Asthma, Allergies, & Better Breathing
Diving into Respiratory Health
WITH MAGGIE MAC NEIL
Mediaplanet sat down with Canadian Olympic Swimmer Maggie Mac Neil to chat about her journey to becoming a Gold Medalist while living with asthma, and some of the keys to managing symptoms.
What first inspired you to go down this path and discover your love for professional swimming?
Like every young kid that engages in sport from a very early age, from the age of 8 I always told my parents and teachers that “I want to go to the Olympics”. I started competing the fall after the 2008 Olympics. My family and I have always been huge Olympic watchers, whether that be summer or winter. Knowing what I know now, I had absolutely no clue as to the effort, hard work, dedication, and early mornings that would be required to make this a reality. When motivation wanes or I’m having a bad practice, it is the relationships and friends on my team that keep me going. So, in short, I don’t think either my family or I anticipated this would come from simply having a love for the water.
6 Practical Steps to Keep Your Asthma Managed this Wildfire Season
Asthma Canada
As threats of wildfires spread across Canada, Asthma Canada is urging individuals living with asthma to take additional precautions for their safety. Wildfire smoke contains many harmful pollutants including fine particulate matter that settles deep in the lungs. For those with asthma and other respiratory conditions, wildfires present an escalated risk, as the smoke can worsen symptoms and provoke asthma attacks, which, in some cases, can be fatal. This grim reality was sadly illustrated in 2023 by the loss of Carter Vigh, who tragically lost his life at just nine years of age.
To aid people living with asthma this wildfire season, Asthma Canada has created 6 Essential Tips for Keeping Well During Wildfire Season:
1. Stay informed: Keep track of local air quality updates and wildfire information from reliable sources like Environment Canada, the Weather Network, and the Government of Canada.
2. Have an updated Asthma Action Plan: Your plan should outline steps to take in
case of worsening asthma symptoms or emergencies. Download your plan now.
3. Limit outdoor activities: Stay indoors as much as possible. Avoid physical exertion and exercise outdoors during peak pollution periods. If going outside is necessary:
Wearing a well-fitted N95 respirator mask can offer some protection against smoke particles. These can be purchased in certain pharmacies and online.
Keep your reliever (usually blue) inhaler with you at all times in case asthma symptoms arise. When driving, keep your windows and vents closed and only use air conditioning in the “recirculate” setting.
4. Use air purifiers and filters in your home: Use high-efficiency air purifiers (HEPA) and keep windows and doors closed to prevent smoke infiltration. If using an air conditioner, choose the recirculation setting so outside air will not be transferred inside. Avoid activities that contribute to indoor air pollution, such as smoking or using strong chemicals.
5. Take your medications as prescribed: Make sure you have necessary medications and supplies readily available and follow your prescribed asthma medication regimen, including both preventive and rescue medications. If necessary, consult your healthcare provider to adjust your medication plan during episodes of poor air quality.
6. Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids to keep your airways hydrated. This can help reduce symptoms and keep mucus thin, making it easier to cough up if necessary.
“Recent evidence strongly indicates that with rising global temperatures, the exceptionally warm summer experienced in Canada last year is likely to become the new norm, raising significant concerns for the 4,600,000+ people living with asthma in the country,” emphasized Jeffrey Beach, President & CEO of Asthma Canada. “Last year we observed a notable increase in the volume of calls to our Asthma & Allergy HelpLine during wildfire season, highlighting the escalating concerns regarding asthma management.”
Get a Sleep Apnea Diagnosis in the Comfort of Your Own Home
Sleep disorders are common, but long clinic wait times make getting diagnosed challenging. Sleep Efficiency offers at-home sleep tests with quick results.
Getting a good night’s sleep is an uphill battle for many Canadians, but an undiagnosed sleep disorder shouldn’t be an added burden. Unfortunately, lengthy wait times at sleep clinics — up to a year or more depending on the location — can leave people in the dark about their own health.
If you snore (or your partner’s snoring is keeping you up at night) and you’re wondering if it’s a symptom of a larger problem, it might be time for a sleep test. But the traditional sleep test experience is an uncomfortable ordeal. Patients have to spend a night in a hospital or a lab, hooked up to numerous electrodes and wires and under constant video surveillance. While comprehensive, this setup can be intrusive and disruptive, making it difficult to get a natural night’s sleep. It’s no wonder that at-home sleep tests are an increasingly attractive option for people across the country.
a healthy range who have some of the worst sleep apnea I’ve ever seen. The condition does not discriminate.”
Sleep apnea is characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep, which can lead to fragmented sleep and various health issues like hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and even stroke. Fortunately, the technology behind at-home sleep tests — which can diagnose sleep apnea and other conditions — has come a long way. They’re clinically validated and approved by regulatory bodies like the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and at Sleep Efficiency, all the results are reviewed by a qualified respirologist. Patients also receive a detailed copy of the report, and the service includes a virtual consultation to go over it in detail.
