Important lessons we learned when an acute illness hit our household

Four members of my immediate family have multiple types of angioedema. Three of us have hereditary angioedema (HAE) and require only maintenance medication to treat it, and we rarely use rescue medications for breakthrough attacks.

When a symptom crops up, we take time to do a self-analysis to see if it will escalate to the point of needing our rescue meds, or worse, a trip to the emergency room.

An interesting development happened recently involving the one perfectly healthy person in our family: my wonderful husband, Daryl. He is the rock of our blended family and supports the rest of us in so many ways, including physically, emotionally, and financially.

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Daryl is blessed to have only one diagnosis: mild hearing loss caused by not wearing ear protection during a concert, where he and his best friend were in the front row next to 40-foot speakers. But I digress. This man never gets sick! He’ll get a cold every few years, which slows him down for possibly a day. Thus, he’s developed an annoying habit of believing that if he just pushes forward and thinks positively, everything will be fine.

Leah, 22, is the only one of our children currently living at home. Since she and I both have autoimmune conditions on top of our other diagnoses, my husband’s can-do attitude when it comes to health can come off as rather insensitive. While we love him dearly and he takes such amazing care of us, his attitude about getting sick can sometimes be counterproductive.

For example, he recently felt like he might have a cold, and as usual, he refused to take medication. That same week, he traveled across the country to a conference. When he returned, his symptoms had worsened, so he simply increased his intake of vitamin C.

The next week, both Leah and I acquired whatever illness it was. We both took as many over-the-counter medications as we could, and we quickly improved. However, a week later, all three of us had the symptoms again, which was frustrating. My husband powered through it again, but Leah and I were really affected.

A week ago, our symptoms mutated into what were possibly the signs of an HAE attack, although it wasn’t like anything either of us had experienced before. We discussed the fact that it might’ve been a combination of lowered immune response and HAE inflammation, but it still seemed weird.

Fortunately, we both had an appointment scheduled with our immunologist that week. After our usual discussions with the doctor, we told him about our new symptoms. After examining us, he believed we both had infections that required antibiotics. After our first day of taking them, things improved dramatically.

The following day, Daryl admitted that he was still feeling under the weather and thought it might be shingles cropping up again. I insisted he make an appointment with the doctor.

So what have we learned from this whole fiasco? My hubby now understands that taking care of himself is not a selfish act. Likewise, Leah and I have learned that if we’re feeling ill beyond our usual chronic symptoms, we should pay attention and take action. The other takeaway is that each of us must accept responsibility for our own health, not just for the sake of ourselves but also for those we love and care for. Whether you’re a patient or a caregiver, it’s important to take care of your health, too!

Note: Angioedema News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Angioedema News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to angioedema.