How to Manage Asthma During Pregnancy

24.5.22

Taking great care of yourself during pregnancy is extremely crucial because you’re now breathing for two! And this is especially necessary for pregnant women who have asthma. Oxygen is needed for both you and your baby to drive their growth. But if your untreated asthma comes in the way, your baby’s oxygen supply could be affected. 

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that impacts you and your baby’s health. Getting concerned about your asthma and your baby’s health during pregnancy is normal, but it's a good idea to work with your doctor to manage symptoms and reassure you during this time. If you have great healthcare and online asthma medications for flexibility of medicine delivery, you’re halfway into a safe pregnancy! 


Why is Asthma in Pregnancy a Concern?

Not all women undergo pregnancy complications with asthma. However, if the condition goes untreated or you don’t get it under control, there are some risks associated with it, including:

· Foetal growth restriction
· C-section birth compulsion
· Premature birth
· Pregnancy complications because of high blood pressure, organ damage (often targeting the kidneys)
· Increased breathing problems in the baby

This doesn’t mean every pregnant asthma patient is at risk. Women who have their asthma under control and take proper care of their health during this vulnerable period are good to go. But it's always good to keep a close eye on your health, even if you think you don't have to worry.

What Causes Asthma Symptoms to Flare Up?

Allergens - People with allergic asthma can experience attacks when they come in contact with allergens such as animal fur, pollens, dust mites, and moulds.

Irritants - Certain items in the environment like smoking cigarettes, wood-burning fireplaces, perfumes, paints, other strong smells, or air pollution can trigger your lungs, causing asthma symptoms.

Infections - Several people with asthma also notice infections like pneumonia, flu or cold trigger their asthma symptoms.

Exercises - Working out during pregnancy is healthy, but people with asthma have to take care of what kind of exercises they perform. If you’re pregnant and notice that certain exercises are setting off your asthma, consult a doctor immediately and stop any exercise until you have your symptoms under control.

Disinfectants - If you've previously noticed flare-ups from disinfectants, stay away from when they’re being used or right after they’ve been used. 


How to Control Asthma in Pregnancy?

It’s believed that asthma can change, improve, worsen or stay the same during the entire course of your pregnancy. Hence, to ensure that you survive this period safely, your healthcare professional will work on controlling your asthma symptoms, prevent attacks, and maintain lung function.

Controlling and improving your asthma is important to ensure that your baby receives enough oxygen. Flare-ups or worsening conditions decrease the oxygen supply in the blood. Once this falls, less oxygen reaches your baby – moving to higher chances of poor growth, low birth weight, or premature birth.

Here are a few ways in which you can handle pregnancy with asthma easily:

Regular Prenatal Appointments
Your healthcare provider knows what’s best for you and your baby! So never miss a prenatal appointment. Visit them regularly during your pregnancy, and don’t be ashamed of sharing every concerns related to your pregnancy no matter how small - they are there to help.

Keep Monitoring your Asthma
Monitoring lungs during asthma is an unmissable part of check-ups. Your healthcare professional will check your lungs and whether your medications need to be changed or adjusted. Don’t forget to mention whether your symptoms have worsened, improved, or stayed the same during the course.

Try to Avoid Asthma Triggers
As mentioned above, certain factors like allergens, infections, or irritants can trigger your asthma. If you limit your contact with things that causes a flare up, you can control your asthma symptoms.

Take Medications 
Many medications like Ventolin asthma inhalers are safe for pregnant patients. Discuss with a doctor and explore other options for pregnancy-safe medications before taking anything though. Equally, don’t stop your asthma medicines that you were taking before pregnancy. Suddenly discontinuing your medicine intake during pregnancy is harmful. So, consult a healthcare provider before you take any steps further!

Will Asthma Affect your Labour?

Rarely does delivery sets off an asthma attack, and continuing your regular medications during labour is recommended. However, if your asthma has become severe, some steroids in the delivery room could be required.

Are Asthma Medications Safe During Breastfeeding?

A low amount of asthma medications gets into your breast milk. However, they are severely low in quantity and are safe for the baby. But keep in mind that high doses of certain medicines may affect the baby by making them irritable. Adjusting some hours can make a difference. So, talk to a doctor and allow your baby to enjoy the health benefits of breastmilk.

This is a collaborative post - Author Bio
Krishma Patel Co-founder and the Superintendent Pharmacist at MedsNow, an online pharmacy in the UK that provides health and wellness products and treatments along with free online consultations. She is passionate about showcasing the integral function community pharmacies can play in supporting the healthcare system and the NHS by providing patients with high quality, safe and discreet access to healthcare at their convenience. Along with being the co-founder of MedsNow, Krishma is also the Director and the Superintendent Pharmacist of Enimed Ltd., an independent pharmacy group comprising 32 branches.

