Cathy
Grieve is a journalist and owner of Red Diamond Media,
based in Dublin's Digital Hub. She's had asthma since her
20's.
"I was first diagnosed with asthma
just after leaving college. I played camogie during university
and was quite fit then, but in the winter months I always
suffered with colds and coughs and would have found training
that bit more difficult. As I got older the re-current
chest infections became more troublesome and I started
on both preventer and reliever inhalers.
I would then have periods when my asthma
was well controlled and I could get on with life and my
work without any problems. I was the Ireland producer for
BBC News in Belfast for most of the 1990's. This was both
a busy and difficult period and there were times after
long and stressful periods when I was run down and tired,
covering stories like the Omagh bomb, the Good Friday Agreement
or President Bill Clinton's visit – times like that when
chest infections would take hold and my asthma would flare
up again.
I spent some time in the USA as a BBC
producer in the late 90's and the weather and atmosphere
there definitely made a big difference to me in terms of
my breathing. It was so much better.
In the late 1990's I moved to London
and commuted back and forth to Dublin a lot as my son was
living here and going to school. I would also fly for work
at times, I found this to be really bad for my asthma.
For about six winters in a row I really struggled with
very bad chest infections. I had pneumonia on a regular
basis during that time, I had to have a portable nebuliser
with me a lot. I was hospitalised at one stage during one
of those really bad bouts of pneumonia. I dreaded the autumn
/ winter weather.
Thankfully in the last few years with
the help of a great respiratory team, and a good asthma
management plan, I have been relatively infection free
and have very few asthma attacks. My asthma is now controlled.
I have also totally re-done my house to make it asthma
friendly. No carpets or curtains, all replaced with wooden
floors and washable blinds.
I have mattress and pillow protectors
on my bed to keep the dust mite at bay. Books, my great
passion - which would have been found everywhere in piles
are now in a bookcase behind glass doors, so no dust gathering
around me there too.
It is important to get to grips with
your condition, understand what is triggering it - if you
are allergic to dust or pollen or cats and to be pro-active
in dealing with it. Talk to your doctor and your asthma
team. But above all don't let it stop you doing what you
want to do, sure it might slow you down some times and
it might frustrate you, but keep at it and don't let it
limit your life."
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