Learn More: Athsma

Asthma

Cockroaches

About Cockroaches

Droppings or body parts of cockroaches can be asthma triggers.

Cockroaches are commonly found in crowded cities and the southern United States. Certain proteins, called allergens, are found in cockroach feces and saliva and can cause allergic reactions or trigger asthma symptoms in some individuals. Cockroach allergens likely play a significant role in asthma in many inner-city areas.

Actions You Can Take

An important key to pest management is to free your home of places for pests to hide and to keep them from food and water. Pesticides are toxic for people as well as pests; try to use pest management methods that present the least risk. Some of these methods are:

  • Do not leave out food or garbage.
  • Store food in airtight containers.
  • Clean all food crumbs or spilled liquids right away.
  • Wash dishes as soon as you are done using them.
  • Keep counters, sinks, tables and floors clean and clear of clutter.
  • Fix plumbing leaks and other moisture problems.
  • Take piles of boxes, newspapers, and other items where cockroaches may hide out of your home.
  • Make sure trash in your home is properly stored in containers with lids that close securely, and remove trash daily.
  • Try using poison baits, boric acid, or traps first before using pesticidal sprays.

If sprays are used:

  • Limit the spray to the infested area.
  • Do not spray where you prepare or store food, or where young children play, crawl, or sleep.
  • Carefully follow instructions on the label.
  • Make sure there is plenty of fresh air when you spray, and keep the person with asthma out of the room while spraying. After spraying, the room should be thoroughly aired out.

Source: EPA

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Combustion Pollutants

What are Combustion Pollutants?

Combustion pollutants are gases or particles that come from burning materials. The combustion pollutants discussed in this booklet come from burning fuels in appliances. The common fuels burned in these appliances are natural or LP gas, fuel oil, kerosene, wood, or coal. The types and amounts of pollutants produced depend upon the type of appliance, how well the appliance is installed, maintained, and vented, and the kind of fuel it uses. Some of the common pollutants produced from burning these fuels are carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particles, and sulfur dioxide. Particles can have hazardous chemicals attached to them. Other pollutants that can be produced by some appliances are unburned hydrocarbons and aldehydes.

Combustion always produces water vapor. Water vapor is not usually considered a pollutant, but it can act as one. It can result in high humidity and wet surfaces. These conditions encourage the growth of biological pollutants such as house dust mites, molds, and bacteria.

Where Do Combustion Pollutants Come From?

Combustion pollutants found indoors include: outdoor air, tobacco smoke, exhaust from car and lawn mower internal combustion engines, and some hobby activities such as welding, woodburning, and soldering. Combustion pollutants can also come from vented or unvented combustion appliances. These appliances include space heaters, gas ranges and ovens, furnaces, gas water heaters, gas clothes dryers, wood or coal-burning stoves, and fireplaces. As a group these are called "combustion appliances."

Nitrogen Dioxide:

Breathing high levels of nitrogen dioxide causes irritation of the respiratory tract and causes shortness of breath. Compared to healthy people, children, and individuals with respiratory illnesses such as asthma, may be more susceptible to the effects of nitrogen dioxide.

Some studies have shown that children may have more colds and flu when exposed to low levels of nitrogen dioxide. When people with asthma inhale low levels of nitrogen dioxide while exercising, their lung airways can narrow and react more to inhaled materials.

Sulfur Dioxide:

Sulfur dioxide at low levels of exposure can cause eye, nose, and respiratory tract irritation. At high exposure levels, it causes the lung airways to narrow. This causes wheezing, chest tightness, or breathing problems. People with asthma are particularly susceptible to the effects of sulfur dioxide. They may have symptoms at levels that are much lower than the rest of the population.

How Can I Reduce My Exposure to Combustion Pollutants?

Proper selection, installation, inspection and maintenance of your appliances are extremely important in reducing your exposure to these pollutants. Providing good ventilation in your home and correctly using your appliance can also reduce your exposure to these pollutants.

Additionally, there are several different residential carbon monoxide detectors for sale. The CPSC is encouraging the development of detectors that will provide maximum protection. These detectors would warn consumers of harmful carbon monoxide levels in the home. They may soon be widely available to reduce deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Appliance Selection

