asthma Archives

Air Pollution and Asthma … Bad Air Affects Us All

For years the EPA has been saying the air inside our homes and offices can be more polluted than the air outside the front door.

This is very true because of how tight our homes are engineered to save money. Then factor in all the various household chemicals we use day to day, and you can see we can have indoor air pollution as well as outdoors.

Whether inside or outside, air pollution and asthma are not a match made in heaven.

People with asthma need to be aware of all the “stuff” outside in the air that can hurt them. Man-made air pollution comes from cars, trucks, industries, and other sources of burning fuels.

During the summer months when it is very hot, lots of sunlight and low winds create something called a smog cloud. In some places like LA, it literally looks like fog. Not a day goes by that we don’t hear something about the ozone level or layer.

In our local newspaper, we have an ozone chart that shows what the ozone level for the day will be. In South Florida, most days are good or mild. We have the ocean breeze that keeps the ozone levels down.

No matter where you live, it is important that you monitor your daily ozone levels. People with asthma need to stay in air-conditioned spaces when the ozone levels are high. Ozone is the major reason that air pollution and asthma don’t play well together.

FYI… If someone tries to sell you an air purifier that they say stops harmful ozone and hangs around your neck .. RUN…

Wishing you the best of health
Mike Krause
AllergyStore.com – Serving Customers Since 1989
800 771-ACHOO

Trendy Supplements For Asthma Don’t Work

In a recently published article in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Hortensia Moreno-Macias reports that her review of published studies indicates that there is no clear evidence of a relationship between the use of antioxidant supplements and other dietary supplements and a decrease in allergies or asthma.

Oxidative stress stimulates the inflammatory responses that can lead to allergic diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, supplements for asthma and food allergies. The conventional wisdom holds that antioxidants would relieve this oxidative stress. However, a review of the published studies does not show this to be the case. So much for conventional wisdom!

In short, while there was no compelling evidence that the use of fish oil, vitamin C, vitamin E, and other antioxidant supplements for asthma had a positive impact on allergies or asthma they found out that it didn’t harm either. The researcher recommends that in certain situations where antioxidants might not be available in the diet that supplements for asthma might be appropriate.

So, if you feel your diet is not complete and you want to take an antioxidant go ahead, just don’t expect it to help your allergies or asthma any more than eating a well-balanced diet.

Wishing you the best of health
Mike

Discover How to Explain Asthma to Your Child

You suspected something was wrong. You looked at the 10 Signs you May Have Asthma and made an appointment with the doctor for your child. Now, you just left the doctor’s office knowing for sure why your young son has been coughing and wheezing all this time. It is not an infection. It is asthma. Now you must explain asthma to your child.

Before you can explain asthma to your child, you must do your homework. First, you must learn everything you can about asthma;

what it is,
what causes it,
what are your child’s triggers,
what to avoid
and how to treat it.

Your world just got a bit more complicated.

What do you need to cover when you explain asthma to your child? Explain asthma to your 8-year-old son in terms he can understand. Explain that he now has to take medicine, and use inhalers and peak flow meters. Let him know these are helpers to keep him healthy. Assure him that he will get comfortable with a mask put over his mouth for breathing treatments. Hard stuff for an adult to deal with much less an 8-year-old.

This is how some of our customers have handled explaining asthma to a child.

Be honest. Let them know that asthma is serious but with some work, they will be able to still have lots of fun. There will just be some new rules to follow. When they ask what asthma is keep it simple. “Asthma makes it hard for you to breath sometimes” The best example if you have to explain asthma to a child is an experience from their own life. Remind them of a time they had difficulty breathing. Get into more detail when they can understand it.

Teach them their triggers and asthma symptoms. Let them know they will need to be more careful and pay attention to their surroundings. Your child needs to understand the signs of an asthma attack and what to do if they have a hard time breathing. “Find mom or dad, your teacher or another adult if you don’t feel good”.

Keep them involved. Make a game out of filling out the peak flow meter charts. If one of their triggers is pollen, teach them what pollen is and where it comes from. If weather changes trigger your child’s asthma, watch the Weather Channel and learn about cold fronts. Great time to teach them about keeping a daily journal.

Asthma is a lifelong condition but it does not necessarily mean they can’t do the things they like to. They and you just need to be careful.

Wishing you the best of health

Mike Krause

The Allergy Store