Asthma and Allergy - Control Your Symptoms at Home

An allergen is something that reacts inside the body when your skin contacts it, you breathe it in or you swallow it. It sets off an immune system chemical chain reaction. This chain reaction releases a series of chemicals, including histamines, from special cells in the body, called mast cells. Histamines are the major cause of allergy symptoms, such as congestion, itchy eyes, dripping nose, and sneezing. That's why when you see a doctor for allergic symptoms s/he may suggest an antihistamine.
Unlike allergens, irritants do not trigger the chemical cascade from the body's immune system. Medical specialists don't know exactly why irritants cause nasal and respiratory symptoms, but it may have something to do with the sensitivity of the tissues inside the respiratory passages. When exposed to an irritant, the nose or lungs reacts with the same types of symptoms mentioned above, but it can also trigger an asthmatic attack.

If you're bothered by allergens, you're likely to be bothered by irritants, as well. If your symptoms occur at certain times of the year, like spring or fall, then you may have seasonal allergies. If your symptoms occur year-round, then you might be sensitive to something in your indoor environment that triggers it.

Only your doctor can tell you for sure, and prescribe the right treatment for you.

There are a wide variety of things in your environment at home that can cause problems. Not all of these factors can be detected with your nose. Here we will discuss the things that that can cause allergies and irritation which can aggravate your asthma.

Anything that causes irritation to your respiratory system can aggravate or precipitate asthma. Here are some common factors that can cause respiratory irritation:

• Tobacco Smoke

• Wood dust (can be allergenic as well)

• Smog (environmental pollution including ozone)

• Household cleaning products

• Perfumes, air fresheners and other cosmetics that contain volatile organic products

• Automobile exhaust (or combustion products in general)

• Household maintenance products (paint, turpentine, solvents, glues, epoxies, stains, sealers, etc.)

Strategies for managing household irritants

Remember, irritants will cause no problems until they are released into the air. So, keep all volatile material tightly closed in their containers.

• For irritants that may be entering your house from the outside like automobile exhaust or environmental pollution, you must close up your house as much as you can. This may require new gaskets for windows, door jambs, or sills.

• For irritants released inside your home there are three possible alternatives:

1. Remove the offending material (i.e. make the smokers go outside)


2. Replace the offending material with something non-irritating


3. Reduce the amount of offending material released into your house when you are home. Alternatively, if the material cannot be replaced, use it judiciously, only when the sensitive individual is not home or in conjunction with a high quality air filter.

• If the material cannot be removed or replaced, you should consider cleaning the air by FILTRATION. The first place to look is the filter you use on your heating and air conditioning equipment. Most home furnaces are not designed to be equipped with a HEPA filter, but the filtration efficiency on the filters you buy can certainly be upgraded. These filters can normally only filter out particulates such as dust, pollen and spores. If you need to buy a stand-alone unit, be sure to select the right kind of filters. If the irritant is a particle such as wood dust or components of tobacco smoke, a High Efficiency Particulate Aerosol (HEPA) filter must be used. If the irritant is a volatile organic such as cleaning products, perfume or solvents, an activated charcoal filter must be used to absorb the gasses and vapors.

If you would like additional information on air cleaners you can find it

The source of your ALLERGIES cover a very wide variety of organic material that if exposed to repeatedly, your body may begin to react to it as a foreign material. Then, a cascade of chemicals is produced by your body to "protect" you from the offending material. The allergy symptoms will generally show up where the allergic reaction is taking place. So if you encounter the plant poison ivy, the allergic reaction will be found where your skin touched the essential oils of the plant. If you breathe particles into your lungs, you will have respiratory symptoms. If you are allergic to wheat and you eat a wheat bearing product, your symptoms will be gastric in nature.

In the home, the primary allergens will be airborne, and come from an amazing variety of sources. Here are some:

Inside your home right now you have hundreds of different kinds of MOLD growing on any surface that contains organic material. It can grow in your carpet, on vinyl flooring, painted surfaces, furniture, drapes, and clothing. It can grow on all these surfaces because its needs are so simple. Mold only needs some organic surface, moisture and the proper temperature to grow. Let's use your carpet as an example. You have mold in your carpet. It's in your carpet because mold spores are everywhere. They are microscopic and cannot be seen by the naked eye. The job of mold is to break down organic material - all organic material. You know its working because if it did not, the world would eventually become covered deeply by whatever did not break down. It's what nature uses to bio-degrade everything.

So let's say you come home from work and as you open the front door, a single mold spore floats in with you. The mold spore floats over to your carpeted area and slowly sinks down into the fibers and lays there. But, you say I vacuum diligently. Yes, and every time you vacuum, you may (or may not) pick up our little spore and blow it out the exhaust because unless your vacuum cleaner has a HEPA filter, the spore is so small it simply blows through any other kind of filter.

