The first step in controlling Asthma triggers is accomplished by removing contents and materials that can harbor mold and other Asthma triggers. This needs carefully accomplished without spreading the allergens through the home like the white seeds on the dandelion plant. Treating the home with the proper treatment methods and products is another important step. Our approach to this is to help our clients by identifying the sources of allergens. We then write an assessment report to guide remediators on the path to giving you a healthy home.
Though mold is one of the leading triggers for Asthma, we need to look at every trigger in the home to make it a healthy home. Other allergens include animal dander, dust mites, cockroaches and pollen.
This baby is peacefully sleeping on the beautiful carpet and is breathing in dust mites, dander, dirt and every other allergen brought across the floor on the shoes of every visitor and paws of every pet. YUCK!
Control irritants: These can include tobacco smoke, sprays, plug in air fresheners, fragrant candles, sprays, smog and other pollutants. These can be better controlled with use of sweepers with HEPA filters and not bagged sweepers. Install hard surface floors instead of carpet. Minimize dust.
Avoid Other Asthma Triggers: These include sulfites in food and beverages. These sulfite sources include alcohol, dried fruit, processed potatoes, sandwich meat and shrimp.
Cold air can be an Asthma trigger as well as some medicines such as cold medicines, aspirin, vitamins, and some other supplements.Pesticides to control the pests that are triggers can also be Asthma triggers. Other VOC’s can be triggers. Make sure to avoid those chemicals.
We are experts in the subject of mold, allergens and environmental triggers. That is what we do every day. We want to do more than talk about mold and allergens. We want every child to have the best chance of having a healthy life. That is why you can trust us to provide “Healthy Home” information for you and your family. Please consider us a trusted friend and bookmark us or sign up to receive our future blog posts.
NIH video: patients and scientists work together to advance asthma research.
On World Asthma Day 2018, the National Institutes of Health stands with people worldwide to renew our commitment to advance understanding of asthma and develop effective strategies to manage, treat and ultimately prevent the disease. A new three-minute NIH video provides a glimpse into the stories of patients and doctors who are working to advance research. Patients discuss the impact asthma has had on their lives, and investigators highlight promising areas of research and the critical role that clinical trial volunteers play in combatting the disease.
Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by episodes of airway narrowing and obstruction, causing wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. An estimated 235 million people worldwide, including 24.6 million in the United States, have asthma. The disease can reduce one’s quality of life, and it is a major cause of missed time from school and work. Severe asthma attacks may require emergency room visits and hospitalizations, and they can be fatal. NIH is committed to reducing the burden of this disease, which disproportionately affects minorities and families living at or below the poverty line.
NIH conducts and supports all stages of asthma research, from basic studies in the laboratory to human clinical trials. Clinical research volunteers are essential to developing new interventions and treatments, and NIH expresses our gratitude to all the individuals and families who have participated in these clinical studies.
Three NIH institutes support and conduct studies on asthma—the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Each institute focuses on a specific area of asthma research, with the common goal of developing improved strategies for management, treatment and prevention of this chronic disease.
NIAID supports asthma research focused on understanding the immune responses that lead to asthma, as well as developing asthma prevention strategies and treatments to improve life for those with the disease. As part of its broad asthma portfolio, NIAID sponsors two major programs — the Inner-City Asthma Consortium (ICAC), which studies the causes of asthma in urban children and works to develop treatments to improve asthma; and the Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers (AADCRC) program. With nine centers around the country conducting state-of-the-art human, basic and applied animal model research, the AADCRC program aims to understand the origins of asthma and the reasons underlying development of severe asthma. ICAC supports nine clinical research sites located across the United States, including the Improving Pediatric Asthma Care in the District of Columbia (IMPACT DC) asthma clinic at Children’s National Health System, led by Stephen J. Teach, M.D., M.P.H., chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Children’s National.
Clinical research volunteers share their experiences of living with asthma and participating in NIH studies. To search for asthma studies in your area, please visit https://clinicaltrials.gov/.
