How To Control Asthma Triggers

[Source: Healthy Times Blog]

Not all of my random knowledge is self taught. Shocking, I know. I am a Certified Asthma Educator and spent years in one of the nation's highest volume pediatric centers for asthmatics in Washington, DC.

Asthma is all about control. By identifying, avoiding, and managing triggers, along with knowing when and how to take breathing medications, asthma can be controlled. What may be a trigger for one person may not be for others and it is important to know what irritates your airways. This is  a list of common environmental triggers and how you can control them.

From the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program's Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma

Tobacco Smoke

• If you smoke, ask your doctor for ways to help you quit and ask family members to join or support you in your efforts.
• Do not allow smoking in your home, car, or around you. If you are the parents of asthmatic child that is exposed to caregivers to smoke, ask them to speak to their doctor about trying to quit. If this is not possible ask that they smoke outside and that they wear a coat while they smoke and take it off before they come back inside.
• Be sure no one smokes at a child's daycare or school.
• Secondhand smoke is not only associated with asthma in children but also in an increase in ear infections.

Dust Mites

• Dust mites are tiny bugs you cannot see that live in carpet and cloth.
• Encase your mattress in a dust mite proof cover
• Encase the pillow in a dust mite proof cover or wash it weekly in water hotter than 130 degrees to kill the mites. Cooler water with bleach is another alternative if washing in hot water is not possible.
• Wash the sheets and blankets each week.
• Reduce indoor humidity to less than 60%, ideally 30-50% by using a dehumidifier or central air conditioner.
• Try not to sleep or lie on cloth covered furniture.
• Remove carpets from bedroom and those laid on concrete if possible.
• Keep stuffed toys out of bed, or wash toys weekly in hot water or in cool water with bleach. Placing toys and pillows in the freezer or dryer may also help. Prolonged exposure to dry heat or freezing can kills mites but does not remove the allergen.

Animal Dander

• People are allergic to the flakes of skin or dried saliva from animals
• Keep pets with fur out of your home
• Keep pets out of the bedroom and keep bedroom door closed
• Keep pets out of rooms with carpet or upholstered furniture

Cockroaches

• Many people are allergic to the droppings and remains of cockroaches
• Keep food out of your bedroom
• Keep garbage in closed containers
• Use roach traps or poison (boric acid)
• If using an aerosol or spray poison, stay out of the room until it has dissipated

Vacuum Cleaning

• Ask someone else in the family to be responsible for vacuuming. Stay out of the room while being vacuumed and for a short while afterwards
• If you vacuum, use a dust mask and a vacuum with a HEPA filter or double layer bag

Indoor Mold

• Fix leaking pipes or other sources of water
• Clean moldy surfaces
• Dehumidify basements

Pollen and Outdoor Mold

• During allergy season or when pollen counts are high:
• keep windows closed
• stay indoors during midday and afternoon (pollen and some mold spore counts are highest at this time)
• ask your doctor about taking or increasing anti-inflammatory medications before allergy season starts

Smokes, Strong Odors, and Sprays

• Avoid wood burning stoves, kerosene heaters, fireplaces, and unvented gas stoves
• Avoid sting odors or sprays- perfumes, talcum powder, hair spray, paints, new carpet, particle board

Other Things That Can Irritate Asthma:

• Sulfites in food: beer, wine, shrimp, dried fruit, processed potatoes
• Cold air
• Other medications: tell your doctor about other medications you take including cold medications, aspirin, and even eye drops