Introduction

Finding triggers may not always be easy, but when you do find a trigger you can cut down the exposure and help avoid asthma attacks. Controlling outdoor exposure is hard. You can try to avoid going out when the pollution and pollen counts are high. Indoor air is easier to control. Air conditioning helps because it allows you to keep the windows down and the doors shut. This keeps some pollen and mold spores outside. It also lowers indoor humidity and these helps to control mold and dust mites. Your room temperature should be comfortable. You may find it hard to tolerate a big temperature change, particularly from warm to cold air. There are some devices that effectively remove particles from the air and are currently under study of their usefulness at reducing allergy symptoms.

Tobacco Smoke: smoke should not be allowed in the home of someone with asthma or allergies. First suggest to family and friends to quit smoking, but this must be restricted to the outdoors.

Wood Smoke: smoke from wood burning stoves and fireplaces can provoke an asthma attack in adults and children, please try to avoid these.

Pets: almost all pets can cause allergies, including dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, and guinea pigs. If a pet is a trigger source and the pet stays in the home, keep it out of the bedroom of anyone with asthma or allergies. Giving weekly pet baths may help cut down the amount of pet saliva and dander. It may be of benefit to remove the pet from the home, if this is done pet allergen may stay in the home for months after the pet is gone because it remains in house dust. Allergy and asthma symptoms may take some time to get better. You may hear certain dogs and cats are "non-allergenic". There is really no such thing because they leave behind the dander and saliva. Goldfish and other tropical fish are suitable pets.

Cockroaches: these can even be a problem and it’s very important to get rid of them in your home. The cockroach allergen comes from dead roaches and roach dropping. It collects in house dust and is hard to remove. Careful cleaning of your home helps.

Indoor Mold: when humidity is high molds become a problem in the bathrooms, kitchens, and basements. These areas need to have good air circulation and cleaned often. Molds can form on foam pillows when you perspire. To prevent this you can put the pillow in an airtight cover and tape the cover shut, wash the pillow every week and change it every year. Molds also form in houseplants, you may need to keep them outside.

Strong Odors and Fumes: perfumes, room deodorizers, cleaning chemicals, paint, and talcum powder is to be avoided or kept to very low levels.

Dust Mites: these are tiny, microscopic spiders usually found in house dust. Several thousand can be found in a pinch of dust. Mites need the most work to be removed. You can use an allergy control solution cleaner to kill the mite allergen. Here are some other tips to help get rid of dust mites: 

• Put mattresses and pillows in airtight covers, tape over the length of the zipper and wash the pillow every week.

• Wash all bedding every week in water that is at least 130 degrees F, removing the bedspread at night may help.

• Don’t sleep or lie down on upholstered (stuffed) furniture.

• Remove carpeting in the bedroom.

• Clean up surface dust as often as possible. Use a damp cloth or mop, don’t use aerosols or sprays cleaners in the bedroom and don’t clean or vacuum a room when someone with allergies or asthma is present.

• Window coverings attract dust. You may want to use window shades or curtains made of plastic or other washable material for easy cleaning.

• Remove everything from under the bed.

• Cut down the humidity in your home, a dehumidifier may help.

• You can cover bedroom air vents with several layers of cheesecloth to lower the number of larger-size allergen particles.

The lung-function tests include Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT) and Peak Flow Monitoring.   A part of the PFT is a spirometry which involves blowing into a mouthpiece which measures how fast air moves in and out of your lungs. In Peak Flow monitoring you blow into the meter which measures the greatest amount of air you can exhale. Peak flow meters are easy to use by yourself every day. They can help you to know if your breathing problems are starting even when you don’t feel any symptoms.

Medications are usually divided into rapid acting and maintenance control medications:

    When taking asthma medication it is important to follow-up with your doctor regularly. Asthma medication can cause you to have some of these side effects: Sore throat, nervousness, nausea, rapid heartbeat, loss of appetite, or insomnia.

Tell your doctor if you are having any of these side effects.

    The steroids that are used to treat asthma are not the same kind of steroids that you hear of the athletes using; those are called "anabolic steroids". Corticosteroids help prevent asthma attacks from starting. When you take these in the spray form, the risk of serious side effects is very little, if any at all. Recent studies have shown that certain inhaled steroids may be associated with decreased or slowed growth in children going through their growth phase.

    The National Asthma Education Prevention Program (NAEPP) state that the use of inhaled steroids at recommended doses does not have frequent, clinically significant, or irreversible effects on any of the outcomes reviewed.

    The side effects of steroids used to treat asthma increase only when these medicines are taken in a pill or liquid form over a long period of time. In this case you need to have regular check-ups by your doctor to make sure this medicine is working best for you.

MYTH: Some dog breeds, such as Chihuahuas, are better for people with allergies & asthma.
REALITY: It is the protein found in the pet's saliva, dander and urine that causes allergies in some individuals, not the pet's hair. Since all dogs have dander, saliva and urine, no particular breeds are better for people with allergies & asthma.

MYTH: Asthma can be cured.
REALITY: There is no cure for asthma. However, with proper diagnosis and treatment, asthmatics can lead normal, active lives with little disturbance to quality of life.

MYTH: Inhaled medications, such as those in inhalers are dangerous.
REALITY: Inhaled medications, including corticosteroids, are the safest and most effective means to treat asthma that currently exist.

MYTH: Allergies are a harmless problem.
REALITY: Allergies are a serious problem and should be treated effectively. If left untreated, allergies can lead to impaired quality of life, including impaired sleep and learning ability, as well as missed school and work. Untreated allergies can also result in other chronic respiratory problems such as asthma, sinusitis, or dermatologic disorders such as eczema and urticaria. Some allergies, such as food allergies, drug allergies or insect sting allergies, can even lead to anaphylaxis --- a systemic allergic reaction that sometimes can be fatal.

MYTH: Alternative medications are equally effective as prescription medications.
REALITY: Alternative medications should never substitute for traditional, scientifically proven medical treatments for asthma and allergies. Alternative medications have only recently been subject to scientific scrutiny, so the safety and effectiveness of these therapies remains unknown.

MYTH: Continuous exposure to pets will decrease allergies.
REALITY: The best way to relieve symptoms is to remove the pet from the home. If removing the pet is not an option, keep the pet out of the bedroom, bathe the pet twice weekly to reduce the amount of allergens into the air, have a non-allergic family member brush the pet outside, and clean out the animal's cage or letter box frequency.