One in four Canadians are either at risk for sleep apnea or already have it, and about 80 per cent are undiagnosed due to limited testing availability or a lack of awareness.
Sleep apnea is more common than you think Not everyone who snores has obstructive sleep apnea, but snoring is a common symptom. “One in four Canadians are either at risk for sleep apnea or already have it, and about 80 per cent are undiagnosed due to limited testing availability or a lack of awareness,” says Andrew Holmes, a registered polysomnographic technologist with 20 years of experience in sleep medicine. He’s also the founder of Sleep Efficiency, an Ottawa-based, at-home sleep test company.
“We have to get away from this preconceived notion that sleep apnea is always due to excess weight,” Holmes says. “People of any size can have sleep apnea, and I’ve tested folks well within
Home sleep tests offer easy setup and rapid results
Sleep Efficiency’s at-home test consists of just three components: a probe that goes on the finger, a wrist-worn device, and a nodule placed on the chest. This straightforward setup allows patients to conduct the test in the comfort of their own beds, with all their familiar routines, which may lead to more accurate results that reflect their typical sleep patterns. After all, few people would list “hospital” as an ideal location for a good night’s sleep — especially those with mobility issues, caregiving responsibilities, or even trauma that might preclude a hospital environment for sound sleep.
And while traditional sleep lab tests often involve long wait times, home-based tests from Sleep Efficiency promise results within 48 hours of test completion — no matter your location. This rapid turnaround is especially crucial for people in remote areas where access to specialized facilities is limited and receiving a timely diagnosis can be life-saving.
Quitting Smoking Can Help You Look Better and Breathe Easier
Discover how combination therapy can help you quit smoking for good.
Quitting smoking can be incredibly challenging. Most people need multiple attempts before quitting for good.1 But the benefits of quitting are worth it.
Smoking can lead to breathing problems like asthma and emphysema 2 , increased risk of various cancers, premature skin aging, oral health damage, and hair loss. 3
It’s clear why someone would choose to quit, but how can they get started?
Benefits of combination therapy
Roger Tam, pharmacist and smoking cessation expert, explains, "The best strategy includes behavioural therapy paired with pharmacological aids such as nicotine replacement therapy.”
Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) provide lower, more controlled doses of nicotine than cigarettes, to help individuals manage cravings and quit for good. Combination therapy increases the chances of successfully quitting, and can involve pairing long-acting NRT products like the NICODERM® transdermal patch, to provide all-day support, and fast-acting oral products
like NICORETTE® gum, lozenge, or QuickMist® mouth spray, to relieve cravings quickly. "Using a patch and an oral product helps cover different aspects of nicotine withdrawal, making it easier to stay on track without the harmful effects of smoking tobacco," says Tam.
How Sleep Apnea Obstructs Couples' Sleep
Mediaplanet sat down with Dominique Baker and Krista London to discuss their partners' sleep apnea, its impact on their own sleeping, and how they’ve adapted.
KRISTA LONDON
To help you better understand the level of my husband’s snoring, I want you to close your eyes and envision a train arriving to town.
That noise… THAT’S what my husband’s snoring sounds like!
His snoring got pretty bad a few years back. It got to the point where he always just seemed painfully exhausted. He would dose off even in the most chaotic environment!
After our first baby was born, I couldn’t mentally handle the extra noise at night. So, my husband ended up going for a sleep study, and ended up getting a CPAP machine to treat sleep apnea!
Now that his sleep apnea is treated, he’s much healthier and happier. And most definitely, more awake ��
Despite his sleep apnea being tamed, we have gone through a “sleep divorce”. I can’t handle any level of noise at nighttime anymore. So, for the most part, we do sleep in different rooms. To many people, that sounds like an unhealthy relationship. However, us sleeping separately allows us both to sleep through the night, ensuring we both wake up rested.
And as parents, the only way to survive the chaos is to get a good night’s sleep!
DOMINIQUE BAKER
My husband’s snoring seemed to worsen over the past couple of years, so I encouraged him to see our family doctor. He referred him to a sleep specialist at one of our local hospitals. He was tested and it was discovered that he has a deviated septum. A rhinoplasty was suggested to correct the problem, along with breathing strips, different sleeping positions, etc.
In the past, when his snoring was bad, he would occasionally sleep in one of our guest bedrooms to avoid disrupting my sleep but I hated that. I'm so happy that it is under control now and we are both sleeping better!
Support and determination “Quitting smoking can involve trying different methods, such as nicotine replacement therapy, counselling, or medication, and it may take multiple attempts,” Tam says. “With the right mindset, support, and resources, you can become smoke-free.”
