Memorial Day Weekend officially opens the Summer season. In the first place, the staff doctors and Staff at Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists want to express their gratitude to our nation’s fallen soldiers. This is an appropriate response to a time for remembering those who have given the final and ultimate sacrifice for our country.
Asthma Attack Doesn’t Slow this Memorial Day Runner Down. She Has FLASS at her side!
It is our sad duty to pay them the devotion, honor and respect that is their due. We decorate graves with wreaths, roses, and flags. Likewise, we will attend public programs devoted to speeches and music that communicate how much we respect and honor the heroes who died for the American Way of Life.
Memorial Day means we gather our military dead into our hearts for a few silent moments of appreciation. Honor and Remembrance are very important. Yet those honors don’t have to be paid in entirely solemn ways! Memorial Day is also a day, a week-end, to celebrate.
Memorial Day: Time to Honor, Remember and Celebrate
We all pause to see the President of the United States lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but there is another side to Memorial Day. It is a day for celebrating life with family and friends.
Plus, doctors, staff and families here at FLASS see Memorial Day as the beginning of the summer season. It’s the first big holiday of the summer and it is filled with barbecues, festivals, park picnics, backyard cook-outs, riverbank getaways and beaches full of fun times.
Memorial Day is the key that unlocks the world of outdoor activities, especially in our beautiful area. Celebrate!
Memorial Day Means Honor, Memory and Celebration.
Memorial Day and Beyond: Celebrate the great outdoors–But Beware of Asthma Triggers
If you respond to grass pollens with allergic reactions or asthma, the summer of 2017 might challenge you. However, Many other triggers can kick an asthma attack into high gear.
Let’s take a look at some of these triggers which can result in attacks that are mild or deadly, depending on the patient. “Although symptoms may not always be severe, summertime allergies and asthma are serious and, in some cases, deadly,” says allergist James Sublett, MD, chair of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Public Relations Committee. “However, these conditions shouldn’t damper summer fun. Proper diagnosis and treatment involve more than just relieving symptoms; it can find the source of your suffering and stop it.”
1. Yummy Summer Fruits and Veggies
In the first place, biting into a juicy strawberry on a picnic is not always a good idea–unless you are prepared and you know how you will react. Reactions can range from tingling lips to full-on reactions. At FLASS, we believe in addressing food allergies, getting properly tested and following the individualized FLASS action plan for specific treatment in case of accidental ingestion.
Friends can enjoy Memorial Day and Summer Fun in spite of their asthma, as long as they follow their FLASS asthma action plan.
2. Changes in the Weather
After Memorial Day, summer weather can be unpredictable in our area. You might face:
Smothering humidity,
Cool Sweet Sudden Breezes,
Winds full of strange pollen, and mold,
And sudden Surprisingly cold rain.
The fact that the weather changes suddenly to a “new” condition is enough of a trigger to provoke an asthma attack. Again, you and FLASS can prevent or control severe attacks with an asthma action plan.
3. Why You might not like S’mores!
On the river bank or the ocean beach, snuggling down by the campfire might not be such a good idea if you have asthma.
Memorial Day Marshmallow Roasting and asthma might not mix.
The smoke of any kind is a very typical asthma trigger. Stay upwind. Sit away from the fire. Far away. No marshmallow toasting!
4. Stinging Insects
People with severe allergies to insects often carry epinephrine in case they get stung by bees, wasps, hornets or fire ants. Wear long sleeves and don’t wear perfume! Don’t carry an open sugary drink can! FLASS will recommend testing of course, so you can be prepared.
Yes, Memorial Day opens the beautiful, powerful season of summer to us. Here at FLASS, we are committed to helping our asthma patients enjoy it as much as we do! Celebrate summer, but know your triggers!
