It’s only 9:30-ish on Wednesday night and I’m ready to go to sleep.

One of my biggest concerns when I have a cold is that it can trigger an asthma attack. The only time in the last few years that I’ve had a bad asthma attack was as a “complication” of a cold. Not even the flu, mind you. Whenever I start coming down with a cold, I monitor my peak flow and I start myself on albuterol every 6 hours. Sometimes (like today, actually) I start on inhaled steroids, too. I’ll go to every 4 hours if every 6 doesn’t do it for me. If I start having problems maintaining a decent peak flow between albuterol puffs, it’s time for the doctor and a course of prednisone (which I hate to take).

The other key in keeping my breathing normal is drinking lots of water. Lots. Water helps to keep chest congestion from getting too thick. (Not a nice thing to talk about, but it’s relevant.) Forget that 8 glasses a day thing — drink much more than that. I also take expectorant (guaifenesin syrup) pretty early on in the cold. That also helps keep things “fluid.” I take the plain Robitussin stuff. No cough suppressant. Just guaifenesin.

Obviously, if you have asthma you need to run all this past your doctor. But this is what I’ve found helps keep me out of the ER with an asthma attack when I have a cold.