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The following was written by me and published at healthcentral.com/asthma on December 18, 2015. Our Asthma Christmas Wish List I recently participated in a brainstorming session with a group of respiratory therapists.  Our goal was to create a list of medicines asthmatics would like to find under the Christmas tree. That in mind, here’s our list of fake, or yet to be developed, asthma medicines.  This is our wish list we sent to Santa. 1.  Probiotic Magic .  Probiotic is a fancy way of saying good, or healthy, bacteria that are essential for maintaining a healthy body.  Microflora is a fancy term for describing all the microbes inside our body, good and bad, such as parasites and bacteria.  The  Microflora Hypothesis  states that a normal balance of good and bad microflora inside our gut prevents an abnormal immune response that leads to asthma and allergies.  It also states that our modern diet, and antibiotic use, is killing off good microf...

The following was written by me and published at healthcentral.com/copd on December 18, 2015. 8 Christmas COPD Triggers In order to get the most out of the Christmas season, those of us with lung disorders have to be wary of Christmas asthma triggers. Here are those seven triggers along with some tips to help you get around them.    1. Real Christmas Trees .  Christmas trees are a common decoration in homes during the Christmas season.  But they may also be filled with unseen substances that can get into the air, such as dust mites, pollen and mold spores.  When you carry them into your home, and shake them, these allergens end up in the air of your home for you to inhale, possibly causing flare-ups. While some experts recommend avoiding them altogether, others suggest that rinsing them off with water, and letting them air dry, prior to bringing them into your home should remove most of these allergens. It may be best, however, to delegate this job to someone el...

I just realized that we are now over 5.5 million views on this blog. That's pretty impressive, at least I think so. For a blog that I started on October 13, 2007, just so I could have something to do while working the night shift, that's pretty good. Here we are, nine years later. I knew that I was going to focus on respiratory, but I had no idea what specific topics I was going to cover. I had no idea that this blog would take off the way it did, and the other opportunities that would transpire as a direct result of this blog. I wrote my first post about a Beeper . How stupid! Much of my earlier writings were poorly written. Still, I was dedicated to it and would end up publishing at least one post every day for the first five years. About a year after I started this blog, I received an email from a publisher at myasthmacentral.com .  She wrote: "I love your blog. I especially love your humor. I love the way you write about 'stupid doctor orders,' and ' Bronch...

Originally published January 6, 2016. I was recently interviewed by Rebecca Knutsen, a staff writer working for Advance for Respiratory Therapists.  She said she was working on a brief article that explores when to administer oxygen to hypoxemic patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. The following are her questions followed by my answers.   1.  Please describe hypoxic and hypercapnic drive : Hypercapnic Drive : The central chemoreceptors on the medulla monitors the partial pressure of arterial CO2 (PaCO2). A normal PaCO2 level is 35-45 mmHG. When PaCO2 is high (>45 mmHg) a signal is sent to the medulla oblongata at the base of the brain to speed up breathing in order to blow off excess PaCO2. When PaCO2 levels are low (<35 mmHg) a signal is sent to the medulla oblongata at the base of the brain to decrease breathing in order to allow PaCO2 to accumulate. This is the main drive to breathe. Hypoxic Drive : The peripheral chemoreceptors...

Bronchiolitis is a condition common in children that have symptoms very similar to asthma, and is most common between November and April. These patients usually present to the emergency room with symptoms such as nasal flaring, retractions, grunting, wheezing, coarse inspiratory crackles, increased secretions, nasal stuffiness and congestion, cyanosis, hypoxia, increased heart rate, noisy breathing,  increased respiratory rate, irritability, and refusing to breast feed. They often commonly present with otitis media. It's more common in children because their airways are smaller and more susceptible to narrowing. Usually it occurs within the first two years, with it's peak at 3-6 months.This condition presents nearly identical with asthma, and is often treated or misdiagnosed as such. The best way to diagnose it is with a nasal swab. The most common causative agent is the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), although it may also be caused by adenovirus, enterovirus, influenza, and...

This post was originally published on January 29, 2008. It is part of the classics of the RT Cave collection. While some of this is outdated, most of it is not. So, in our quest to become more well rounded therapists, we must now look into another common condition, a condition that is the leading cause of death in critical care units. For starters, we need to know that is is the leading cause of death in critical care units. Of the 750,000 patients it effects every year, 250,000 will die. These statistics cannot, and are not, being ignored. Hospitals continue to work overtime to create guidelines to help caregivers both recognize and diagnose sepsis so those who have it can get the treatment they need. Likewise, efforts can be made to recognize who is at risk for developing sepsis so it can be prevented. These statistics have gone pretty much unchanged since the early 1980s. So, even with modern knowledge and technology, hospitals have been unable to break this trend. Yet they are,...

This post was originally published on January 29, 2008. It is part of the classics of the RT Cave collection. While some of this is outdated, most of it is not. So, in our quest to become more well rounded therapists, we must now look into another common condition, a condition that is the leading cause of death in critical care units. For starters, we need to know that is is the leading cause of death in critical care units. Of the 750,000 patients it effects every year, 250,000 will die. These statistics cannot, and are not, being ignored. Hospitals continue to work overtime to create guidelines to help caregivers both recognize and diagnose sepsis so those who have it can get the treatment they need. Likewise, efforts can be made to recognize who is at risk for developing sepsis so it can be prevented. These statistics have gone pretty much unchanged since the early 1980s. So, even with modern knowledge and technology, hospitals have been unable to break this trend. Yet they are,...