Worried about Going on Trip

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:31 am

Once again, we'll be making a trip to visit our daughter in Utah this winter. While I look forward to seeing her and her family, I'm quite nervous that I will get pneumonia, as I have the past two years. I've had the pneumonia vaccine, but it hasn't helped much.

I have gotten pneumonia the last couple of days of each visit. DD has two German shepherds which stay in their home. I don't know if they are the cause of my getting pneumonia. I had a dog for 13 years, but got my first incidence of pneumonia a few months after my mother's cat came to live with us. I also got asthma that year, prior to the pneumonia.

My brother, who has asthma, says I should take benedryl and start using my inhaler. I never use the inhaler because my asthma has always been minor, especially since I've changed my diet and/or have been taking Entocort. I also hate using an inhaler. My brother is also going to give me a prescription nasal spray for asthma when I see him this weekend.

I'm thinking of staying in a hotel for one night midway through the visit so that I get a little respite from the dogs, if they are the problem. I suppose I could stay in a hotel the entire time, but it would be expensive, and I have a feeling DD wouldn't be happy. I've never had pneumonia during any other season but the winter.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Gloria

desertrat · Post by **desertrat** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:42 am

Wow, Gloria, hard to say whether it is the dogs or the cold weather that is affecting you! I would up my Vitamin D significantly (if you can), and maybe buying a little portable air purifier? One that you could place in your room while you sleep that would filter out dust, pollen, dog dander, etc?
Mandy

Post by **tex** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:44 pm

Gloria,

I agree with Mandy about vitamin D - IMO, it will probably do more to prevent a respiratory infection than just about anything short of powerful antibiotics. Vitamin D has also been implicated in the etiology of asthma:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17919705

And it apparently has therapeutic effects, as well:

http://www.webmd.com/asthma/news/201009 ... ma-control

Personally, someone would have to twist my arm pretty hard, to convince me to stay there.

Tex

JoAnn · Post by **JoAnn** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 1:09 pm

Hi Gloria and Happy Thanksgiving, I'm not sure if this might be contributing to your pneumonia, but you know our Salt Lake Valley experiences inversions frequently during the winter. The air trapped in the valley is sometimes so polluted that we have to keep the children in from recess. They issue warnings on TV and through the weather service.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/climate/Tem ... rsions.php

I'm not sure if you've been in the valley during the inversions, but the air quality is terrible and I know they warn people with respiratory problems to take precautions. You could stay in Park City and avoid all the bad air, but that would be really expensive! I hope you figure things out and can enjoy your visit.
Love JoAnn

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 2:13 pm

Hi Gloria,

I'm not sure if you are driving or flying. If you are flying I highly recommend the Ocean Nasal saline spray (or generic). Costs about $3 or $4. No side effects.
If you are driving it can be helpful in a dry climate.

If flying get the small bottle that you can put in your zip lock bag and carry it on board with you. I start using the nasal spray the day before my flights also about every 2 hours when flying. I also when flying use the anti microbial gels frequently. Since starting this regimen about 10 years ago I've never picked up any colds or anything else when flying.

The saline spray is also helpful in a dry climate if you are driving. The other thing I just started doing on my last biz trip I bring along the clorox (or similar wipes) in travel sizes. They are helpful for wiping down tray containers on flights, also armrests and handles in hotel rooms (takes about 3 minutes.)

Again, highly recommend the Ocean Nasal saline spray. Hope this helps.

Have fun! Brandy

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 2:14 pm

Hi Mandy and Tex,

I'm already taking 5,000 IUs of vitamin D, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to increase it.

Hi JoAnn,

Notice that I changed my title. It sounded like I was afraid to go to Utah.

However, after reading your post, I remember that sometimes there has been an inversion layer in the valley. I always thought that it was just another name for ozone levels. We usually only get high ozone warnings here in the summer so I didn't even think about inversion levels being a possible cause. Staying in SLC wouldn't make any difference in that case. Park City is at least an hour from DD's house, plus the winter, at Christmas, would be very expensive.

I have an appointment with my PCP next week. I think I'll ask him what he suggests. I've got to start making a list of questions like Sara did.

Gloria

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 2:19 pm

Gloria ditto on the vitamin D as the best preventative measure. Along with that addressing the potential cause of the infection might help. As with allergies or asthma one of the bodies key reactions is to produce more mucous in the areas that are sensitive to the element that is bothering you.

