Epi-pen Archives - I'd Rather Walk

Most recently updated July 7th, 2023

Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes

If you live in the South, you know all about the annual yellow haze that hangs in the air and the yellow dust that covers every surface in the Spring.

This year we’ve had an especially prolonged pine pollen season. It started in February, and was still going strong in early April.

If you’re lucky, it’s just annoying.

Author, out standing in a field - full of bees! — Author, out standing in a field – full of bees!

Other people spend weeks this time every year wheezing and sneezing and taking LOTS of allergy meds.

Still another group of people (who never used to wheeze or sneeze in the Spring) find that they suddenly HAVE become allergic to the pervasive yellow dust….or something else, like, say bee stings.

How can that be? What happened?

The truth is that allergies and asthma, including what your triggers are, can change over time and strike without warning.

Bee Legends, Folklore, and Mythology — A busy bee doing it’s thing.

I experienced an unexpected new allergy earlier this year, with frightening and nearly deadly results!

Read on to learn more about my death-defying experience, plus how allergies change, and what you can do about it.

Continue reading How Your Asthma and Allergies Change Over Time

Most recently updated July 7th, 2023

Estimated Reading Time: 17 minutes

If you or your children are asthmatic, you’ve probably spent a lot of time looking for the best medicine for your asthma.

Or maybe looking for better asthma treatments, if you’ve already been prescribed something.

If you’ve read some of my other posts, you know that I’ve had asthma and have been fighting it my whole life, with both medical and non-medical tools.

In the U.S., asthma affects more than 25 million people.

There is no cure, but some people do “grow out” of it (meaning you don’t have obvious symptoms), and medical drugs are available that treat the symptoms for those that have them.

I didn’t grow out of it, and from childhood through young adulthood, my parents tried all available medical options to make my illness better.

But in spite of allergy shots and prescribed inhalers and pills, my asthma got worse every year.

Pine pollen is a huge problem in the South

Finally, as a young adult, I had an epic attack that led to complete respiratory failure and several days unconscious on a ventilator.

When I woke up, the doctors just told me to take more medicine and stay in a controlled environment.

That’s when I became very pro-active in my search for better treatments and lifestyle choices to reduce my asthma symptoms and prevent future severe attacks.

Author happily viewing the Canyon for the first time! — Author happily viewing Bryce Canyon for the first time!

I’ve had some success 🙂

In this post I tell you about the prescribed medical options available now, and the ones I’ve used – and mostly still use – that appear to help my chronic asthma.

For inspiration I’m also sharing photos of beautiful places I’ve been able to hike, without any trouble breathing!

Continue reading What’s the Best Medicine for Your Asthma?