurs as well:

What is our experience like?
What does it feel like to live with Migraines?
What are the…

Migraine group: Connect with other Migraineurs here - add your personal links and favs

Ellen S — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:42:42 -0700

Many Health Activists have their own online spaces where they like to advocate for others. This is the place to link up with others by adding your own personal links so we can find you. Examples might be - Facebook, Twitter, your blog or website etc.

This would also be a great place to link to your favorite spots. Share them all with us here!

ADHD group: Health Care Reform and ADHD

amanda — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:53:44 -0700

Last week, WEGO Health partnered with branding firm Siegel+Gale to survey the general public and Health Activists on their understanding of the President's plan for health care reform.

The results were telling. Most Americans do not understand the plan. Even those who consider themselves health-savvy or pro-President Obama did not fully comprehend the general points of the new reform. You can read the…