NHLBI’s broad asthma research portfolio includes efforts to understand the biology of disease development, progression and severity and to optimize treatment for patients. Children’s National is a clinical site for the Oral Bacterial Extract (ORBEX) study, which is testing new ways to prevent or reduce wheezing in infants, a major risk factor for later development of asthma. Severe asthma, which disproportionately affects women and minorities, is an area of emphasis for NHLBI. Research in the laboratory of Stewart J. Levine, M.D., in NHLBI’s Division of Intramural Research revealed that apolipoproteins—proteins in blood that typically transport fats into and out of cells—play a role in asthma severity. Based on this research, NHLBI scientists have developed a potential new asthma treatment—a synthetic protein that mimics the function of an apolipoprotein associated with better lung function in people with asthma. In addition, the new NHLBI clinical trials network Precision Interventions for Severe and/or Exacerbation-Prone Asthma (PrecISE) will conduct early clinical trials with novel interventions in severe asthma patients to identify the best interventions for specific groups of patients. NHLBI also funds the Asthma Empowerment Collaborations to Reduce Childhood Asthma Disparities. This program supports clinical trials to evaluate Asthma Care Implementation Programs (ACIPs) that provide comprehensive care for children at high risk of poor asthma outcomes and will also include measures of the ability to implement and sustain the ACIPs in specific communities.
Asthma research conducted by NIEHS scientists focuses on the complex relationship between the environment, the immune system and asthma. Stavros Garantziotis, M.D., leads the Natural History of Asthma With Longitudinal Environmental Sampling (NHALES) study at the NIEHS Clinical Research Unit. The study examines how the environment affects asthma symptoms. In particular, Garantziotis and colleagues are investigating how the microbiome — the microbes naturally present in and on the body and in the home — may be associated with asthma activity. NIEHS also funds researchers studying the impact of environmental exposures on asthma. Some of these projects include pioneering the development of sensor systems that measure personal exposure to environmental triggers of asthma, clinical trials examining reductions in indoor air pollution exposures to improve asthma control, and innovative data science tools that integrate nationwide environmental data. These efforts promote better asthma prevention and management strategies. Several studies are specific to high-risk populations, including children and the elderly.
These examples represent only a small portion of NIH efforts to reduce the global burden of asthma. NIH is grateful to all those who help make advances in care possible—from scientists and health care professionals to clinical research volunteers, advocates and educators. Together, we can advance our shared mission to develop and implement effective strategies for the management, treatment and prevention of asthma.
NIAID conducts and supports research — at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide — to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders. The Institute also administers national health education campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available online at https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health. For more information on NIEHS or environmental health topics, visit www.niehs.nih.gov or subscribe to a news list.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®
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Allergies are all about your immune system. The job of your immune system is to protect you from germs such as bacteria and viruses. But if you have an allergy, your immune system will also defend your body against a harmless substance -- such as cat dander or dust mites -- that you encounter.
When you come across an allergy trigger, your body makes molecules called IgE antibodies. These trigger a series of reactions that can cause swelling, runny nose, and sneezing.
In people with allergic asthma, the muscles around their airways begin to tighten. The airways themselves also become inflamed and flooded with mucus.
The symptoms of allergic asthma are generally the same as those of non-allergic asthma. They include:
Allergens you inhale are some of the most likely to worsen your allergic asthma.
People may also have allergic reactions if they touch or eat allergens. This type of exposure rarely causes asthma symptoms, but it can cause a serious and even life-threatening reaction, such as anaphylactic shock, which makes it hard to breathe.
Irritants can also trigger an asthma attack, even though they don't cause an allergic reaction.
Your doctor might recommend allergy tests to figure out what allergens affect you. These tests usually involve pricking your skin with a tiny amount of the suspected allergen or injecting it under your skin. Your doctor then checks your skin for a reaction.
If a skin test isn't possible, you might get a blood test instead.
When pollen counts are high, stay inside as much as possible. Keep the windows closed. If you have an air conditioner, use it to filter the air.
To keep dust mites out, wrap your pillows, mattress, and box springs in allergen-proof covers. Wash your sheets once a week in hot water.
Get rid of items where dust can gather, such as on heavy curtains or piles of clothing. If your child has allergic asthma, only buy washable stuffed animals. Remove wall-to-wall carpeting, if possible.
If moisture is a problem in your home, get a dehumidifier to cut down on mold. Repair any plumbing leaks.
If you have pets, keep them out of the bedroom.
Keep your kitchen and bathroom very clean to avoid mold and cockroaches.
Be careful doing outside work. Gardening and raking can stir up pollen and mold.
Bronchodilators, which relax the muscles around the airways, allow you to breathe easier. These drugs are often used to stop asthma symptoms after they've started. Sometimes, you use them daily to help control your asthma.
Anti-inflammatory drugs, which ease swelling, are used for long-term control of asthma.
Other medications can prevent your airways from tightening or block the release of chemicals that trigger the allergic reaction.
Allergy shots or tablets can train your immune system to stop overreacting to specific allergens.
https://www.webmd.com/asthma/surviving-allergy-season-15/allergic-asthma-what-is-it
Strong Emotions Can Trigger Asthma
Strong emotions like anger can make you breathe faster and set off an asthma attack. Laughing, crying, yelling, and even feeling stress or fear can be triggers, too.