But, your spore simply lays there because it does not have one critical ingredient for growth - moisture. And one day, in your quest for clean carpets, in come the carpet cleaning man. A few hours later and your carpets are nice and clean and damp. Our little spore who has evaded being picked up by the cleaner, awakens. Moisture is present and it begins to grow. It grows by sending out tiny fibrils that releases enzymes to break down your carpet fibers and backing. It grows as long as the moisture is present which, in the case of a carpet can be days or even weeks depending on the humidity. Then as the moisture levels drop, the mold which has been growing rapidly, stops growing. Now here is what makes mold insidious. It does not die. It goes through a process called sporulation, that turns what started out as a single spore, into billions and billions of spores, all laying there waiting for the next water to arrive. All those spores are now available to be entrained into the air with your vacuum or by simply walking across the carpet.

But, it's not a problem yet. It won't be a problem until (or if) your body determines that kind of spore is a "foreign body" and begins to produce antibodies to fight it. When, or if it does, you will begin to experience allergy symptoms in your house. It's the reaction between the allergen (the antigen in medical terms) and the antibody that creates the cascade of chemicals that include histamine, that are responsible for the symptoms.

No one knows why one person becomes allergic to a certain mold and others do not. It is generally believed that the chance of becoming allergic to something is proportional to the dose you receive. What's a dose? Your dose of the mold spores we are talking about is the amount of spores you breathe in; multiplied by the length of time you are exposed. Or in simpler terms, the dose is the concentration times the time. To reduce the dose, you must either reduce the time you are exposed, or the amount of mold spore you breathe.

Since you live in your house full time, your only choice is to reduce the amount of mold spore (allergen) in the air.

Strategies to combat mold
As I previously stated, mold only needs three things to thrive; an organic surface, water and the proper temperature. You cannot control the organic surfaces mold grows on or the temperature. The only thing you can control (to some degree) is the moisture, both in the air and on your surfaces.

Here are some strategies to reduce the risk mold in your house:

• Only clean your carpet, furniture or any other porous surface, with a non-aqueous cleaner. If that is not an options use a low water cleaning process during a low humidity time of the year, such as winter.

• Be aware of any part of your house that is repeatedly wetted by water such as bathrooms and the laundry room. These areas will have a much greater chance of mold growth.

• If you live in a humid part of the country (i.e. anywhere but the southwestern US) you may need to consider a Dehumidifier. The moisture that molds needs can be either frank moisture such as water, coffee or coca-cola spilled on the carpet, or atmospheric moisture. Mold has enough moisture to grow, anytime relative humidity levels are 60% or higher. I have witnessed visible mold growth on clean painted walls in offices in the Washington, DC area, simply from the humidity levels in air.

• If you cannot control the moisture, you cannot control mold growth.

• If you have a mold allergy problem, consider removing porous material that has been exposed to water and replacing it with non-porous material that can be more easily cleaned. An obvious example is to replace your carpeting with a wood or vinyl floor.

• Clean non-porous surfaces with a mild disinfectant on a regular basis, especially in high humidity rooms such as bathrooms.

• If you continue to experience problems, invest in a high quality HEPA filtered air cleaner to reduce the amount of mold spore in the air.

• When you use a vacuum cleaner, always use a model that contains a HEPA filter to keep from redistributing the mold spore that is present.

POLLEN is a seasonal issue for most of the country. Each spring, summer, and fall tiny pollen particles are released from trees, weeds, and grasses. They hitch rides on currents of air, and make unscheduled detours into human noses and throats. At these sites, the pollen can trigger the allergic reaction that doctors call pollen allergy, or seasonal allergic rhinitis. Many people know this as hay fever. While your doctor can tell you what tree, weed, or grass you are allergic to, that knowledge will not help relieve your allergy

The pollen in many areas of the country is released in such huge quantities that cars parked outside can receive a visible yellow-green coating overnight. This high concentration results in a very high dose for people walking outside, and often allergic sensitization can occur.

Strategies to Combat Pollen in Your Home
Fortunately, pollen does not occur in large concentrations very long. Depending on your specific sensitivity, you may wish to adopt one or more of these strategies.

• If you know what type of pollen you are allergic to, you can get a better idea of when it is released in your area. Watch the pollen count. During that time you need to keep your house as tightly sealed as possible.

• Upgrade the filtration efficiency of the filters on your furnace or air conditioner as much as possible.

• When you VACUUM, only use a cleaner with a HEPA filter to keep from redistribution the pollen in the carpet or on the floors.

• To keep the pollen in your house from being re-entrained into the air during normal activities, damp mop non-porous floors and surfaces frequently during pollen season.

• If you continue to experience symptoms, consider adding a stand-alone room air cleaner equipped with a HEPA filter. The first place you should consider a room FILTRATION device is your bedroom, only because you spend so much time there.

We all love our pets, but is does not matter what kind of little creature we share our homes with; they all contribute ALLERGENS to our environment. But, simply knowing about this can help you make better decisions about taking care of your pet. Here are the things you need to know about your pets.