With asthma you have the double whammy of having constricted airways. Since infections like to start in areas of the body that foster bacterial growth, I would try to use an antihistamine proactively to minimize the amount of mucous production and if needed the inhaler to keep the airways more open. The idea of a small air purifier is also a good idea since half of the time there will be spent in that one room.

Joe

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 2:22 pm

Wow Gloria - I remember how sick you got last time!!! The only thing that comes to mind is to ask you if it is absolutely necessary for you to travel to Utah during the winter? Why not go during one of the other seasons? I'm sure you have a very good reason, but thought I'd mention it. There has been a lot of talk here about how important it is to consider our own health first, and I'd sure hate to see you get sick again.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and happy travels.

Love,
Kari

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 3:37 pm

Gloria,

Utah is dry-air universe! And it's high altitude. And the inversions are horrible, although we lived above them. I lived there for 3 1/2 years. I loved it, but, especially initially, it affected my airways. My nose bled and I got sick very often at first.
Brandy's suggestions about the spray are VERY good, and highly recommended. An air purifier is great for the dogs, but a humidifier is even more necessary IMO. The dryness of the air + the heating are hell on the the airways. We had a humidifier on the heating/cooling system in the house.

And lastly, I understand you want to be with your family over Xmas, but Keri's suggestion is also a good one. I have had to get my family to understand I cannot be in the middle east over summer (which lasts very long there). I can't take it.

Whatever you decide, I am sure you will enjoy your family. Just be healthy.

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:35 pm

Thank you for all of your suggestions. We'll be flying. DH thinks he got a cold on the plane on his last trip - he flew out a couple of days after me. I'll have to look for the nasal spray, Brandy. I did use wipes for my tray table last trip; I'll try to do that everytime.

I need to ask DD if she has an air purifier in the bedroom. I know she has some kind of a fan which she uses as a noise-maker in the bedrooms.

Yes, I probably shouldn't go there in the winter. I've tried to not let more than 4 months go by without her coming here or us going there, but winter is longer than 4 months. I'll see how this visit goes - I'm at the age where pneumonia is a serious risk, especially because I'm so susceptible. I've had it three times in the last five years.

Gloria

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:47 pm

Gloria,

I sometimes use a product called Alkalol - you dilute it and do nasal irrigation, either with a neti pot or with a little gizmo they sell under the same brand name. I don't know how much more helpful it is than salt water, but my husband is a big fan - and I am a fan, because the Alkalol somehow got him to use the neti pot, where plain salt water didn't have the same allure (and it made a big difference for him). This would be helpful if your problem is germs or dog hair. I do find those HEPA air filters helpful, too. It would help with the inversion issue as well as with the dog. (I wish I still had one - I have an asthmatic young friend coming tomorrow.)

I have another, maybe wacky thought - I think you could get an air-breathing measuring device (maybe called a spirometer?), and use it as an advance warning system. My late mother had one at some point during her rehab process. My thought is that, instead of guessing when you might need to spend a day or so in a hotel, you would know whether you needed to do so sooner or later. I don't know exactly how you would decide, but I bet you'd get a sense of how you're doing. You have an exceptional ability to track and manage this kind of data, honed on the MC road.

I also find humidifiers make a difference both in comfort and seemingly in reducing winter cold/flu.

I'm wishing you a healthy and joyful visit with your family!

Love,
Sara

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 11:13 pm

The neti pot is my implement of choice when I get blocked up. If I don't have access to one (happened on my last trip) I use a syringe. With salt water and a little baking soda.

Ginny · Post by **Ginny** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 9:13 am

Gloria, I was just going to mention the neti pod as Lesley has noted. We use it all the time in the fall and winter to prevent infections. The fact that you and I do not have much body fat to fight infections, this might at least help with what you breathe in to your system; especially concerning the dogs. Oh yes, I believe in an air purifier as well.

One other old fashion method comes from my late mom who had asthma...........she would use vaseline in her nose for protection at all times. I'm all for home remedies!

Hope you have a great trip. I would love to see some snow and cold but here in TX we only get recording breaking heat (even in November

) and now no rain!!

Much love, G

Gayle · Post by **Gayle** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:14 am

Hi Gloria,

Hope your Thanksgiving was kind to you -- and filled with the joy of some great company.

Gloria said: I have gotten pneumonia the last couple of days of each visit. DD has two German shepherds which stay in their home. I don't know if they are the cause of my getting pneumonia.

