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Ne p= ----. | SATIRE RE 4 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, April 27, 1999 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Jenn Down, who suffers from a mild case of asthma, lost her brother Ted Hall to an asthma attack s Asthma... Learning to live with a disease that «can literally take your when he was only 32 years old. Now, the Port Perry mother worries about her son James, who has a severe case of asthma and daughter Shelby with a milder case of the disease. By Sally Cooke ort Perry Star What sends more children to hospital and keeps them away from school: colds, the flu or asthma? If you deal with children daily, you can probably guess that the answer is asthma. It accounts for one quarter of school absenteeism. "Most people do not realize that asthma is a serious affliction," said Celia Durst, development coordinator for the Lung Association in the Durham area. "Having asthma means more than just using an inhaler or staying away from your neighbour's cat. It's a digease that can be deadly, and must be managed properly." This lung disease kills almost 10 Canadians every week, according to the Lung Association. Approximately 20 children and 500 adults die annu- ally, in mostly preventable deaths. Jenn Downs, a mother of seven, is all too aware of the disease that killed her brother Ted Hall 13 years ago. "My parents were told he has asthma," she said, "live with it. Don't let him use it as a reason not to do things, don't let him get away with it." The athletic boy played hockey, baseball, and bas- ketball. Mrs. Down said he "persevered, he lived with it. He had one period of time it seemed to lessen, and that was puberty." In his 20s, the asthma increased rapidly. At the time of this death he was 32, the sole provider for chil- dren aged four, six and nine. Mrs. Downs said he was tired and over-worked, like many parents with young children. Living in Port Perry, he commuted to Mississauga by public transit. "At that time (1985), asthma was more difficult to control," she said. "He was on medication all the time, and for severe attacks he had to go to the hospital and sit with an oxygen mask on his face for hours." She said her brother was like any parent, putting the needs of his children first. His asthma was a nui- sance, cutting back his activities, and she believes her brother felt angry about his condition. The family believes he was waiting for his wife to come back from shopping before looking after his own health. His last-minute attempts to use the phone indicate Ted realized too late the seriousness of his condition, that he couldn't wait for help. Lacking a 911 emer- gency phone service at the time, the difficulty of get- ting through to an ambulance may have contributed to the tragic outcome. "He died, basically, in front of his children," said Mrs. Downs of her brother's last moments. "When my family got the call from the hospital I was the only one who stepped in the house. I got the kids situated, I went back to get everyone out." The eight-and-a-half month pregnant woman was the only relative physically close by that night in December. The horror of the evening is crystallized in her memory of that night. "There were wheel marks in the snow from the stretcher - I'll never forget it." The haunting image is reinforced by some of her own experiences with a severely asthmatic child. Mrs. Downs and her three-year-old daughter Shelby have a mild form of asthma that can be man- aged with medication. But her 12-year-old son James has a severe case, and only the use of alternative treatment has turned his life around so that the asth- ma can be managed without entirely controlling his life. "He had his first attack when he was 1 1/2 years old," she said. "I wasn't surprised by the diagnosis, as it ran in my family." Asthma can be defined as an irritation of the lungs' bronchial airways, usually due to allergies, airborne breath away! irritants or cold weather. The irritation swells the lin- ing of these airways, limiting how much oxygen can be carried to the blood. If the length and severity of the attack is severe, it may be fatal. Recent health records noted a general trend towards increased deaths and hospitalizations due to asthma in all the industrial- ized countries of the world, including Canada. Asthma is provoked by two factors: a trigger result- ing in tightening of the airways (bronchoconstriction), and a cause or inducer, resulting in inflammation of the airways. : The Lung Association lists some everyday items as common triggers of asthma. These include cold air, dust, strong fumes, exercise, inhaled irritants, emo- tional upsets, and smoke. They stress that smoke is a very strong asthma trigger. Second-hand cigarette smoke has been shown to aggravate asthma symp- toms especially in children. The effects of one ciga- rette lingers in the home for seven days. In contrast to triggers, inducers can cause both air- way inflammation and airway hyper-responsiveness. These inducers bring out symptoms which may last longer, are delayed and less easily reversible than those symptoms caused by a trigger. The two most common inducers are allergens and respiratory viral infections. The Lung Association estimates that 75 to 80 per cent of young asthmatics are allergic. The most com- mon inhaled allergens include pollen (grasses, trees and weeds), animal secretions such as dander and saliva (especially from cats and horses, the most aller- gen-causing), molds and household dust mites. Although Mrs. Downs parents didn't have asthma, they do have allergies. Fairly close relatives such as grandparents, aunts and uncles also have asthma. One advantage of familiarity with the disease is awareness, and the ability to take some common envi- ronmental precautions. "I knew what things you shouldn't have, such as curtains, feather pillows, carpets," said Mrs. Down. "It's good if you're prepared, certain things you can change." Mrs. Down sought more than merely environmen- tal change to deal with the severity of James' illness. She was disillusioned by her hospital's advice to mere- ly "take him home, keep him away from certain things." The advice oddly echoed the advice her parents had received years ago about their son Ted. Through research and word-of-mouth, she found Dr. Jozef Krop, a Mississauga doctor currently battling the established medical community to continue his inte- gration of regular medical practice with alternative remedies. "He has an alternative way of helping people," she said. "My son is living proof of that." James still has to take his inhalers with him when he goes to school and plays sports, or goes to some- body's house. His mother said he takes far less med- ication since following Dr. Krop's guidelines, and he can go to other children's houses without having to bring his own snacks. "If he is going to have cake, then he doesn't eat bread for three days beforehand," said Mrs. Down. Although James can't be cured of asthma, his altered treatment can give him more of a life. "Chronic, ongoing illness is not simply treated by taking 'this' (medicine) and you'll be okay," she said. "Some days are good days and some days are bad days. It's more a matter of living, not just surviving." Canvassers working for the Lung Association of Durham Region will be seeking donations in Scugog in May. For more information, or the Association's Asthma Appeal, please call 1-800-668-7682. For lung health information, call 1-800-972-2636.