Ambling along in the back of an authentic Amish buggy on our way to meet an Amish family at their home was supposed to be the highlight of our trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I anticipated hearing the slow clip-clop of the horses, as the bumping of the buggy took us to a simpler way of life in our own time. Instead, I was taken into a state of complete shock as I watched my three year old son’s eyes start to turn red, and then swell almost shut. The sounds of the horses were completely drowned out by the desperate coughing and hacking that followed the itchy eyes. All at once, Amish peace was replaced with full scale panic as we realized that some allergen had entered this poor little body and, ultimately made its way to his lungs, constricting his tiny airways.

It was the horses, most likely that caused the reaction that day, although it could have been the hay or grass or any number of airborne allergens that were potential hazards to my little guy. The allergist that day described him as “medically fragile,” and although watching him twirl around happily in her office made it hard to believe, remembering the buggy ride was enough to jog my memory.

The baptism by fire into the allergy and asthma world started with an asthma protocol that included multiple steps and multiple drugs, including two different types of allergy medicine, two types of inhaled steroids, nebulizer medications, and an epi-pen.  With two sacks full of life saving paraphernalia, I realized that many things changed that day, including the way we would travel. All of these medicines and inhalers would now be at the very top of my packing list. If there was one thing I could not leave at home, this would be it.

The learning curve to follow the protocol and stay breathing while traveling has not been without its challenges, but we are starting to get the hang of it. Now that I have a child with asthma, there are several things that I have to keep in mind when we are traveling.

1. Before any major trip, we schedule an appointment to see the doctor.  Asthma must be carefully monitored and doctors tend to be picky about prescribing extra meds if they haven’t seen the patient in a while. To keep from needing to see an unfamiliar doctor while out of town, I always do a quick checkup, so the doctor has a recent baseline to go on if we need to call in medicine while on the road.

2. Check to make sure all medicines are filled. With so many different meds to juggle, one can slip through the cracks and run out. I always do a double check when I know we have a trip coming up.

3. Start any seasonal allergy or asthma protocol. My son’s asthma is allergy induced and is worse in the spring and fall. Several of his medicines are not needed during the low allergy season, but whenever we travel, I always start those medicines a few days in advance anyway. New environments can have new allergy triggers, so it’s better to be armed in preparation.

4. Have an extra set of life saving medications. We have two rescue inhalers, one that stays with me at all times and another to leave at school or with any caregiver. When we travel, I bring both inhalers so that we can always be prepared.

5.  Research the destination. Information like weather, pollen count, and pollution level can be helpful in planning for successful asthma control.  Some places, like those with high pollution may not be advisable for people with asthma. We don’t like to let much slow us down in terms of travel, but we will be waiting a few more years to visit places like China where the pollution is high.

6.  Control the environment. The scariest thing about asthma is that you can do everything right and it can still pop up and cause huge problems. Short of staying in a bubble (which I never endorse), going out into the wide world is a potential risk for those with compromised airways. Fortunately, there is so much that can be done, like following the protocol and making sure asthma is under control, to make traveling with asthma easier. Of course, you can’t control everything, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try. Many North American hotels have allergen friendly rooms, and home rentals can easily be managed so that allergens can be kept to a minimum. Knowing your child’s triggers is the key to planning ahead to minimize the asthma pitfalls. 

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