Sandra MacGregor
Veronica Stephenson
Clear the Air and Let Life Be Lived: Reasons to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality
Poor indoor air quality can contribute to allergies, asthma, and other respiratory symptoms. It’s time to clear the air.
Ken Donohue
Do you ever stop to think about the air you breathe in your home?
Most of us don’t. We take it for granted.
Indoor air pollution is that unwanted (and invisible) house guest. It can lead to serious health issues, impact your sleep and productivity.
But you can easily show those dust mites, obnoxious smells, and other scoundrels the door, with the help of innovative solutions from Shark.
The Shark NeverChange Air Purifier will be your new best friend, capturing 99.98 per cent of harmful particles, dust, dander, and smells.
Exceeding HEPA standards, it has a coverage of 1,400 square feet, which will have you breathing easy in any part of your home. You’ll wonder why you didn’t invite the Shark NeverChange Air Purifier over sooner.
Power, versatility & longevity
Fresh has never been fresher, with
Shark’s Odour Neutralizer technology. It protects against unwanted odours throughout your home, releasing a fresh scent and delivering two-timesbetter odour reduction compared to filtration alone. And with its advanced filter technology, you won’t have to replace the filter for up to five years. Shark delivers clean air, convenience and cost savings, so you can feel comfortable in your home.
Now that you’ve cleared the air, you can enjoy those warm days with Shark’s FlexBreeze Fan™, which comes with the InstaCool Mist attachment. Corded or cordless.
Pedestal or tabletop. It’s your choice. Versality and comfort all in one.
It’s not just indoor sleek and outdoor tough, you can enjoy 20 hours of runtime from a single battery charge anywhere you want. Simply plug it in when you want to keep the power going.
When the tem perature goes up outside, you’ll be the envy of your friends and neighbours, sitting comfortably on your patio thanks to the FlexBreeze’s InstaCool Mist attachment. Enjoy the immediate and on-demand cooling mist that can make it feel 5.5 degrees cooler. When it comes to solving household problems (and even problems they don’t know they have), Canadians have come to love and trust the cutting-edge innovation and excellence in quality that Shark products offer. Style and functionality— that’s why you can leave it to Shark to keep you cool and clear the air in your home, letting life be lived to its fullest.
Diving into Respiratory Health with Maggie Mac Neil
Mediaplanet sat down with Canadian Olympic Swimmer Maggie Mac Neil to chat about her journey to becoming a Gold Medalist while living with Asthma, and some of the keys to managing symptoms.
Competing at the highest level of athletics has obstacles and requires a great deal of hard work — doing that with asthma no doubt requires even more. What was it like when you were first diagnosed with asthma? How did you cope with this early in your athletic career?
At first, I ironically had to convince my mother (who’s a physician) that I was having a hard time breathing in the pool and needed to see a respirologist. It wasn’t until months later when I returned from Singapore (one of the most hot and humid places I’ve ever been, other than my current training base in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) that I needed to figure out why I was struggling with the easiest of workouts in preparation for the world cup in Singapore. When I was finally diagnosed, at the age of 17, I struggled initially to find the correct combination and dosage of medications for me to perform optimally. By focusing on sprinting, I was able to achieve all my goals in the pool and I guess I have my asthma to thank for that. If I was not forced to focus on the sprint races, I doubt I would have had the success I’ve had.
Today, you stand as a gold medal winner and a record holder. What are some keys to your success in managing asthma symptoms in a sport that requires strong respiratory endurance?
Asthma has hindered me in some ways, but I choose to look at it as something I am overcoming. Obviously, some days are harder than others, especially training in a facility without air conditioning in southern Louisiana (currently, it’s 35 degrees with the humidity hovering above 85%).
However, for me, I look at the days where I’m struggling with my asthma, and I tell myself that by doing the best that I can (even if it’s nowhere close to my best will help me in the long run), as it is what I do on the hard days that define me, not what I do on the good days.
What impact has the quality of the air you breathe had on your asthma symptoms? What has helped to mitigate this?
As I spend most of my time in a chlorinated environment, it is super important that I try to balance getting fresh air outside without exposing myself to too much of the negative environmental conditions (ex. pollution, humidity living in Southern Louisiana). My asthma symptoms can definitely be exacerbated by the quality of the air so I must remain diligent with my inhalers and exposure to chlorine and other pollutants. In my sporting environment for example, competitions can be extremely long, and usually you sit there for hours to only swim for a few minutes. As I’m training in Louisiana leading up to the Olympics, I have not been able to try out Shark’s amazing air purifier yet but am excited to try it out when I get home to Canada after the Games and integrate it into my daily life to help me breathe optimally.
This article was sponsored by Shark