The next Triple "E" event is on Thursday October 11th and Friday 12th at the City of Joondalup Leisure Centre in Craigie WA.

Triple ‘E’ Asthma Challenge - For Children 7 - 12 years

Triple ‘E’ is a new and exciting project which brings together children with and without asthma to build friendships while enjoying Education, Exercise and Entertainment. Each day these fun-filled events combine dynamic recreation activities with an asthma education session. Children with asthma can bring along friends, brothers or sisters who do not have asthma, but would also benefit from general asthma knowledge, including asthma first-aid. Triple ‘E’ is an avenue to better asthma control and a meeting place for friends, which was previously provided through Soroptimist Asthma Camp and Woodside AsthmaSwim.

For more info visit http://www.asthmawa.org.au/kids_business.php

Since 1968 Telethon Wa has raised over $74 million for children and young people throughout the state.

This year is the 40th Anniversary so lets help to make it the best ever. For those of you in Western Australia Telethon is being held the weekend of 13th - 14th October 2007 at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre.

Please remember that you can donate online at http://telethon.7perth.com.au - it is an amazing event and a funb filled weekend so join in the fun if you can or dig deep and donate!

The below beneficiary list is taken directly from the Telethon web site;

But what a scary thought when there are still people dying from what is suspected to be the Influenza A virus. Kids gets loads of fevers which may or may not be realted to the "flu" but it is horrifying to think of how few symptoms these children seemed to have. The major things that we were told at the hospital was that a lot of children had presented with a ‘cold’ but not the ‘flu’ but I commend every parent who sat for hours to find out that their little miracle was going to be OK.

The Sydney Morning Herald printed today; "Influenza makes you unwell, systematically, across your body and makes your muscles ache, makes you feel lethargic, not eat or drink well." and they also stated that it is NOT too late in the season to be receiving the flu vaccine.

I understand the concern and frustration of the medical profession who are being inundated with chilren with colds and worried parents in doctors surgeries and emergency departments across the country but can we please view this from a parent’s perspective. When children who are ill with what seemed not much more than a common cold or flu are dying in less than 24 and sometimes 12 hours. Of course parents are concerned!

No, waiting in an emergency department for hours on end is really not my idea of a good night out (although they are so rare that it might come close these days!) but it would be the one time that you decided not to go that things could turn fatal. We received nothing but confirmation that we had done the right thing and the staff were brilliant at PMH but media comments such as "emergency departments are best left for emergencies" will remain just that in my mind - Media Hype….

There is nothing more important than our children’s health and they are too young to speak out for themselves so we must do it for them. Lets just pray that scientists can get to the bottom of this ‘influenza’ before we have to lose anymore lives to it.

Kylie

Thanks for your patience and we will be back soon

Kylie

We are in the process of packing up our family nad will be living in Perth in less than 2 weeks and my head is so full of questions as to HOW this can happen???

The story states that "While we do not want to create unnecessary panic, it is important for parents to be aware that the disease can cause serious illness within 24 hours," Dr Van Buynder said. The children all became very sick within a day.
Two of the children had developed a secondary bacterial pneumonia and the third had not received hospital attention. (according to new.com.au)

Please share your thoughts on this topic!

Kylie

This web site is incorporated with the National Asthma Council of Australia. The aim of the Sensitive Choice Program is to help you identify companies that are committed to reducing asthma and allergy triggers. Obviously this is a common question for sufferes and their families and with over 12% of the population suffering from asthma and 40% of the population from allergy, it has not come before its time.

I love the origin of their butterfly logo - as stated on the web site

"Of all the symbols associated with asthma and allergies the simple butterfly offered the best response from consumers for the following reasons: 
*the wings are symbolic of the lungs, *it is a gentle and sensitive creature, *it flies best in fresh air "

On the web site you will find product categories such as air conditioning, baby, bedding, flooring, cleaning, paint, pets, vacuum cleaners and the list goes on.

I encourage you to visit the web site to see how it can help to reduce the triggers in your home!

And be sure to let us know what you think of the Sensitive Choice web site and the program!

I am personally still in the workingout phase of this. He gets asthma when ever he picks up a cold / chest infection etc but other than that I am not so sure at this stage. I bought an additive book and try not to buy foods with asthma triggers in them but I don’t know if they specifically affect him or not.

I would love to hear what triggers your children.

Below is a list of triggers taken from the Asthma Foundation of Australia Web Site - http://www.asthmaaustralia.org.au

Asthma triggers

• Colds and flu
• Exposure to cigarette smoke
• Exercise/activity
• Inhaled allergens (e.g. pollens, moulds, animal dander and dust mites)
• Environmental (e.g. dust, pollution, wood smoke, bush fires)
• Changes in temperature and weather
• Certain medications (e.g. aspirin)
• Chemicals and strong smells (e.g. perfumes, cleaners)
• Emotional factors (e.g. laughter, stress)
• Some foods and food preservatives, flavourings and colourings (uncommon)

Every person’s asthma is different. Not all people will have the same triggers, nor will they react to every trigger listed above. You may not always know what triggers your asthma. It is helpful to identify triggers in order to avoid them however this is not always possible (e.g. colds and flu). Your doctor or local Asthma Foundation will assist you.

I don’t hate many things but boy do I hate having to give little man his puffer every morning and night. I have to keep telling myself it is good for him and will keep him well but it is truly horrible.

He is a big boy and really strong so I have to lay him on my lap on the lounge with one arm behind me, wrap one leg over him and puff while keeping his other hand out of the way, all while little miss tries to climb on top of both of us saying "it’s OK, It’s OK, Mummy’s Here!" (Very cute but not what you need at the time!)

He is big enough now that he knows what is coming and as soon as he sees the puffer and spacer he starts saying "no, No"  and trying to run away ~ It breaks my heart!

I always have his bottle ready to give him straight away but it starts and ends my day with him which is sad.

Anyway, that is the job of a mummy and it is better than the alternative of seeing him back in hospital on O2 so on we go puffing away!

You may have seen the write up in this week’s New Idea Mag about them with a link to our web site - the article is in our photos file but I don’t know how to attach it to my message yet… I am only new to this Blogging!

Check them out in the kids section of our web site http://www.marakye.com.au or if you have nay questions just ask.

Toys with the asthma friendly certification have been specifically designed for parents concerned with allergies and asthma. Asthma friendly certified toys do not contain any fabric or fillings known to aggravate asthma and/or associated allergies and come with customised washing instructions (freeze, machine wash, and tumble dry) to allow for effective allergen reduction. All asthma friendly products comply with EN71 and ASTMF963 safety requirements.