People are usually shocked when I share that my mum passed away from asthma. 

And when I reminded them that famous singer, Teresa Teng passed away from an asthma attack, they would nod silently with a distant look in their eyes. 

I know that look. They are thinking about someone in their lives who has asthma. It’s a very common disease – one that can kill but no, it will never happen to us or one of ours.

My brother, mum, sister and I. Mum passed away two years after this picture was taken.

Unfortunately, I came to know that “It will never happen to one of ours” is a lie early on in life.

It can happen to anyone. Mum passed away when I was 13. She was only 34 years old.

I still remember the last time I saw her at the hospital. She looked fine, smiling, urging me to leave soon because my younger brother who was 11 at the time, was waiting for me at the hospital lobby. He was too short to enter the adult ward. She promised me that she would be discharged in a few days. 

I couldn’t sleep well that night. At 5 am, our home telephone rang. Someone on the other side of the line told me that my mum had died. But she couldn’t have died. Yes, she’s been going in and out of the hospital, but she always comes home. She told me that she would come home.

Mum told me that I had my first asthma attack when I was a baby. My sister is spared by the disease but my younger brother has it too. It’s something that we all learn to live with.

Don’t run too hard – you may get out of breath and you can’t breathe. Avoid smoky places. And dust. And “cooling” food.

Once I had a whole coconut to myself during dinner, and I was hospitalized that very night because the nebulizer at the clinic couldn’t stop me from wheezing.

The only way to relieve the symptom back then was to take the tiny pills that doctors prescribed or go to the clinic and spend 30 mins to an hour breathing the medicated air through a nebulizer. And if that doesn’t help, you spend the next couple of days in the hospital with the medication dripped into your bloodstream.

Sometime during my teenage years, the doctor prescribed the blue reliever inhaler to me. I thought it was god-sent! I brought it everywhere with me. I could even explain to my friends how the inhaler helps to open up my airways and helps me to breathe better,

I believed that as long as I had my blue reliever inhaler with me and I don’t OD on it, I thought I’d be fine.

But what I didn’t know back then, is that you are only supposed to use the blue reliever inhaler as it is – a reliever. It doesn’t address the inflammation in the airways which causes asthma. In other words, it doesn’t heal me.

I came across the Reliance Test recently. I was fairly confident going in. I thought I was well under-controlled. So it came as a surprise when I learnt that I’m at high risk of relying too much on the blue inhaler.

The test results also say that regular use of a blue inhaler may increase the risk of asthma attacks. It can be harmful if you are using it three or more times a week on its own.

What an eye-opener. Of all the time I thought I was helping myself, I was doing the opposite. Now I have a much clearer idea of whether my asthma is truly well-controlled.

I urge you to take this five-step questionnaire on the RateYourReliance.sg website to understand whether you or any members of your family are overusing the blue reliever inhaler. You can also download the test results and head to your doctor for advice. 

I’m not letting my mom’s death stopping me from living a full life. Yes, I may have asthma too, but I’m determined to manage it well, get healthy, and live my best life now that I’m a mother to 3 wonderful children.

For more information about asthma management, go to http://aaa.org.sg

My book is out. Get your copy here!