  • Choose vented appliances whenever possible.
  • Only buy combustion appliances that have been tested and certified to meet current safety standards. Examples of certifying organizations are Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the American Gas Association (AGA) Laboratories. Look for a label that clearly shows the certification.
  • All currently manufactured vented gas heaters are required by industry safety standards to have a safety shut-off device. This device helps protect you from carbon monoxide poisoning by shutting off an improperly vented heater.
  • Check your local and state building codes and fire ordinances to see if you can use an unvented space heater, if you consider purchasing one. They are not allowed to be used in some communities, dwellings, or certain rooms in the house.
  • If you must replace an unvented gas space heater with another, make it a new one. Heaters made after 1982 have a pilot light safety system called an oxygen depletion sensor (ODS). This system shuts off the heater when there is not enough fresh air, before the heater begins producing large amounts of carbon monoxide. Look for the label that tells you that the appliance has this safety system. Older heaters will not have this protection system.
  • Consider buying gas appliances that have electronic ignitions rather than pilot lights. These appliances are usually more energy efficient and eliminate the continuous low-level pollutants from pilot lights.
  • Buy appliances that are the correct size for the area you want to heat. Using the wrong size heater may produce more pollutants in your home and is not an efficient use of energy.
  • Talk to your dealer to determine the type and size of appliance you will need. You may wish to write to the appliance manufacturer or association for more information on the appliance. Some addresses are in the back of this booklet.
  • All new woodstoves are EPA-certified to limit the amounts of pollutants released into the outdoor air. For more information on selecting, installing, operating, and maintaining woodburning stoves, write to the EPA Wood Heater Program. Their address is at the bottom of this booklet. Before buying a woodstove check your local laws about the installation and use of woodstoves.

About Wood Stoves

The burning of wood can produce asthma triggers. It is very important to make sure that wood stoves are properly installed, operated, and maintained to reduce leakage of by-products and to lower the risk for house fires. Check the following links for tips on using your wood stove safely.

Source: EPA

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Dust Mites

What Are Dust Mites?

Dust mites are tiny animals you cannot see. Every home has dust mites. They feed on skin flakes and are found in mattresses, pillows, carpets, upholstered furniture, bedcovers, clothes, stuffed toys, and fabric or other fabric-covered items. Body parts and feces of dust mites can trigger asthma in individuals with an allergic reaction to dust mites. Exposure to dust mite allergen can cause asthma in susceptible children.

Actions You Can Take

  • Wash bedding (such as sheets, bedcovers, and blankets) once a week in hot water.
  • Choose washable stuffed toys, wash them often in hot water, and dry thoroughly. Keep stuffed toys off beds.
  • Cover mattresses and pillows in dust-proof (allergen-impermeable) zippered covers.
  • Maintain low indoor humidity ideally between 30-50% relative humidity. Humidity levels can be measured by hygrometers which are available at local hardware stores.

Source: EPA

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House Dust

About House Dust

House dust may contain asthma triggers.

Actions You Can Take

  • Remove dust often with a damp cloth. Vacuum carpet, fabric window coverings, and fabric-covered furniture to reduce dust build-up.
  • Allergic people should leave the area being vacuumed.
  • Using central vacuums or vacuums with high efficiency filters may be helpful.

Source: EPA

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Molds

About Molds

Molds can be found almost anywhere; they can grow on virtually any substance when moisture is present. Outdoors, many molds live in the soil and play a key role in the breakdown of leaves, wood, and other plant debris. Without molds we would all be struggling with large amounts of dead plant matter. Molds break down plant materials by digesting them, using the plant material for food.

Molds produce tiny spores to reproduce, just as plants produce seeds. Mold spores waft through the indoor and outdoor air continually. When mold spores land on a damp spot indoors, they may begin growing and digesting whatever they are growing on in order to survive. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet, foods, even dynamite. When excessive moisture or water accumulates indoors, mold growth will often occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or unaddressed. There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture.

Molds can trigger asthma episodes in individuals with an allergic reaction to mold.

Actions You Can Take

If mold is a problem in your home, you must clean up the mold and eliminate sources of moisture.

  • Wash mold off hard surfaces and dry completely. Absorbent materials, such as ceiling tiles and carpet, may have to be replaced if they are contaminated with mold.
  • Fix leaky plumbing or other sources of water.
  • Keep drip pans in your air conditioner, refrigerator, and dehumidifier clean and dry.
  • Use exhaust fans or open windows in kitchens and bathrooms when showering, cooking, or using the dishwasher.
  • Vent clothes dryers to the outside.
  • Maintain low indoor humidity, ideally between 30-50% relative humidity. Humidity levels can be measured by hygrometers which are available at local hardware stores.

Source: EPA

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Ozone

About Ozone

When inhaled, ozone can aggravate the lungs and can lead to chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath, and, throat irritation. Ozone may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections. On days when ozone air pollution is the highest, ozone air pollution has been associated with as much as ten percent (10%) to twenty percent (20%) of all summertime respiratory hospital visits and admissions.

People vary widely in their susceptibility to ozone. Healthy people, as well as those with respiratory difficulty, can experience breathing problems when exposed to ozone. Exercise during exposure to ozone causes a greater amount of ozone to be inhaled, and increases the risk of harmful respiratory effects.

