Dodge Holiday Asthma Triggers

On Saturday, I attended  our local Asthma Day Camp with my daughter, sponsored by the American Lung Association, and was “enlightened”…

• the holidays offer up interesting Asthma Triggers that surprised me!
• the medicine in an inhaler comes out at 60 miles per hour.
• making “fake” mucus is just as gross and making the real thing in your body.After consciously accepting that in addition to turning on my “Spidey” senses towards identifying food allergens during the holidays, I sat down at the computer to see what others were saying about Holiday asthma triggers and to take better care this season.

For my family, the strategy is to check out what asthma triggers are in our home, school and when we are spreading our Christmas cheers with friends.  Before I bring in the Christmas decorations, I wipe down the dust from the boxes in the garage, I use limited amounts of candles and am wary of the fire-place.  Actually, I am terrified of the chimney flue and forcing smoke back INTO the house.  I also hold my breath when heading to house since my lungs scream out when neighbors burn pine in their fireplaces.    The cold air is rough on us too, so we wear scarves that we hold across our nose and mouths and try to breathe through our noses only!
 
 
 
 
 

Here are some very interesting and worthy articles to read about Holiday Asthma Triggers…

Holiday Asthma Triggers for Kids–from WebMD.  Okay, I did not know that Christmas trees can still hold pollen and mold and when they get warmed up in a house it gets released?!?!  Seriously?  I always thought my dad was super sensitive in general when he said real trees bother his hay fever and I didn’t take him too seriously.  Shame on me!  The bad daughter awards comes my way again!  Drats.
Say Bah Hum Bug to Allergy, Asthma Triggers–from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.  Foods can be asthma triggers too, so if you are heading off to celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Christmas, check in ahead of time with your hosts regarding allergens!  I almost made a big sesame seeds mistake at Christmas party and I learned my lesson that I needed to call ahead while the host is cooking not when she/he is busy entertaining 30 guests!
 Surviving the Holidays-A guide for those living with Asthma–from my dear friends at the American Lung Association (I am openly and freely biased here).  You can download a how to “travel with asthma check list”! Sweet!  I have my own checklist, but I like their better!
You Better Watch Out for Allergy and Asthma Triggers this Holiday Season–from the St. Claire Patch, I learned that folks with latex allergies need to steer clear of Poinsettia plants!?!  I knew they were toxic to small children and animals, but didn’t realize the relationship to latex.  Wow.
Allergies, Asthma and Winter Holidays–from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. These folks remind us that stress is an asthma triggers, so make low stress plans.  Also, I discovered that if you leave your pet behind while traveling, you may experience allergy/asthma symptoms upon your return since your tolerance may be lowered while apart from Fido.  They call this the “Thanksgiving Effect”…who knew?

I did learn one other piece of information at Asthma Camp:  mouse urine is an asthma trigger, so please, capture those mice before they pee all over your baseboard!  Then you are busy trying to identify and clean up mouse urine.  Lovely eh?