If you are asthmatic and want to minimise your chances of having asthma attacks in your home, here are some steps you may want to take.
Dust your shutters every evening
If you have had shutters fitted on the windows in your home, then it is important to dust the shutters' slats every evening. The reason for this is as follows; over the course of the day, the dust in the air will settle on these slats. When you then open or close the shutters, this dust will be thrown into the air as a result of the movement of the slats.
This could then trigger an asthma attack, as this dust will contain thousands of dust mites. These mites are a very common allergen, and they often cause breathing problems when they are inhaled by asthmatics.
When you remove the dust from the slats, make sure to do so with a damp cleaning cloth, rather than a feather duster. The reason for this is as follows; when you slide a feather duster over a dusty surface, a lot of the dust particulates end up being flung into the air. As such, if you use this cleaning tool, you may end up having an attack whilst you are dusting.
Conversely, if you use a damp cleaning cloth to wipe away dust, the particulates will cling to the cloth material instead of becoming airborne.
Be cautious when lighting open fires in the winter
There are few things more welcoming and cosy on a cold winter's night than an open fire. However, if you are asthmatic and you often use your fireplace during the colder months, it is important to take some precautions, as the smoke and fuel particulates that are emitted into the air when a fire is lit could irritate your lungs, which could then lead to you having an asthma attack.
First and foremost, make sure that the chimney is cleaned before the cold weather arrives, as lighting fires when the chimney is covered in soot will result in the entire room filling with smoke. The inhalation of this large amount of smoke would almost certainly set off an asthma attack.
Secondly, avoid sitting too close to the fire, and if possible, keep the door to the room open or one of the windows in that room ajar, as this will ventilate the space and thus minimise the risk of the fire smoke triggering an attack.
