This part two post is sponsored by Breathe Smart, the opinions, as you will see, are very much my own.
Are you scratching your head too thinking how did the summer zoom by so fast? Today we’re washing uniforms, checking calculator batteries, and planning my son’s college senior year move-in next month. But this year is slightly different in a more powerful way. We took the BreatheSmart high-tech asthma management system out for a spin a few weeks ago during our vacation/college-grad-school-search/golfing adventure. I suspected we’d learn something new, but I think my confidence in my training of my kids was sadly inflated and we made some valuable discoveries!
I served as an officer on regional and locals boards of the American Lung Association; I’ve taught Open Airways for Schools and considered my kids and myself in-the-know. But, this week, my son attended his back-to-school visit to his allergist, sans mom. Tapping into the BreatheSmart system, which uses HeroTracker sensors placed on maintenance and rescue inhalers synced to an app with sharable capabilities (so mom could track what was going on), he had impactful data to share, without having to rely on his memory.
Exposing inconsistent maintenance medication adherence and a distinctive trend of rescue med usage while in the Pacific Northwest, a new asthma management approach was in order. The allergist prescribed a new maintenance medication which only requires one puff a day, no post-puff mouth rinse needed and no need for a spacer! Dragging around the bulky spacers has always bothered both of my kids, and this was a welcome solution.
I knew my son was inconsistent, but using BreatheSmart helped me accept reality: he doesn’t like taking his maintenance meds and is fighting it. When young, my kids appeared to be hard-wired to take their meds and avoid triggers. I failed to recognize that he is a young adult juggling college while learning about life with so many more responsibilities than when he was ten years old.
A few weeks of data made it clear my son’s rescue inhaler was put to good use while in the Pacific Northwest. Now that he knows that region triggers asthma symptoms, he can be proactive and won’t need to wait and see what happens if he moves up north!
Adherence and communication with your doctor are two significant asthma must-haves for our growing young adults. I was grateful to learn about BreatheSmart and the lessons of reality it brought me. It is far too easy to think everything is going great until you realize you’ve used your rescue inhaler 20+ times in a few weeks and can’t recall all symptoms or triggers when speaking to your doctor.
In today’s world, our children relate to technology
in ways we never knew and using electronic monitoring devices work since they
are relatable and easy-to-use. I’m now embracing technology and am 100% on
board with using tech and BreatheSmart to help me and my family control their
asthma!
For more information about Cohero Health and the BreatheSmart
tool visit them at their website: https://coherohealth.com/BreatheSmart/ Or
follow them on Twitter and Facebook to learn more!
Please note: BreatheSmart is currently available in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Disclosure: I have been compensated for this post. Being who I am, I only work with brands and people I wholeheartedly believe will make our world better. I’m far too passionate and opinionated to do otherwise. So, do know what I write is exactly what I feel and believe in.
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
Does he use Advair?
He was using Flovent and is now testing Alvesco. Fingers crossed it works for him! Thanks for asking.