Some Children Can Outgrow Asthma
About half of all children seem to outgrow asthma symptoms by their teen years, though these symptoms may come back in up to 50% of those children when they become adults. Once the airways become sensitive to asthma triggers, they remain that way for life.
Of the 24 million Americans living with asthma, about 6 million are children. Kids can have normal, active lives with proper care. Learn your child's asthma triggers and work closely with his doctor. Teach your child to care for his asthma and to tell you when he doesn't feel good. If your child is missing a lot of school, it probably means he needs a better treatment plan.
Many People with Asthma also Have Allergies
A Quick-Relief Inhaler Works Best With Other Medications
If you're having an asthma attack, a rescue inhaler can help in the moment. But if you have symptoms often, you may also need to take medication daily to help control flare-ups. What counts as often? Either:
Quick-relief inhalers don't prevent asthma attacks.
Everyone needs exercise, including people with asthma. Working out can help strengthen your breathing muscles. Talk to your doctor. With the right treatment, you can control your asthma and stay fit.
Warm up before you work out, and cool down to help with chest tightness. Avoid outdoor exercise on chilly days, when the pollen or air pollution counts are high, or if you have a respiratory infection. You might also want to talk with your doctor to see if using an inhaler before you exercise could help.
Often, a cough is the only sign of asthma. If you find yourself coughing at night, when you exercise, or if your cough won't go away, it may be asthma. Other common symptoms are chest tightness and trouble breathing, and wheezing. If you have any of these, see your doctor. The sooner you start treatment, the less damage to your lungs.
A primary care doctor can usually diagnose and treat asthma. You may need to see a specialist if you need extra tests, if you've had a life-threatening asthma attack, or if you need more help to keep your condition under control.Obese Individuals Have a Higher Chance of Having Asthma Compared to Those Who Aren't
Among other things, obesity can cause your airways to narrow. That can lead to asthma. Being overweight can also make asthma harder to control.
Researchers are looking at links between obesity and inflammation. Extra fat can lead to inflammation in the whole body, including the lungs. Trouble with breathing could also cause people with asthma to be less physically active.
“Status asthmaticus” is a medical term for the most severe form of an asthma attack. If it happens, you may have to go to the hospital to get it treated.
Your asthma action plan, which you’d make with your doctor, will tell you exactly what to do. It should include things like taking your medicine, avoiding your asthma triggers, keeping up with your doctor appointments, and what to do if your asthma flares up.
If you have a really bad asthma attack and your rescue inhaler or your nebulizer doesn't help, you need immediate medical care.
If you have a steroid medicine at home (such as prednisone), you can take a dose of it on your way to the emergency room.
Doctors don’t know why some people get severe asthma attacks. It may be more likely if:
You may not be able to prevent all severe asthma attacks. But you can take steps to make them less likely.
Take your asthma medication exactly as your doctor recommends. If you’re not sure if you’re doing it right, ask your doctor or pharmacist to show you how.
Avoid your triggers (such as dust, pollen, or chemicals at work). Your doctor can help you identify all of the things that could prompt an asthma attack.
Use your peak flow meter several times a day. This will help you to know how well your lungs are working. If the meter shows a lower reading, follow your asthma action plan to start treatment right away, even if you feel OK.
Go to all of your doctor appointments. This is important to do so that you and your doctor know you’re doing well and to make sure your asthma medicines are working for you.
How could we ignore our children’s health?
We know enough to want our kids to have a safe and healthy home. We are wise enough to know that being healthy as a child leads to better health as an adult. We have learned that exposing our children to mold, lead, asbestos, radon, VOC’s, pesticides, MRSA and other toxins needs to be stopped. We know that children do not learn as well when they are sick from environmental hazards. We understand the defects like lead that can cause brain damage or mold that can result in a child becoming an asthmatic.
What are we thinking if we are not willing to deal with these issues?
I admit there are barriers to doing a good job in providing healthy buildings for our kids. Together, we need to look at that set of obstacles and get past them.
Barriers to Environmental Health Action
Funding: It takes money to identify and correct the problems
Knowledge: There is a shortage of environmental consultants who are qualified to look at all of the risks
Inertia: We do things “the way we always have done them.” Change to do new programs often waits until someone becomes seriously ill.
PR Risk: It is crazy, but when we identify a problem to fix it, we can get public outrage and negative press. It is easier to turn a blind eye and mot know what is a problem
Untrained staff: The people in the classroom are often not be trained to identify the unhealthy conditions
Compartmentalized workers: We look at our own issues. An example: The person in charge of storing books may not recognize lead dust from the peeling paint in the book closet as a hazard.
