Anthony has had asthma for quite a few years, but was not hospitalized for it until a few years ago, when I thought I would lose him. He did have a mild heart attack a few years ago due to his body being made to work too hard to breathe because of the asthma. He has since been diagnosed with COPD.
For most of my life, I suffered with allergies. Then in my 20's, I started having asthma attacks. The doctors all told me it was caused by my allergies. But it took me a long time to figure out what really was causing my asthma attacks. It was not my allergies, after all. My asthma is chemical-induced. Things such as cleansers, strong soap, perfumes and colognes, to name a few things, will cause me to have an asthma attack. Especially perfumes. So many people are wearing perfumes and colognes, even men. They do not realize how they are injuring some people. At one job I did, I was having an asthma attack almost every night because of perfume. I was told to "learn to live with it". How does someone learn how to live without breathing? That is the kind of ignorance we have to deal with because there is not enough education about this health problem. Thousands of people die every year from asthma, and still many people do not take it serious enough. We need more education.......and more compassion from others.