Asthma and Environmental Factors

Sunday, August 16, 2009, 12:47
Asthma
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Rick:

Let’s talk about ways that patients can improve the environment at home or at work to lead a better life, to have more symptom-free days.

Dr. Stempel:

There are two main factors that we deal with, especially in the Pacific Northwest. We’ve got lots of dust mites. And it’s very important for people to take control of the dust mite situation in their home. Dust mites are predominantly in the bedroom. That’s where they cause the greatest impact, and the biggest impact is in one’s own bed. So we suggest very simple means of dust control. You don’t need to buy any fancy air purifiers or expensive vacuum cleaners. But what you do need to do is buy a pillow cover and a mattress cover. And they now have them so they’re not crinkly, so you can actually sleep on them, and not be awakened at night. And then wash the bedding in hot water. The other one that’s a little bit harder to convince people of is how to take care of that friendly, four-legged creature in the house. How do you deal with the cat that’s been there for 12 years and the child who’s only been around for 10 years? I mean, those are some of the problems that you need to deal with. And unfortunately, it’s a really major problem. It’s hard to convince someone sometimes to get rid of the cat.

The third factor that we really need to remember is that there should never be indoor cigarette smoke. This is really an important factor. It definitely contributes to the problems with asthma, either for the person who is the smoker and even for the person who is the passive smoker. So this is something that needs to be addressed. And I think looking at these three problems is very, very important if we’re trying to meet those expectations of improved control.

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