In search of an answer

I follow a few Asthma blogs. I read online articles and journals on the subject of Asthma and Allergies as pertains to our family. I could slice and dice toddler cough sounds to arrive at a fairly accurate diagnosis, with my children at the least. I went on daily inhalers for almost a period of 8 years starting from my days in Milwaukee at about 24 years of age. The spring weather with the white flowers and pollen by the lake was enough to raise my histamine levels and trigger chronic nasal allergies – rhinitis that warranted use of a nasal steroid inhaler to get by those months. Then, viral induced asthma attacks happened once or twice a year in the winter, typically in late Dec or early Jan- that were controlled by prednisone tablets during the episode. I was even in the hospital with flu for a few days one year. Faced several episodes during my childhood days, as reckoned by my parents but was never on chronic inhalers growing up. Somehow I got by a bumpy childhood, adolescence and survived. Grew up to be a normal person, with a normal life and normal goals and normal stuff. My story aside, let us talk K.

She was fairly alright till 2 years of age, but really it all started when she was exposed to infections in the dry, cold Chicago weather. Doctors called it recurring bronchitis, reactive airway disease, allergies and all the blahs. I too lived in denial of the issue for several months, which never helps anyone in anyway. Finally, talking to my mother about my infant, toddler, early school years and brought me courage to face the truth. Might as well accept that she could be asthmatic. Once you come to terms with reality, it gets easier. As she got closer to age 3, it worsened – school, library visits, parks gave her plenty of opportunity to catch the cold and any respiratory virus that went around. P and I were appalled at the episodes. What  starts out as a cold with your typical running nose, ends up in an ER visit with low O₂ levels by day 7 or so requiring use of oral steroids. Finally, one of the doctors in her pediatric group, asked us to just administer budesonide low dose daily via the nebulizer and albuterol as needed to keep things in check. In all this, I should state that she did very well in hot and humid Chennai, where she spent a significant amount of her infant and toddler years. Along the way, I learnt about upper airway congestion, lower airways, allergy cascade, immunoglobulins, the horrid horrid post nasal drip, bronchiolitis and several things I had never heard of before – being an asthmatic myself. I would just feel better reading about the thousands of other parents struggling with the same issue trying to find some respite. Someone said saltrocks inhaler helped their child immensely. I must also mention that S was attacked with RSV at 4 months of age. That would make him wheeze when he later caught colds. But time will tell us how he will fare in his threes, fours through school years.

With that history, about when she was 2-3 years of age my mother thought we should try Ayurveda. Now, years of living in the west had sort of wiped out such thoughts from my head. She really pushed the envelope and asked us adults to first try the medicines – since we were bombared by these viruses that she used to bring from outside. S was an infant at that time. Slowly, but surely I found immense relief with the ayurveda stuff and then started low dose, reliable stuff, legiums of the chyawanprash sorts on her. I cannot say it delivered her fully, but she did not get worse. We lived through sleepless nights hearing incessant night time coughs, croups, barking coughs, wet coughs, dry coughs, vomits, ton of cleanup and a tired preschooler. Then came our big move to India, she was episode free for 3 months in Chennai. Mysore proved to be a mini Chicago weather wise, dry and cold. My mother in law who is asthmatic, declares Karnataka to be an asthma state – which could be true. K hasn’t been completely free from the asthma attacks, she gets severe post nasal drip issues here for which I am looking for a cure. Doctors nod their head and give bottles of cetrizine, ambroxyl and the usual stuff to dry up mucus, dilate airways, brings on just temporary relief. That is one good thing in India, they are allowed to treat the common cold with medication that manages the symptoms at bare minimum. Sometimes even the nebulizer does not work. We just stay up with her on the couch way past midnight for the symptoms to subside. I bet it is something to do with the sleep cycles and cortisol levels spiking up the histamines or something to that effect. It was about time to put her back on an Ayurveda regimen and consulted at BV Pundit. She has found a miniscule amount of relief from Sitophaladi and licorice administered with honey. However, the post nasal drip is killing all of us. Recent addition has been Thalisapatradi, targeted at wet cough and Chavikasavam at rhinitis at a local Kottakkal. I am yet to see the better world beyond the horizon. The fundamental problem is also that, I am too chickened out to give her the usual steroid inhalers. Maybe it is fine for the short term. I know for sure using steroid inhalers itself decreases immunity. Not sure what good that does to someone with an immune system disorder as asthma or rhinitis. Who knows Ayurveda is not plant steroids? Maybe plan a move to Chennai, for her sake?

I cant seem to rely on my own decision making capability these days. Recent years, choices have taken various ways and out of control events thrown wrenches in our normal expected course of life, giving unexpected outcomes. President Lincoln once said, “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” For now, I try my best to do this.