I grew up as a fiercely atopic kid with red rashes and watery eyes. I would wheeze when I played sports or when I got a cold. During college, my asthmatic lungs faced the East Coast nemesis called winter.
Nowadays, I seek urgent care a couple times yearly for asthma exacerbations, and last winter, I found myself hospitalized with influenza A. I needed bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) for a night during that admission as my tachypnea escalated despite the typical cocktail of inhalers, magnesium, solumedrol, and oseltamivir. I bounced back within a few days and was back to work the following week.