6 Boredom Busting Tips for the School Holidays

16.5.22

Picture this - it’s the school holidays, and although you've all been looking forward to it for weeks, it's only a couple of days in before the excitement fades and you start hearing the dreaded “I’m bored!”. Sound familiar? Then hopefully this post will give you some ideas to crack that school holiday boredom

Of course, it’s tempting to fill up their time with school holiday with big fancy plans, but it’s actually really important that they get to experience some down time too. So much of their life is already structured with school and extracurricular activities; free time can encourage them to make their own fun. Plus, a bit of boredom isn’t actually a bad thing. It helps children become more creative in their thinking as they come up with things to do. They’ll still need a bit of guidance from mum and dad in the form of some helpful ideas, so here are six easy and inexpensive activities to beat that school holiday boredom. 


Create a Home Cinema

It’s not hard to recreate the excitement of the movies in your own living room. There are some essential supplies you’ll need – popcorn being one. Let your kids pick their favourite movies and don’t be afraid to get creative with it. There are plenty of ways to up the fun and make it more than a simple movie-watching session. Get older children to make movie tickets and give them out to everyone in attendance at a pretend box office, or someone could also play the part of an usher and 'sell' popcorn and sweets before the film starts.. Once everyone is settled in their seats, don’t forget to dim the lights for a real cinema experience!

Earn Some Pocket Money

Encouraging your children to explore some entrepreneurial activities is a great way to get their little business minds ticking. One classic idea is a lemonade stand; grab some lemons and sugar (if you want to get fancy, add mint for a garnish), and put the kids to work with the lemon squeezer. They’ll have fun manning the lemonade stand and they’ll love making some pocket money they can spend.

Why not get everyone involved in a declutter too - let them pick which toys / items they no longer want to play with and need, and then sell them to raise some pennies. You could gather everything for a boot fair, or even sell unwanted items on selling sites such as Facebay. It's up to you whether you let you children pick new toys, or make them save it towards something bigger!

Get out the Arts and Crafts

Whipping out the arts and crafts supplies ensures hours of fun and creative exploration. You can either leave them to their own devices, or if you find they need a little direction, there’s plenty of arts and crafts inspiration online. Some ideas include, making funny animals with paper plates and coloured pipe cleaners, crafting something out of paper mâché or oven bake clay, making jewellery or paper chatterboxes - or even just some simple painting. Just don’t forget to lay down the newspaper if there’s paint involved!

Do Some Science Experiments

DIY science experiments are not only exciting for children, they’re also a great way to stimulate young minds, encouraging them to be curious about the world around them. Whether it’s homemade playdough or making a volcano with baking soda and vinegar, you’ll find plenty of ideas online for at-home experiments. Often they can be done using things you already have around the house and without breaking the bank. Get creative!

Get in the Garden

Of course parks and walks are great, but sometimes just getting out in the garden is good enough! Why not make a slip and slide out of plastic sheeting or tarpaulin from your local hardware store, as well as some tent pegs to secure the corners of the slide into the ground. Add some dishwashing detergent or bubble bath, turn on the hose and let the fun begin! If you've not got a garden big enough for something like this, then just a bucket, some water guns and plenty of water will bring endless fun. Who can resist a water fight?


Simple Fun without Screens

Board games are guaranteed to lead to endless amounts of fun and laughter, and the best part is they don’t involve a screen. Whether it’s Monopoly, Cluedo, Guess Who? or Twister, there’s plenty to choose from, and even a simple puzzle can lead to hours of entertainment if everyone gets involved. Of course screens are great for down-time and unwinding after a busy day, but there's nothing like family board games to bring everyone together is there.

If you like the sound of these ideas, then why not get your children to write out a list of activities at the beginning of the holidays. Then, every day they can pick one out for the next day. Don’t forget wherever you can let your child lead the way and only assist them when they really need it (remember you need time to enjoy your own hobbies too). This will encourage independence and creativity, and turn what could have been time spent being bored into a chance for them to blossom. Have fun!

This is a collaborative post.

4 Reasons to Choose Camping for your Next Family Holiday

6.5.22

With summer quickly approaching, you’re probably trying to think of places and locations that you and your loved one can enjoy. And as travelling hasn’t been the easiest thing to do over the past couple of years, you might be looking for a quick, simple and tried and tested way to enjoy time with your loved ones. So what a better way to spend time with your family than going on a family camping holiday. Hitting the open road and soaking up the fresh air and countryside views couldn’t be better. However, if you have yet to experience a family camping holiday you may be wondering what the benefits are, so hopefully this post will help.