Regarding the dogs: Dogs, -- except in unusual circumstances such as being kenneled, or out being shown and thus in close contact with a lot of other animals, -- are not very vulnerable to URI type infections. In those types of situations of close contact -- they are usually vaccinated against their canine type common offenders as a preventative measure. Dogs don’t routinely carry ordinary human URI type infections, -- they just aren’t particularly vulnerable to them.

Their noses do find other things though (like worms).

If there is a problem with those dogs in your case -- that would be allergy related. Many dog breeds, GSD’s included, do produce a lot of coat oils and dander’s. That is where the proteins that cause human allergies reside. It is not the coat per-se (i.e. hair), which Is what so many people incorrectly believe to be their allergy trigger from an animal. If you are asthmatic, those skin oils and dander proteins could be a trigger your asthma. However, that should be a rather immediate reaction, not a reaction that waits until you get home -- and that does seem to be the history as you have related it. So your history of developing a pneumonia infection after getting home, is not consistent with a doggie allergy problem.

Gloria said: I'm quite nervous that I will get pneumonia, as I have the past two years. I've had the pneumonia vaccine, but it hasn't helped much.

“Pneumonia vaccine” is a specific for the pneumococcal bacteria – which causes a “bacterial pneumonia”. How much protection that vaccine offers, and for how long – is questionable - but I’ve been told that they are now recommending re-vaccination every 5 years for individuals with “pulmonary issues” (That would included folks with COPD, Asthma, and Chronic bronchitis, etc.). That said though, most pneumonia’s are viral in nature, not bacterial, – and the “pneumonia vaccine” has no protective action for viral type pneumonial infections.

Your history here does make it appear that you seem to be rather vulnerable to pulmonary infection …

BY FAR YOUR BIGGEST RISKS in this regard are:

The single largest vector for transmission of infectious diseases around the world is the AIRPLANE. If you get onto a plane in Chicago to fly to SLC you will probably be on an aircraft bound for the west coast -- with roughly 300 other passengers on board. AT a MINIMUM, (conservatively speaking), at least 3% of the passengers on board will be in some phase of a upper respiratory infection (URI). So if my Minnesota math is correct, that means at least 9 passengers on that aircraft will be coughing, sneezing and spewing their infectious crap into the air. And once the doors of the big silver tube are closed, everyone is breathing the same re-circulated air from gate to gate. (i.e. They are getting yours, and you are getting theirs.) And always remember, people with tickets for an anticipated trip – make that trip -- whether or not they are feeling well.

For the speed and relative convenience of air travel, we trade off - or try to ignore – these other potential issues.

And the 2nd largest vector of human URI type infections are young school age children. They go to school and play with all their other little friends and pass around all their little germs amongst each other. This is really good, they are social beings that are learning how to get along in society – but also, this social interaction is how they share their germs -- and thereby eventually do also build some immunity. (they all help each other in that fashion) But it’s when they then share their germs with a vulnerable adult such as yourself that things can become problematic!!! In short, your grandchildren are very darling children I’m sure, but they also can play a big part in microbe transfer at family get togethers.

Now, it may be somewhat debatable

which of those 2 large risk factors is first, and which is second, but those are the 2 largest perpetrators for passing germs around.

Gloria said: Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Well … Keeping in mind, that it is ALWAYS a WOMAN’S PEROGATIVE to change her mind:

1.) Consider not making that trip this year.
2.) OR - How about considering waiting until a drive would be in order.
3.) OR - How about considering waiting until the kiddies are finished passing around the current crop of microbes --- by next spring or summer sometime.
4.) How about a big family Xmas gift of Skype for the whole family so that Granny can stay at home and still be able to watch and communicate with the whole family from long distance, without taking the added risk of picking up a noxious bug by this kind of trip?

Best Wishes … whatever you decided to do,
Gayle

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:28 pm

So many great ideas! I think I'll try as many of them as possible. I really appreciate that everyone took time to respond.

Gayle,
You've written a very well thought-out response. I think I'm extra susceptible to pneumonia. DH has traveled and visited along with me, but has never gotten it. I'm sure my sensitivities play a part.

I got double pneumonia on the first day of a car trip we took to Colorado to drive the car to DD five years ago. She met us in Colorado and DH drove the vehicle with her to Utah. I had to navigate the security line, airport and parking lot alone, and drive home alone. I didn't go to the doctor until DH came home a few days later. I was very sick. My mother had pneumonia at the same time.

I may wear a respiratory mask on the plane. I don't really care what people think.

I'm reconsidering taking any more plane trips to visit her in the winter. Maybe we can meet in Vegas.

Gloria