Nightwriter
New member
Hi Andrea,
While I can't address what medical treatments a baby should get (I just don't know), I would like to respond to your confusion about what you can do otherwise to protect your baby's lungs. I can tell you that every doctor, except my present one, never said a word about the asthma component of CF, allergies, irritants or the role that inflamation plays in this disease. Under my old doctors, my lung function steadily declined, hospitalizations increased --as I became resistant to almost every drug.
When my present doctor taught me how to take "protective measures" in my home and my life, everything reversed. I was able to get off constant antibiotics. Nowadays when I am exposed to things that raise inflamation, I get sick. So I know for a fact, that you too can do things that can make a difference in trying to preserve your baby's lungs.
I asked my doctor the other day, why most doctors do not address asthma. Why do they prescribe antibiotics for everything, and why don't they address the obvious -- the quality of the air a patient breathes especially at home . Why don't they suggest eating healthy food without dyes, chemicals, sulfites, etc. (things that trigger asthma)...and she said because it is NOT usually taught in medical school. Although certainly some allergists address these things, amazingly some do not.
The reason my doctor became interested in this area was because she had a son with all kinds of weird ailments, horrible allergies, a learning disability where she was told not to expect much from him. When she changed his environment, and he became healthy, his became able to concentrate (he's now a doctor), and she started treating her patients the same way.
What is so great is that you are asking this question BEFORE the baby has problems. Babies' immune systems are still developing so they are even more sensitive. For instance, if you were to expose your baby to barbeque smoke, for instance, the smokes's particulates can do real damage to immature lungs (not good for anyone really). The same would go for carpet. If it were new carpet -- imagine "new carpet smell." All those fumes, adhesives, would go right into the baby's lungs. Old carpet has pollen, dander, mold, chemicals, dirt -- not to mention that the baby is going to be crawling on it, face right into it.
So what happens is, the more exposures, the lungs get more and more inflamed which causes airways to swell and constrict (asthma) more mucus builds up and gets trapped making it harder to get out. Then infections start.
Another example: If you clean with harsh chemicals or vacuum near the baby with a vacuum that kicks our dust -- that all irritates the baby's lungs. So if possible a HEPA vacuum and a good air filter really would make a difference.
CF patients ususally have hypersensitive lungs, so it would be like if you had a cut, you wouldn't keep rubbing against it. You would avoid rubbing against it. Same thing for the lungs.
If your doctor doesn't address any of these things, you may have to get a second opinion at some point. But making your house healthy and making sure your baby is not exposed to bad air (even by avoiding using fragrances in the products you use) will help a lot and at the same time won't be contrary to your doctors' treatment or perhaps non-treatment.
While I can't address what medical treatments a baby should get (I just don't know), I would like to respond to your confusion about what you can do otherwise to protect your baby's lungs. I can tell you that every doctor, except my present one, never said a word about the asthma component of CF, allergies, irritants or the role that inflamation plays in this disease. Under my old doctors, my lung function steadily declined, hospitalizations increased --as I became resistant to almost every drug.
When my present doctor taught me how to take "protective measures" in my home and my life, everything reversed. I was able to get off constant antibiotics. Nowadays when I am exposed to things that raise inflamation, I get sick. So I know for a fact, that you too can do things that can make a difference in trying to preserve your baby's lungs.
I asked my doctor the other day, why most doctors do not address asthma. Why do they prescribe antibiotics for everything, and why don't they address the obvious -- the quality of the air a patient breathes especially at home . Why don't they suggest eating healthy food without dyes, chemicals, sulfites, etc. (things that trigger asthma)...and she said because it is NOT usually taught in medical school. Although certainly some allergists address these things, amazingly some do not.
The reason my doctor became interested in this area was because she had a son with all kinds of weird ailments, horrible allergies, a learning disability where she was told not to expect much from him. When she changed his environment, and he became healthy, his became able to concentrate (he's now a doctor), and she started treating her patients the same way.
What is so great is that you are asking this question BEFORE the baby has problems. Babies' immune systems are still developing so they are even more sensitive. For instance, if you were to expose your baby to barbeque smoke, for instance, the smokes's particulates can do real damage to immature lungs (not good for anyone really). The same would go for carpet. If it were new carpet -- imagine "new carpet smell." All those fumes, adhesives, would go right into the baby's lungs. Old carpet has pollen, dander, mold, chemicals, dirt -- not to mention that the baby is going to be crawling on it, face right into it.
So what happens is, the more exposures, the lungs get more and more inflamed which causes airways to swell and constrict (asthma) more mucus builds up and gets trapped making it harder to get out. Then infections start.
Another example: If you clean with harsh chemicals or vacuum near the baby with a vacuum that kicks our dust -- that all irritates the baby's lungs. So if possible a HEPA vacuum and a good air filter really would make a difference.
CF patients ususally have hypersensitive lungs, so it would be like if you had a cut, you wouldn't keep rubbing against it. You would avoid rubbing against it. Same thing for the lungs.
If your doctor doesn't address any of these things, you may have to get a second opinion at some point. But making your house healthy and making sure your baby is not exposed to bad air (even by avoiding using fragrances in the products you use) will help a lot and at the same time won't be contrary to your doctors' treatment or perhaps non-treatment.