Remove Asthma Triggers from Your Home

[naviga:img width="32" height="32" src="277523_files/image001.gif" align="right" hspace="5" vspace="10"] Having a hard time breathing? Join the club. According the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 14 million people visit the doctor in search of treatment for asthma each year. Researchers do not know for sure what causes asthma, but they do know what triggers attacks.

According to professors at the University of Minnesota, one way to avoid an asthma attack is to be sure your home is as free as possible of substances that trigger asthma, including tobacco smoke, wood smoke, pets, cockroaches, rodents, mold, strong odors and fumes, and dust mites.

Following are suggestions from university professors for each for controlling triggers.

*Forbid smoking in your home. Ask family members and friends to smoke outdoors, or better yet, suggest that they quit.

*Avoid wood stoves and fireplaces.

*Stay away from pets. Almost all pets, including birds and hamsters, can trigger asthma. Pet allergens may stay in house dust for months after the pet is gone so if a pet must visit your home, keep it out of the bedroom of anyone with asthma. People spend hours on their pillows so they are not a good place for pets to be.

*Control moisture. Molds, which can trigger an attack, grow on damp materials. Keep bathrooms, kitchens, and basements clean, dry and well ventilated. Mold also forms on pillows and houseplants. Therefore, wash and dry pillows often and keep plants outdoors. Finally, reduce humidity to 30 to 50 percent, and use high efficiency particulate air filters and cleaners.

*Avoid perfume, room deodorizers, cleaning chemicals, paint, and talcum powder.

*Cut down on dust mites. They are found in bedding, carpet, and upholstered surfaces. Put pillows, mattresses, box springs and comforters in allergen impermeable covers. Wash bedding, including pillowcases, every week in hot (130 degrees F) water. Do not use aerosol spray cleaners; use damp cloths to clean surface dust rather than vacuum. Avoid lying on upholstered furniture and remove carpet, window draperies, and stuffed animals from bedrooms.