When my daughter was diagnosed with asthma at eight years of age, my home life changed drastically.
We went from carpet to hardwood floors and shut down our fireplace insert. I missed the fireplace the most but it seemed like every time we cranked that thing up, my daughter went into bronchial spasms. Dealing with her asthma took some getting used to as we tried to figure out the best regimen to help get control of it.
Our family physician started my daughter on albuterol which was great as an emergency inhaler but she needed more than just that one medication to control her asthma. He put her on a preventative inhaler that she used once in the morning and suggested that we get an air purifier. That did it! The purifier was what was missing from the equation. From then on my daughter had a portable unit right by the head of her bed and one night it saved her life, quite literally.
We had purchased a metal bunk bed set a couple of months before my daughter started using the purifier and one night one corner of the bed came apart. A metal joint had broken through and that thing came down on my daughter’s head. The miracle was that she had pulled the purifier close to her face that night and it took the blow instead of her forehead. I’m convinced that the goose egg size bump that rose up on her head would have been much worse had the purifier not been there to break the fall.
Another thing you can do is buy protective coverings for your child’s mattress and box spring as dust and dirt can collect on them and make asthma symptoms worse. Since children spend several hours per night in bed, it makes sense to use special coverings.
In Summary: Asthma Do’s:
- Consider changing from carpet to hardwood.
- Dust and Vacuum Frequently (not with your child in the same room to avoid kicking up allergens).
- Consider purchasing an air purifier.
- Revisit medications prescribed by your family physician and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
- Buy special allergen dust covers for mattress and pillows.