As someone who suffered from moderate asthma as a child, I know how scary an asthma episode can be. Sometimes asthmatic episodes are impossible to prevent, but a lot of the time, you can help lower the chances of one occurring by making some changes in your home. Your environment contributes quite a bit to your lung health and function, so especially as an asthmatic, you need to take extreme care to make sure you are living in the very clean, trigger-free home. It’s better to be a neat freak than to be sick all the time!
Keep everything clean.
You should clean your home on a regular basis anyways for hygiene and other personal reasons, and because not doing so could result in an asthmatic episode. The specific areas you need to focus on most include: your bed, carpet, and air vents. For good health, it is essential to clean every area of your home, but these ones are of the utmost importance because they can collect many asthmatic triggers over time. If you have allergies along with asthma, you will also need to clean the bathrooms and the kitchen regularly and be watchful for any mold growth in your home because the spores could potentially cause you to have an asthma attack.
Avoid all triggers.
There are a few things you should avoid in your home altogether because they are common asthma triggers. While they may not affect everybody in the same way, you will probably want to play it safe and avoid them anyways to keep yourself safe. Roaches, pets, pollen, dust, aromatic cleaners, air fresheners, and smoke all have the potential to irritate your lungs and result in an attack. Some of these triggers can be difficult to avoid, like if you already have a pet, but if you are extremely sensitive to your pet’s dander, you may want to consider rehoming him. I know this is not an ideal option, but in all seriousness, it could be a life or death decision for you.
Work with your doctor to find a solution.
If you find that you are having frequent asthma attacks, but you aren’t sure what is triggering them, you need to join forces with your doctor to figure out and remedy the situation. Before making an appointment, try to remember if there is anything new in your house that could be triggering your asthma. It could be something as simple as the new dry shampoo you bought that has a powerful scent. Work with your doctor to determine potential triggers, then eliminate them from your home, one at a time, to figure out which one is making you ill. It may be tedious and inconvenient to eliminate some things from your life, but your lungs and overall health will be much better off because of it.
