reactive airway disease, asthma, infants and colds...

...oh my.

When Ethan was really small, I was extra neurotic about the germ factor.

What I mean by that is, nothing got me quite as angry as seeing a parent at a mommy and me class wipe their kids snotty nose, catch their sneezes with their hands and declare "you really can't avoid germs" or "he/she is just a little sick." It's true. You can't avoid germs, but you sure can do your part to prevent them -- especially out of concern for infants (or older children) with reactive airway disease or weakened immune systems.

When you have an infant with reactive airway disease -- what it's called until asthma can be diagnosed at an older age, or "asthma like symptoms" -- there's no such thing as "just a little sick." A cold that other infants shake off after about two or three days can mean a month of wheezing, coughing and around the clock breathing treatments. It can mean pumping up your child with steroids and Albuterol and trying to navigate through having a sick infant while measuring the rattling of their chest. It's terrifying. When Ethan was an infant and we'd be at the park watching an obviously sick child cough and sneeze all over the swings or slide, my blood would boil and I'd want to cry. And most times, really, I'm sure I did cry. These up-all-night-nights with Ethan as a sick infant, listening to his breathing and his coughs, having to hold the mask over his face as he tried to sleep but couldn't get comfortable -- they were brutal. There is nothing rad about RAD.

The most common triggers of attacks in infants with reactive airway disease are COLDS. Colds that to "normal" infants are just colds -- but to children with RAD go right to the chest and lungs. It's why I always like to say that, no, you can't prevent catching germs or getting sick, but you can make sure you do your part to keep the health of the other children in mind. (And with that, a silent prayer of gratitude that Ethan's days as an infant with RAD are over. At two, his asthma issues are far easier to control and take care of.)