A Fish Out of Water

BRONX, NY- We have all heard the reference “I feel like a fish out of water” when kids describe an asthma attack. They are not wrong. Having an asthma attack is a frightening and stressful experience. The lungs and airways become constricted, causing the individual to cough and wheeze due to lack of air. If there is no clean air, the lungs do not know how to cooperate.

I was diagnosed with asthma when I was a month old. Mami explained I had developed pneumonia and from there had trouble breathing. Asthma is genetic on Mami’s side of the family, but the surprise to her was how young I got diagnosed with it. According to NYC.gov Asthma is defined as “a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe.” Major symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. After my asthma diagnosis, family members who lived with the illness explained to me what to look for when having an attack. By the time I was five, I knew the basics of what asthma was, but still went into a state of panic whenever an attack occurred. When I began the second grade, Mami enrolled me in a program called “Open Airways,” and it changed my life.

Open Airways is a six- week, 45-minute program to educate young kinds about their asthma, and how to control the triggers. The school nurse ran the program and fit the lesson plan to everyone’s different levels of asthma. This was where I learned that my asthma is seasonal. The nurse showed me and six other kids how to use our inhalers, nebulizer machines, peak flow meters, and aerochambers. There were lessons about our different triggers and situations where stress levels could affect our breathing.

After “graduating” from Open Airways, I no longer feared an asthma attack. I knew what to do if my lungs decided to kick my ass. If I felt my breathing was off, I used the peak flow meter to check the severity of it (yellow to red is not good). The aerochamber made taking my inhaler more effective, and by the time I turned 13 I had no need for it anymore. The last major asthma attack I recall experiencing was at 15 during P.E. in high school.

Now at 25, I have a nebulizer at home. It helps keep my lungs stable when I have severe infections like bronchitis, a bad cold, or the flu. This machine is used when I know my inhaler will not be enough. The only bad side effect I get from this is the jitters. When my lungs act up, I need to take it easy for the rest of the day. Some people have told me “it must suck to have asthma.” Of course, it stinks to know I suck at breathing, but I believe like other illness there are certain things I need to avoid to continue to live my life. Cats are one of my triggers and I adore them, but I know to stay out of their way and in the rare instances I do pet a feline, my hands immediately get washed in hand sanitizer. My other triggers include:

• Dust
• Pollen
• Mold
• Extreme heat or cold