Heat and Asthma

[PinksLove4Ever]

Hi! Does anyone have a secret to keeping asthma attacks at a minimum during the summer?

[Horse459]

I own a horse farm and hair salon so everything in my life is a trigger ...however during the summer with the high dew point and humidity I really struggle. I try to only go out very very early in the morning for barn chores, I wear a mask faithfully and I try to drink lots of water with electrolytes and vitamins. Stay in air conditioning as much as possible and really really pay attention to your body. Don't push to hard or your lungs will push back

[d2read]

I've found that it's all about religiously controlling triggers. Like Horse 459 said, don't overdo, drink lots of water, be careful about exercising outdoors. When I come indoors, I immediately strip and put everything I was wearing in the (closed) dirty clothes hamper to keep pollen to a minimum, and shower/wash my hair so I don't carry anything in to my bedroom. Heat and humidity are much harder for me to tolerate than extreme cold, so I spend as much time as possible taking it easier during the day. I replace my HEPA carbon pre-filters every month, and keep the a/c filters/dehumifiers cleaned and operating.

Other than that, I've benefited greatly from Xolair, but it's not a quick fix. I've been on it 7 years come September and I still have problems with my allergies, but nothing like it used to be. I only was on Zyrtec for a month at the end of May, and no longer panic and reach for the Benedryl and Epi-pen if a tiny morsel of nut or pea is in a bite of something I taste. (I keep them nearby in case, I'm not stupid, but I no longer panic.) And I haven't had an allergy-induced asthma attack since 2017. But it built up to this level slowly over the years.

Good luck!