Asthma Proofing Your Home
If your child has asthma, you want to create the best home environment possible. To do that, you need to know which things are triggers for your child and then take steps to eliminate them - as best you can - from your home.
During the winter, everyone usually remains inside this time of year. Indoor air quality becomes poor, while colds and flu’s affect you families, the people in your children’s schools and communities. As homes are tightly sealed with closed windows, air is trapped in the home with less ventilation causing irritants that cause asthma to be more concentrated.
Tobacco smoke, molds, smoke from festive holiday fireplaces and wood stoves used for heat are part of the cause to poor air quality in your home. When these things occur each winter it negatively affects asthma sufferers making their conditions worsen. Asthma is on a rise. Children are increasingly diagnosed with asthma in the United Kingdom and the United States each year. Asthma sufferers can be especially affected by air quality in their environment.
Asthma sufferers often have spikes in asthma symptoms following respiratory symptoms associated with colds and flu. This is the primary reason for increased asthma attacks in the winter. The higher incidence of respiratory illness during this season means this time of year can be twice as hard for those with asthma because colds, flu and other infections like pneumonia can trigger symptoms. Cold or dry winter air can also be a factor. An allergy to dust, pets, animals, pollens or molds also leads to asthma in some individuals.
The number one reason for hospital asthma admissions is colds, even among those with allergy-mediated asthma. However, there are things families can do to help children with asthma get through this time of year.
Diligent hand washing to help prevent colds and keeping air in the home as clean as possible goes a long way. It is also important to lessen the particular allergens that are triggers for each child.
A research study was conducted in 2007. The study’s results showed that changes in the home environment could produce reduction in symptoms comparable to that achieved with asthma medications.
New asthma guidelines released in August of 2007 suggest that reducing dust mites has the strongest impact of all environmental strategies for reducing asthma triggers in homes.
One in every eight children worldwide has asthma. Children-of-color, those who live in the inner city, and those from lower-income families in both urban and rural areas are at greater risk for developing asthma. Increased asthma incidence in these populations may stem in part from higher exposure to multiple indoor allergens and tobacco smoke.
Asthma is a chronic condition of the passageways that carry air to the lungs. These airways become narrow and their linings become swollen, irritated and inflamed. Bronchial constriction, or tightening of the smooth muscles that surround these airways, is the feature of asthma that typically leads to "asthma attacks," which can lead to hospitalization in some children. Below are tips created by asthma specialists, these tips were created to teach you how to asthma proof your home.
Tips to help “asthma-proof” your home:
- Keep children away from second-hand tobacco smoke. If anyone in your household smokes, make sure, they smoke outside or far away from children. Do not allow anyone to smoke in the car when children are present.
- Wood stoves and fireplaces have to be vented well outside, with good draft and well-functioning chimneys. Only light fires when local air quality is good, and only burn wood with enough paper and kindling to start the fire. Never burn other items. Keep as much smoke out of the room as possible by closing fireplace doors.
- Use only clean-burning candles. Plain, unscented natural beeswax candles have a gentle, sweet scent without added perfumes and dyes.
- Avoid bedding or pillows stuffed with down, feathers or foam rubber. Cover pillows and mattress with dust-proof, "hypoallergenic" allergen-impermeable fabric cases. Avoid lots of stuffed animals and plush toys.
- Wash bedding once a week in hot water, and dry in a hot dryer for at least 30 minutes to eliminate dust mites.
- Dust and vacuum when your child is out of the room. Use a damp cloth for dusting, and a vacuum that collects and traps dust mites such as one with a double bag or HEPA (high-energy efficiency particulate air) filter.
- Keep pets off furniture and out of your child's room.
- Use HEPA filters in key locations in your home, especially in your child's bedroom.
- Rid your home of cockroaches and other pests that may carry allergens. To avoid cockroaches or any other types of bugs: Have your home professionally exterminated every few months. In between professional treatments, use bait traps to catch roaches (avoid aerosol sprays, which can aggravate asthma).
- Avoid saving boxes, paper bags, or newspapers in piles around your home.
- Do not leave open food or dirty dishes lying around your kitchen.
- Keep counters free of crumbs or spills.
- Keep garbage containers closed.
- Wash recyclables before putting them in the bin.
- Keep your child's medicines including asthma inhalers on hand and up-to-date. Ask your doctor to check your child's lung function and sensitivities to airborne allergens. Also, ask them to help you make a written asthma management plan for your child.
To help the asthma sufferer in your home you will need to get rid of any mold or mildew in your home. Mold is a big factor for people with asthma. By reducing or eliminating the mold or mildew in your home, you can help your asthma tremendously. The steps below will help you rid mold or mildew from your home.
Molds are microscopic plant-like organisms. They can grow on many surfaces and flourish in damp places like bathrooms and basements. Molds reproduce by sending spores into the air; inhaled mold spores are a common asthma trigger.
To reduce moisture and mold:
· Fix leaky pipes, faucets, or roofs. Clean and repair roof gutters regularly.
· Make sure your bathrooms and basement are ventilated well. Install and use exhaust fans to help lower moisture in these areas.
· If you have any damp closets, clean them thoroughly and leave a 100-watt bulb on all the time to increase the temperature and dry out the air.
· Run a dehumidifier in the basement or other damp areas. Again, it is important to empty and clean the water pan often.
· Remove wallpaper and wall-to-wall carpeting from bathrooms and basement rooms.
· Run the air conditioning (this is especially helpful if you have central air), making sure to change the filter monthly.
· Avoid houseplants, which may harbor mold in their soil.
· Clean any visible mold or mildew with a solution that is one part chlorine bleach to 10 parts water. Do not paint or caulk over moldy surfaces without cleaning them first.
· When painting bathrooms or other damp areas of your house, use anti-mildew paint.
· If there is visible mold on ceiling tiles, remove and replace them. Also, check to see if there is a leaky pipe that may be causing the problem.
· Replace or wash moldy shower curtains.
