Ask the Advocates: Environmental Factors That Affect Asthma

There are so many potential asthma triggers out there, and everyone has different ones! Some people really suffer during certain seasons when specific pollen is in the air, and others have to be conscious of everyday household triggers like dust or pet dander. We asked our advocates, “What environmental factors impact you or affect you the most?” Here are some of their answers.

What environmental factors affect your asthma the most?

Patti:

My asthma is exacerbated by extreme conditions. So it can get bad in both the winter months and summer months. Every time my asthma has been at its worse, other than the days of passive smoking, it has always been when pollen levels have been extremely high.

I like to think I know the tell-tale signs now and can manage proactively. However, I cannot afford to have a laissez-faire attitude. Otherwise, things could turn dangerous pretty quickly. So I always need to be on the ball with managing my conditions. Obviously, dusty or damp environments have a big impact on my asthma, though, there is more control to avoid these environments.

Rebecca:

At times, growing up, I believed I was allergic to the world. Environmental triggers brought about severe reactions. One trigger was being around a campfire. We would spend time outdoors at New York state parks, on beaches, or camping over the summer months. Once the fire was lit, I would find that I would have to leave to snuggle up in the back of the station wagon, under a blanket, windows mostly closed, to avoid the bad air. While others would spend hours gathering and singing, long into the late evening, I’d be avoiding activities I most cherished. Away from family games, enjoying stories, and the laughter. With treatment, I am now able to bear a campfire.

My family is full of tobacco smokers. As I manage my breathing now, I find I have to avoid it at all costs. Back in the 1970s and 80s, my parents smoked in the house and car, on vacation, or after eating a meal. It was a way of relaxing after a busy day. Looking back, I can remember very few adults, friends, or relatives, who did not smoke. I hate to admit it, but I smoked for many years as well, out of habit, as a vice. Highly impressionable and extremely uneducated about smoking, this terrible habit had the most effect on me when it comes to emergent worsening asthma. Exposure to tobacco, a toxic irritant early in life, was extremely damaging to my health. I most assuredly can say without a doubt it was a major factor in my ill health and advanced asthma symptoms.

As I got older and traveled to school on the bus, I noticed breathing problems worsening on the way to school, easing up in classes as the day went on, only to worsen when I headed home early evenings on the public bus. Exhaust is a major trigger for me and my asthma. Many studies have been done on the effects of bus and auto emissions on childhood asthma. To this day, I cannot be around a running auto, truck, or bus. And, I find it extremely difficult walking down a busy street in a big city because of the effects it has on my asthma. It will shut down my lungs and steal my last breath. It is a major trigger that sets off an asthma attack, and I avoid this at all cost.

John:

The environmental factor that affects me the most are respiratory viruses, such as those that cause the common cold. Sure, sometimes colds are just minor and annoying. But sometimes, they irritate my asthma, causing me to slow down and seek help. I work in a hospital where I probably have more exposure to viruses than the general population. So, masking around sick people helps me avoid this trigger.

All my other environmental factors influencing my asthma are your common allergens. Although, the ones that hit me the hardest are mold spores. Mold is another tough one to avoid, although I do try. I discussed my strategies for avoiding it in my post "How I Avoid Mold." Pollen really bothered me in the past, though Singulair seems to have made that trigger insignificant. And, last but not least, those infamous dust mites even get on older baseball cards, making my chest tight when I look through old boxes of cards. Although, I am starting allergy shots soon. My doctor says this treatment should make it so dust mites no longer trigger my asthma. I hope he's right.

Theresa:

Environmental factors can play a major part in asthma control. Depending on where we live can make a huge impact on asthma. I moved to the midwest from southern California 4 years ago, and my asthma basically did not know what to do with itself. We moved from a coastal town with almost non-existent humidity to a place with all 4 seasons and very high humidity for a good 6 months out of the year. My lungs went from dealing with basically the same temperatures and air quality to a place where they can change daily.

I never experienced allergies before moving to the Midwest, and now I have to take allergy medicine almost every day. The pollen counts here can be quite high when the crops are growing in local farmland. The one thing that seems to set off my asthma the most is drastic changes in the weather. It can go from being very warm to snowing overnight. I have learned how to prepare as best I can for basically any situation over the past 4 years. I will check the weather, air quality reports, and pollen counts multiple times throughout the day and plan accordingly. I always have my rescue inhaler on me at all times when out of the house and keep my asthma action plan updated annually. We absolutely love the Midwest and all of the seasons that come with it, and I am able to enjoy them when I am prepared.

Andrea:

This can be tricky because trying to figure out what triggered an asthma attack can take some detective work. Is it one thing? Or a combination? Is there a new asthma trigger?

Pollen really bothers my asthma. Not only in the spring but also in summer and fall. I only get a few short months of relief before pollen season starts over again the next year. I also check the air quality index to see if that’s bothering me. Sometimes it’s a high pollen count day AND a bad air quality day.

And wildfire smoke… I REALLY hate wildfire smoke. I ended up in the ER this summer from California’s wildfire smoke (and I live a thousand miles away!) A year ago, my son ended up in ICU due to the wildfire smoke from a local fire. So wildfires make me really nervous.

Dust has always been a problem for me (which can make cleaning nearly impossible.) I want to clean out and re-configure my garage, but I am not sure I will be able to get anywhere near that project! Cleaning out the shed left me with swollen eyes, a stuffed-up nose, and very cranky lungs.

Cold temperatures really affect my lungs. Not just the cold weather when I am outside, but also anything I eat or drink that is cold (ice cream, smoothies, yogurt, and drinks with too much ice.) When I was in the ER this summer from the wildfire smoke, the nurse asked if I wanted ice in my drink. I told her no because ice would make my asthma attack even worse! Once again, my asthma triggers can combine to make my lungs really miserable.

I am also allergic to any pet with fur -–cats, dogs, horses – you name it, it will set off an asthma attack for me.

What environmental factors affect your asthma the most?

As you can see, our advocates have a wide range of environmental factors that affect their asthma. Although some overlap person to person, there are also major differences in what impacts them. Do any of these environmental factors impact you? Are there any that were not mentioned in this article that affects your asthma? Share with us in the comments below!