No good place to start: Any major effort should have a start and goals. Where do we find those?
No “band leader””: There needs to be a person who is granted authority to act.
Technician’s treat conditions as events, not deal with the process: An example would be painting over mold so that it is not visible instead of looking for the HVAC, plumbing or roof defect that caused the mold.
This is a daunting list of challenges. We want to start the process of getting past those barriers that can affect the health of our children and solutions to create a healthier environment in our schools
Our exposing our youth to mold, lead, asbestos, radon, VOC’s, pesticides, MRSA and other toxins needs to be stopped. It starts with education about these issues and each of us. Check back with us for videos and postings to identifying and solving environmental hazards in schools.
Well, if you think about it, that may be precisely what you are doing when it comes to mold and allergens. Really, would you allow a poisonous snake to bite you just because you had the anti-venom?
As an example, when you take anti-histamines without removing the cause of your body producing the histamines, your body continues to try to convince you to stay away from m the cause of your bodies’ reactions. You will then need to take more medication, and your body will continue to communicate to you to change the exposure. The best procedure is to try to discover the cause of the problem and correct it. …instead of allowing “the snake to bite you and then taking the anti-venom”.
According to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2014, 7.7% of people in the United States had asthma. That equates to over 24 million people with the chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways.
According to the EPA, 1 out of 10 children have Asthma. Just imagine what that means to every one of their families. Picture the mothers. fathers and others flinching as a child struggles and gasps for air.
A child never gets back the missed ball games or other special occasions during a chronic episode. They will always remember the doctor visits, the very scary nights in the hospital.
There is overwhelming stress and anxiety for everyone when an Acute Asthma attack occurs. Ironically, that stress can add to the severity of the attack.That stress is deeply emotional and too often very financial.
In the past, we centered our attention to providing the proper Asthma medication for our children. Isn’t it time that we trade reaching for an inhaler for doing things to AVOID having that attack!
Even one avoided Asthma attach can be a victory. With a change in how we approach this affliction, we can have many more than 1 victory
A “Functional Medical” provider and a growing number of other medical practitioners have programs that consider the whole person and their individual lifestyles and environments.
These professionals can help patients and caregivers to reduce the underlying conditions that will elevate a chronic disease such as Asthma to an acute attack.
Some of those factors are diet, weight and exercise. Other factors to consider relate to nutrition and sleep patterns.Then, there is one more very important and too often ignored factor. That is the indoor air environment
The step by step way to improve the home to avoid asthma attacks is our separate video that I hope you will take time to view. It has great suggestions you may not have thought about.
The poets describe our lives as going “from our first breath to our last”. We breath day and night, in good times and bad times. We can skip eating for a day. We can’t stop breathing and remain alive for more than minutes. That makes the indoor environment a 24-7-365 kind of issue.
In our care for asthmatic children and adults, we must look at the underlying conditions that harbor mold and allergens and take positive action to minimize those exposures.
We then need to test the air we breathe for trigger molds and allergens.
If we find elevated mold and allergens, we need to take action to protect our loved ones by eliminating those airborne triggers. First by removing the conditions that contribute to the elevated levels and then by eliminating those nasty culprits we breathe in thousands of times a day.
Treatment should be conducted using a “Green” treatment product that is applied by professionals sensitive to the issues surrounding indoor air quality and its effect on general health. We need to take care to avoid making the indoor environment worse by having unprofessional treatment using harsh chemicals.
The first step in controlling Asthma triggers is accomplished by removing contents and materials that can harbor mold and other Asthma triggers. This needs carefully accomplished without spreading the allergens through the home like the white seeds on the dandelion plant. Treating the home with “Green” treatment methods and products is another important step. Our approach to this is to not only treat the home, but help our clients identify sources of allergens.
This baby is peacefully sleeping on the beautiful carpet and is breathing in dust mites, dander, dirt and every other allergen brought across the floor on the shoes of every visitor and paws of every pet. YUCK! ?
Cold air can be an Asthma trigger as well as some medicines such as cold medicines, aspirin, vitamins, and some other supplements. Pesticides to control the pests that are triggers can also be Asthma triggers. Other VOC’s can be triggers. Make sure to avoid those chemicals.
We ware experts in the subject of mold, allergens and environmental triggers. That is what we do every day. We want to do more than talk about mold and allergens. We want every child to have the best chance of having a healthy life. That is why you can trust us to provide “Healthy Home” information for you and your family. Please consider us a trusted friend and bookmark us.