Adriana Asthmatika

It's that time of the year again. When the weather gets erratic I start whipping out the nebulizer and the masks just in time for our regular bouts with asthma.

My youngest kid, Adi, was diagnosed with asthma at a very young 8-months old. The routine is all too familiar. It starts with a sunny day which morphs into a rainy afternoon. The sudden change in humidity causes us to feel unusually sticky but in Adi's case this is the pre-cursor to an asthma attack. It can vary from a slight cough to a full-blown, vomit inducing attack. Sometimes it sounds like a constant "samid". Sometimes it sounds like a tiny pussycat purring simultaneously with her coughing bouts. In both cases, it still is an asthma attack.

Now that she's 2-years old, she's already a veteran when it comes to asthma treatments. You name it, we've tried it. I've consulted 4 doctors for her condition. All conclude that it isn't really that bad but we still have to take extra precaution. Her's is the kind of asthma that can be overcome at an older age given the right treatment. It took a while before we found the right combination of medicines to give her whenever an attack happened. It's a common joke among us that when we hear the familiar drone of the nebulizing machine we say "Tumitira na naman si Adi." And just to make it less of a chore, we call the nebulizer the "Choo-choo train". Nebules, antibiotics, steroids, ampalaya..Adi's done it. The only things we haven't tried are dried sea-horse and lizards.

Aside from pharmaceuticals, we have also resorted to running to the breakwater, Subic, or Tagaytay whenever we foresee an attack coming. Some of the elders profess that sea-air or mountain air at dawn is the best cure for asthma. I have not questioned or researched on this anymore. I just heed this advice like I would the Gospel. So far, it seems to have worked. Plus we get to have fun on the side.