Actions You Can Take

  • State agencies will use television and radio to notify citizens of ozone alerts. On days when your State or local air pollution control agency calls an Ozone Action Day, people with asthma should limit prolonged physical activity outdoors. Consider adjusting outdoor activities to early in the morning or later in the evening.
  • Also, on Ozone Action Days, you can do the following 10 things to help keep ozone formation to a minimum:
  • Instead of driving, share a ride, walk or bike.
  • Take public transportation.
  • If you must drive, avoid excessive idling and jackrabbit starts.
  • Don't refuel your car, or only do so after 7 p.m.
  • Avoid using outboard motors, off-road vehicles, or other gasoline powered recreational vehicles.
  • Defer mowing your lawn until late evening or the next day. Also avoid using gasoline-powered garden equipment.
  • Postpone chores that use oil-based paints, solvents, or varnishes that produce fumes.
  • If you are barbecuing, use an electric starter instead of charcoal lighter fluid.
  • Limit or postpone your household chores that will involve the use of consumer products.
  • Conserve energy in your home to reduce energy needs.

Source: EPA

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Pets

About Pets

Your pet's dead skin flakes, urine, feces, saliva and hair can trigger asthma. Dogs, cats, rodents (including hamsters and guinea pigs) and other mammals all can trigger asthma in individuals with an allergic reaction to animal dander.

Proteins in the dander, urine, or saliva of warm-blooded animals (e.g., cats, dogs, mice, rats, gerbils, birds, etc.) have been reported to sensitize individuals and can cause allergic reactions or trigger asthma episodes in individuals sensitive to animal allergens. The most effective method to control animal allergens in the home is to not allow an animal in the home. If you remove an animal from the home, it is important to clean the home (including floors and walls, but especially carpets and upholstered furniture) thoroughly. Pet allergen levels are reported to stay in the home for several months after the pet is removed even with cleaning. Isolation methods to reduce animal allergen in the home have also been suggested by reputable health authorities (e.g., keeping the animal in only one area of the home, keeping the animal outside, or ensuring the allergic or asthmatic individual stay away from the animal) but the effectiveness of these methods have not been determined. To the contrary, several reports in the literature indicate that animal allergen is carried in the air and by residents of the home on their clothing to all parts of the home, even when the animal is isolated. In fact, animal allergen is often detected in locations where no animals were housed. In these situations, it is assumed that the allergen was carried in on people that have animals or on people that have been around animals or people with animals.

Often people sensitive to animal allergens are advised to wash their pets regularly. Recent research indicates that washing pets may only provide temporary reductions in allergen levels. There is no evidence that this short term reduction is effective in reducing symptoms and it has been suggested that during the washing of the animal the sensitive individual may be initially exposed to higher levels of allergen.

Thus the most effective method to control exposure to animal allergens is to keep your home pet free. However, some individuals may find isolation measures to be sufficiently effective. Isolation measures that have been suggested include keeping pets out of sleeping areas, keeping pets away from upholstered furniture, carpets, and stuffed toys, keeping the pet outdoors as much as possible, and isolating sensitive individuals from the pet as much as possible.

Actions You Can Take

  • If pets are one of your asthma triggers, you need to strongly consider finding a new home from your pets.
  • Keep pets out of the bedroom and other sleeping areas at all times, and keep the door closed.
  • Keep pets away from fabric-covered furniture, carpets and stuffed toys.

Source: EPA

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Pollen

Many people are allergic to pollen, and pollen can be an asthma trigger. On high pollen days, stay indoors with the windows closed. Using your air conditioner may help to filter outside air coming into the home.

Source: EPA

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Second Hand Smoke

What Is Secondhand Smoke?

Secondhand smoke is also known as Environmental Tobacco Smoke. Secondhand smoke includes both exhaled mainstream smoke from smokers and sidestream smoke from the end of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 substances, including over 40 that are linked to cancer. Many of the compounds in tobacco smoke are released at higher rates in sidestream smoke than in mainstream smoke.

How Does Secondhand Smoke Relate To Asthma?

Secondhand smoke may trigger asthma episodes and make asthma symptoms more severe in children who already have asthma. Moreover, secondhand smoke is a risk factor for new cases of asthma in children who have not previously exhibited asthma symptoms.

The means by which secondhand smoke triggers an asthma episode is believed to be through its irritancy effects. That is, smoke irritates the chronically inflamed bronchial passages of asthmatics. This is a different pathway from most of the other environmental triggers of asthma, like dust mites and pet dander, which trigger asthma episodes through allergenic effects.

Exposure to secondhand smoke is also known to cause a variety of other negative health consequences, including lung cancer, ear infections in children, and respiratory illnesses.

Many of the health effects of secondhand smoke (including asthma) are most clearly manifested in children. This is because children are particularly vulnerable to secondhand smoke. This is likely due to several factors, including the fact that children are still developing physically, have higher breathing rates than adults, and have little control over their indoor environments. Children receiving high doses of secondhand smoke, such as those with smoking mothers, run the greatest relative risk of experiencing damaging health effects.

Source: EPA

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