Home Comforts

One of the best things about going camping is the fact that you can pack most of your home comforts and belongings into one space without any restrictions. If your little ones have a favorite pillow, or they will only eat a certain type of cereal, you can load up your campervan with everything they could possibly need. With modern hybrid campers you can also enjoy a durable and comfortable environment with a whole host of amenities and features that will truly feel like a home away from home!

Time Away from Technology

How many times have you tried to tear your children away from their devices in the past couple of weeks? If it seems as though games consoles, mobile phones and other electronic devices are taking over your household, then camping is a great way to get a break from the constant screens. There will be fewer opportunities for your child to log into their favourite digital games without easy internet access for a start Instead you can toast marshmallows around the campfire, play a good old fashioned game of cards together, and just enjoy being outside in the fresh air together.

More Choices of Location

With a campervan at your disposal you can truly choose from a whole host of locations that you may not have even thought of before. Of course you'll need to plan and book a campsite before you set off, but there are so many sites to choose from all over the UK, so the world really is your oyster. Plus there's nothing stopping you from travelling and stopping at a number of locations over a few weeks - make a road trip out of your holiday!

More Flexibility

Going on trips in your family camper van can be much more spontaneous and enjoyable compared to catching flights and trains. You aren’t restricted to any timings and you can’t be 'late' for anything, so you can make your drive as quick or slow as you like. Want to stop at a few places along the way, why not? Plus if you hire a bigger caravan or camper, you can expand who you bring along on the trip too.

As you can see, there are a number of benefits that go hand in hand with camping. Your next family holiday could be filled with fun, enjoyment and a whole host of memories if you take the leap and invest in a campervan for your family this year. Start planning your trip on the open road today and have a fun-filled summer!

This is a collaborative post.

Family Fun at Bewl Water - Paddleboarding, Adventure Play + More!

4.5.22


We love spending time with family over the Bank Holidays, so last Monday we all decided to head to Bewl Water for some family fun. Bewl Water is located near Lamberhurst on the outskirts of Kent, and is the perfect place to visit for all kinds of indoor and outdoor activities that the whole family can enjoy. If you're in to walking you can enjoy the 12.5 miles around the reservoir - or you can just enjoy a leisurely wander and turn back whenever if this suits you more. You can bring bikes (or you can hire them there too), book on to the laser challenge or aqua park, and for younger ones there's a decent sized soft play. There are two fab adventure play areas located close to the car park too - one of which features a fab pirate ship and a giant slide. 

The main reason for our visit this time though, was for Jack and my two brother-in-laws to enjoy some water sports. There are plenty of options to enjoy including sailing, windsurfing, canoes, rowing and sailing. But they decided to give stand up paddleboarding a try! They booked a 1 hour session for £20, which included the paddleboard and paddle, leash, a wetsuit and a buoyancy aid. Although they didn't really get much instruction with what to do (you can book actual lessons but these are more expensive), they still managed to have a great time. I can imagine it was really relaxing just being out on the water within Bewl's beautiful surroundings.




Myself and my sister's stayed firmly on dry land during our visit though, keeping all of the cousins entertained with a walk along the reservoir bank, water sport spotting, and of course playing in the play areas. We managed to spot the boys on their boards too, although I think the children were more interested in trying to throw pebbles as close to them as possible... children huh? It was so lovely to see all of them playing and laughing together though, and it was especially lovely watching them helping each other on the big slide. Just a note if you are going to visit, the slide isn't the slipperiest so it's worth getting them to sit on a coat or something shiny so they slide better!

Despite it being the May Bank Holiday, it still was a little grey and chilly during our day. The Littles were super excited though as it meant they got to wear their new raincoats! We worked with Lighthouse Clothing a few years ago (and I bought my pink coat of dreams from them last year), so of course when they got in touch again I couldn't say no. Now Indiana is that little bit older I decided to pick a more 'grown up' design for her, so she has the Olivia Jacket in Parma Stripe. We love Parker in bright colours so he has the Anchor Jacket in Orange Navy, and with Lilah being 4 and obsessed with bright colours and designs, I had to get her the Olivia Jacket in the Sweet Pea Farm print. All three jackets and fully waterproof, windproof, have soft jersey linings, and most importantly they can be machine washed! All three have commented on how cosy and comfortable they are, and I've had numerous compliments on their designs too. So thank you Lighthouse Clothing for working with us again.




We had a lovely morning at Bewl Water, and if you bring a picnic (or there's food available at the cafe) you could stay for the whole day. There's so much to do to keep everyone in the family entertained whether you want a big adventure or not. Parking is £6 for the whole day, so it can be a relatively cheap day out if you just take advantage of the parks and walks too!

We received items from Lighthouse Clothing in exchange for a mention in a post. All opinions are honest and my own, and I wasn't compensated for this post.