I have a Master's in public health. I worked for many years in the public health space. I worked for the State Department of Health. One thing that I did work on when I was working for the State Department of Health was helping people with asthma create healthier homes. We had a program that talked about working in conjunction with your medical provider, but also changing your products at home to create a healthier home. So this is something I have work experience in and also it has led me to this passion of sharing via this podcast.
I also have personal experience with this. I have a dear friend who I helped her clean out the products that she was using in her home and she reduced her asthma symptoms greatly. She and I were running partners and we would meet early in the morning and she always had to have her inhaler with her. And initially I'll be honest, she did not want to switch out her products. She loved her scented lotions and candles and all of those sorts of things. She just loved them and it was hard for her to make that switch. But finally, after working with her for a while and telling her that it could be impacting her asthma, she finally did switch out those things, she made her health a priority. I'm so proud of her for doing that, because I know that's not easy, it's not easy to change. And when she finally did a few weeks later, she realized her asthma had gotten so much better, she did not have to use her inhaler anymore!
Even if you don't have asthma, think about the fact that someone with asthma who is using products like conventional cleaning products or conventional body lotions with fragrance, think about how that impacts them and causes an asthma attack or makes their asthma worse.
Do you think that they could be impacting your health? The answer is yes! Even if you do not struggle with asthma, these things are so important to switch out.
Tips for creating a healthy home and going nontoxic, natural, and green to help address asthma
Get rid of fragrance- Fragrance is something you should ditch altogether. And I'm not just talking about perfume. I am talking about fragrance in your laundry detergent, fragrance in your dish soap, fragrance in your candles, anything with the term fragrance you need to get rid of. I know that's hard. But the great thing about ditching fragrance is that once you ditch it, your sense of smell will increase! If that's not enough evidence that we need to ditch fragrance, I don't know what it is.
If you still want your home to smell good, then I would encourage you to clean and clean very well and use essential oils. One thing I love to use is baking soda, you can shake it out on your furniture on your rugs and it really can help with smells. You also can put some rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and spray down any fabrics. That will help get rid of smells too. Making that switch can make a big difference on how you're breathing.
Catch those dust bunnies- If you have asthma and you want to create this healthier home, you want to make sure that you're getting rid of dust and dust mites. So you want to be vacuuming regularly. Your furniture AND your mattress. It's a good idea to get a mattress cover that will help block the allergens. But don't underestimate how good it is for you to use a vacuum. If you're struggling with dust yourself and allergies, you might want to wear a mask while you're dusting because again cleaning often kicks up a lot of dust and you might have an allergy attack. Splurge on a robot vacuum just to make sure the dust is getting removed frequently!
No furry roommates- This one is the hardest because you know I’m an animal lover and I love my dogs like they’re family. But your health is worth it. So if you are allergic to cats or dogs, you want to make sure that they are not sleeping in the same bedroom that you're sleeping in, that they aren't getting on the furniture that you're sitting on. You want to keep them as separate as you can, because that dander does transfer and cause symptoms.
Keep up with pest control- If you live in a place that has cockroaches, Cockroaches have a very high allergen potential and people can get very, very sick if they are allergic to cockroaches. So you want to make sure that you're doing the pest control that you need to do.
Control mold and moisture- Especially if you live in a wet climate like we do in the Pacific Northwest, mold is a real issue, and it can be really hard to get rid of. So there are tests you can buy on the internet to find out if there is mold in your home. You also want to just get rid of any mold that you have. Keep things dry to begin with. We have a dehumidifier and we use it in our laundry room and our mudroom. Because we're coming in from the wet. All of our jackets are wet, our shoes are wet, that dog is wet. So we keep our dehumidifier in that space because that's where the most moisture is coming into our home. And it's pretty crazy how much moisture is in the air, especially in that room! We dump out the dehumidifier frequently and it's just crazy how much water is in the air.
Ditch and switch cleaning products- You do really need to switch out your cleaning products! I don't have asthma, but there have been cleaning products that I have used in the past that made it hard for me to breathe. If you have asthma, that makes it so much worse. So you want to switch out your cleaning products, and make sure you're using safe products that don't have any ingredients that can make your asthma worse.
Ditch bad habits- This is a no brainer. Smoking is bad for you whether you have asthma or not. If your loved one smokes, encourage them to quit, smoke outside and change their clothes when they’re done. Toxins in smoke get into fabrics and can exacerbate asthma even if you’re not around the actual smoke.
Figure out how you can minimize your exposure to allergens, the dust mites, the cockroaches, the animals, the molds, and I think you will see a real change in your asthma as time goes on. If you have any questions for me, I am an open book. I would love to help you! You can email me at megan@detox.design, and I can help you go over what you really need to do to help fix your asthma. Again, I am not a medical provider so I cannot give any advice on medications that you take. I am simply here to help you switch out your products and create a healthier home so your asthma can get better!
