Making your home allergy & asthma friendly - Tip#1

 

I was listening to an asthma webinar the other day by two pharmacists. 

I'm not suggesting you disagree with someone with medical training, but I will anyway.....

A listener asked him if you should change things in your home to make it more allergy/asthma proof. He said no. 

He has a family member with asthma, and he had removed his carpet and replaced it with wood floors. But he said it would be too expensive for most people.

I think he missed the boat. 

There are a lot of things you can do to make your home better. One the biggest things you can do to make your house allergy & asthma friendly is to take your shoes off at the door. 

Removing your shoes at the front door 

You use a basket, small bookshelf, big plastic bin - use whatever works for you. As a former Interior Designer, mine has to coordinate with my beachy vibe, so I use a large wicker basket.

So, what's the big deal about wearing shoes in a house? 

Well, everywhere you have been during the day (public bathroom, walking through leaves and dirt, stores, work, parking lots etc.) is all on the bottom of your shoes. And that is now being tracked across your floor. 

Nasty is on the bottom of your shoes - like dirt, mold, fungi, chemicals from the lawn, etc. The first 8-10 steps you take wipes all of that nasty stuff all over your carpets and floor. Now imagine if you have kids sitting or crawling around on the same floor.

The pharmacist missed the boat on this because he said to just keep taking your asthma medicine. He tried one thing in his house to make it allergy & asthma friendly, and said it didn't work. So that's it? He won't try anything else? 

And discourage his patients from making any changes to their home?

Asthma Doctor always told me that using emergency inhalers is just a band aid approach. You have to find out WHAT is triggering your asthma. 

If you can make changes in your house to make it a little cleaner and safer for allergies/asthma, why not try? 

An allergy & asthma friendly house can help your lungs have less swelling - which can help you have fewer asthma attacks. 

I'll keep posting tips here that we've learned over the last decade. 

Stay tuned!