It does not matter if you have a dog or cat, gerbil or hamster, bunnies or birds, or lizards. All these lovable creatures will shed into our environment. A small, but not comprehensive, lists of things our pets leave behind include:

• Saliva

• Hair

• Dander (skin flakes)

• Urine and other droppings

• Fleas and other parasites acquired in the environment

What everything on this list has in common is the protein content in everything they leave behind. Again, depending on the concentration of the material in your indoor air, and the length of time you are exposed, you may acquire a level of allergic sensitivity to your pet.

Strategies to Combat Pet Allergens in Your Home

• All the strategies we discussed above for cleaning your home all apply here. The intent is to reduce the amount of allergen on surfaces in your home so they are not available to be swept back up into the air where they can bother you.

• If appropriate, you can reduce the amount of cat or dog dander by wiping the coat with a damp cloth daily to reduce the amount of saliva and dander before it's released to your home..

• Be mindful of water splashing from fish tanks and drinking bowls, as this will over time will foster mold growth.

• Allergen rated air filters on your furnace or air conditioner will help reduce the allergen load in the air. Be sure to change the filters as directed.

• When you VACUUM, only use a cleaner with a HEPA filter to keep from redistributing the pet allergens the carpet or on the floors back into the air.

• If your doctor has advised that you are sensitive to your pet, you should seriously consider not allowing your pet to sleep in the same room with you. Since your bedroom is the room you will spend the most time in, it should be as clean as possible with no pet allergens at all. If you have a stand-alone air cleaner, this is where it should be so you can have eight hours of allergy free sleep.

Please don't be offended, but every home has a wide variety of insects living along side you and your family. They are simply a part of the normal eco-system. The number of these insects, however, can and should be controlled. Here are some of the worst offenders:

• Dust mites - they are present in every home since their food source is human skin cells which we all slough off by the millions every day. Dust mites and their food source are often visible in the home and identified by the term "dust bunnies".
  
  Dust mites are likely to be the biggest ASTHMA RISK in your home. With the advent of carpeted bedrooms (which started to increase in the early 1970's) asthma incidence also began to increase because a large population of mites live in the carpet. The other main reservoir of dust mites is the bedding where you sleep. If you have a carpeted bedroom, you have a high risk of developing asthma.
  
  This will not be pleasant to read, but it is very important. Your pillow, sheets, bedding and mattress will contain a population of dust mites that range from hundreds of thousands to several millions. They are harmless to humans, but leave droppings and body parts (when they die) that are all highly allergenic to humans. You will have millions of dust mites per square yard in your carpets. They feed on the skin cells everyone sheds every day. It is estimated that the average human sheds a third of an ounce of skin each day. For these tiny microscopic creatures, that's a lot of food.

• Ants - they will seek entrance into your home on a regular basis attracted by the water or food left out for your pets. If you have an ant problem, seek the help of a licensed exterminator, but be careful of the pesticides they may employ. Since pesticides are designed to kill, be mindful of what is being applied and where.

• Cockroaches - since these creatures can fly, no where is really immune from their presence. More commonly found in multiple dwelling units they can be difficult to eradicate. Again, be sure you do not cause more of a problem with the pesticide then the pest itself.

All of these creatures will leave behind droppings and pieces of wing and shell that all contain highly allergenic proteins. If they infest your carpet, they are harder to remove.

Strategies to Combat Insects in Your Home
Dust Mites - All of your mattresses and pillows should be covered with a dust mite proof covering. Don't worry about the ones already in your pillow, they will die inside the covering and not bother you again. If you have used the same pillow for a few years and noticed that it is becoming more and more firm, please throw it away and buy a new one that you can immediately cover with a dust mite cover. Be sure to wash your sheets regularly in hot water.

• If you have a sofa, that someone sleeps on regularly, cover it with a dust proof covering to put a barrier between you and the mites.

• If you have an asthma problem, you should consider replacing your bedroom carpeting with a non-porous surface that can be more easily cleaned.
  
  • Make sure your vacuum cleaner has a HEPA filter to keep from redistributing the allergens into the air.
  
  
  • Damp mop all non-porous floors and surfaces frequently to remove allergens that have settled onto surfaces.
  
  
  • Be mindful that your pet's feeding area can feed more then your pet.
  
  
  • If regular cleaning cannot reduce the insect population, consider a licensed exterminator. Try to find an exterminator that will use the smallest amount of the least toxic material possible and then in areas where you or you pets will not encounter it.

The indoor air quality in your home is something that should be managed as well as the cleanliness of your kitchen or bathroom. The particulates, gasses and vapors that reside with us can all, in sufficient concentration, contribute to respiratory symptoms. The more we can reduce each of the offending factors, the more we can reduce or eliminate our symptoms.

If you would like to know more about where to find allergy equipment and suplies, please check out the link below.