Adult Diapers, a Love Story
By the wonderful illustrator and writer Hallie Bateman based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her work has been published by The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Awl and others.… Read more The post Adult Diapers, a Love Story...
ValVades
I’ve never have kids and had NO idea . . . Wow! But I get cough-variant asthma, triggered by post-nasal drip, when I have the flu or a bad cold, and I cough so hard and uncontrollably that I can barely use the albuterol inhaler I keep strictly for those times. It usually happens when I’m asleep, so all hell breaks loose in the dark as I scramble for the inhaler.
If you’re waking up coughing so hard that you are fighting to breathe, and this is a pattern for you, it could be asthma, triggered by post-nasal drip and irritation. An inhaler can help, even if you never need one the rest of the time. You know the drill: “Talk to your doctor.”
We got the new Flu A on Christmas this year, and I’d wake up coughing so hard that I couldn’t use the inhaler correctly. That was scary. A doctor friend recommended a prescription nasal spray, Ipatroprium. It stopped the post-nasal drip, which stopped the asthma. Once again, “TTYD.” My PCP was a bit reluctant, since it’s an off-label use, but my friend knew first-hand that it works. There are other medications that help, too, so don’t suffer needlessly!
