Danielle Chase

💡TL;DR: ALS weakens the breathing muscles, not the lungs, so early clues are orthopnea, morning headaches, daytime sleepiness, and a weaker cough. Starting noninvasive ventilation at night when tests and symptoms change can improve sleep and daytime energy and is linked to longer survival. Airway clearance tools (assisted cough,

💡TL;DR: RSV can cause a skin rash, but it is uncommon and usually mild. Most rashes appear around days 3–5 of illness and fade within 3–7 days. The bigger risk with RSV is breathing problems, not the rash. Seek care fast for trouble breathing, blue lips/skin,

💡TL;DR: Most upper respiratory infections (URIs) are contagious because they are caused by viruses that spread easily through droplets and on your hands. You are usually most contagious in the first 2–3 days of symptoms and can spread infection for about 3–10 days overall. Stay home while

💡TL;DR: ALS gradually weakens the breathing muscles, so most people start with noninvasive ventilation (a BiPAP mask) when symptoms appear. A tracheostomy with a ventilator can extend life by a median of about 21 months after surgery, but it usually means 24/7 dependence on the machine and caregivers

💡TL;DR: Most babies, children, and adults with RSV get better with supportive care alone and never need an antiviral drug. Ribavirin is an older antiviral that is reserved for rare, very high-risk cases, such as some hospitalized infants and severely immunocompromised adults. Because it is expensive, difficult to administer,

💡TL;DR: Most people with RSV are contagious for about 3 to 8 days after symptoms start, and you can begin spreading the virus 1 to 2 days before you feel sick. Babies, toddlers, older adults, and people with weak immune systems can shed RSV much longer, sometimes for 3

Is There a Test for RSV? 💡TL;DR: Doctors can test for RSV with a quick nose swab that looks for the virus in your mucus. Testing is usually reserved for infants, older adults, and people with high-risk conditions or severe breathing problems, not for every mild cold. Rapid tests

💡TL;DR: Incentive spirometers are devices you slowly inhale through to exercise and reopen your lungs, while peak flow meters are devices you blow into to measure how fast air leaves your lungs. Use a peak flow meter mainly for day-to-day asthma or lung function monitoring, and an incentive spirometer

💡TL;DR: Chest percussion therapy machines use vibrations or gentle thumps on your chest to loosen thick mucus so you can cough it out more easily. They are usually prescribed for chronic lung or neuromuscular conditions when coughing alone is not enough. Vest systems and handheld percussors can cost from