• Tobacco use or second-hand smoke
• Exposure to cold air or sudden temperature change
• Colds or respiratory infections
• Air pollution or fumes
• Allergic reactions to pollen or mold
• Chalk dust
• Animal dander from cats, dogs, and other furred animals
• Paints
• Feathers or feathered animals
• Cleaning agents
• Cockroaches
• New furnishings or equipment
• Dust, dust mites
• Pesticides
• Vigorous exercise
• Strong odors such as dry erase markers, magic markers, perfumes or glue/paste

You can and should minimize your exposure from potential triggers from the environment by:

• Avoiding tobacco use or second-hand smoke.
• Reducing indoor humidity.
• Have your heating and ventilation systems serviced and cleaned regularly.
• Limiting your outdoor activities when pollen counts are high.
• Keep your environment clean and dust free.
• Avoid using strong-smelling cleansers and heavy perfumes.
• Warm-up before doing any vigorous exercise.
• Wear a scarf around your face during cold weather.
• Take a flu shot annually to protect yourself from flu exposure.
• Avoid furred or feathered pets.
• Reduce carpet and upholstered furniture in your home.

Try to isolate your particular triggers and do everything you can to avoid or minimize your exposure to them. The best way to deal with an asthma episode is to not have one.

If you’re interested in more detailed articles on asthma triggers, please see: Is Your Home Causing Your Asthma?, Asthma and Outdoor Air Pollution in Southern California and Asthma Proof Your Home.

Originally posted under: Asthma Treatment and Management - Natural Asthma Relief on Azmacare.com

• Unless absolutely necessary, do not administer antibiotics to children under six months of age (European Respiratory Society Conference, Vienna, 09/03).
• Children under the age of three should consume full-cream milk and butter daily (PIAMA Birth Cohort Study 2003; 58:567-72).
• Stay out of indoor swimming pools; their chemicals can make lungs more susceptible to asthma (Occup & Environ Med 2003; 60:385-94).
• Avoid hormone replacement therapy when you reach menopause (Arch Int Med 2/23/04).
• Don’t smoke; don’t let family members be exposed to secondhand smoke. According to Robert Fink, MD “[T]he hospitalization rate for asthma in children is 50% higher if there is a smoker in the household.”
• Open windows at home to clear the house of indoor air pollutants.
• Avoid products, such as hairspray, that come in pressurized cans.
• Practice stress relief, and transmit this information to your children.
  “[E]motionally induced’ asthma is a real entity,” says Dr. Fink. “It has been shown that crying or laughing can elicit a histamine response”– that is, a release of the chemical responsible for allergic reactions.

Originally posted under: Asthma Treatment and Management - Natural Asthma Relief on Azmacare.com