Help!when I visit my grandma's apartment I have alot of trouble with my asthma and congestion

I need some help and suggestions.
Whenever I visit my grandma at her apartment I experience alot of asthma problems. I wheeze and cough and my nose becomes real congested. My son and I, Spend alot of overnights at my grandma's. In the middle of the night I am interrupted with chough and wheezing and a congested nose. When waking in morning I have a huge amount of nose congestion and coughing. Any suggestions,ideas, for me please Thankyou.

is her apartment moldy, musty or mildewy-?it may be that--something that is hard to deal with. Maybe a dehumidifier or a deep, deep cleaning-with chemical free products of everything may help, but if she has an old carpet or drapes or something unknown-it may remain a mystery. I am unable to go to my upstairs bedroom anymore because of my asthmatic response and have yet to figure out the problem. i am better in the rest of my house...it is frustrating for me as well.

younglady94: Dust mites are the #1 trigger for children w/asthma & if you also have a dust mite trigger, this might explain your reactions. A person can be clean beyond belief, but thousands of dust mites live in mattresses (even new ones), pillows, drapes, & carpet. You can control this trigger if you carry your own pillow which is encased in a dust mite cover (must have zipper or other enclosure as one which simply slips on does not hold the dust mites). You might want to also invest in an air purifier...they are portable and you can carry them w/you. Have you ever had an allergy test? This is the 1st step to controlling your asthma. If your nose becomes congested, you may want to run a humidifier as this will add moisture to the air and inturn, this the secretions so you won't be so congested. If you are asthmatic, ask your MD about taking a neb/MDI tx about 15 minutes prior to your visit. Good luck!

Intended as asthma education info only, not medical advise.

 

Thankyou, achoo for the advice. I do have a air purifer at home. I will take it with me the next time I go to my grandma's. I see my allergist December 13th for checkup. Hope all is well. Brandi.

The first question that comes to my mind is does your grandma have a pet? Also, if the apartment is older, then it is likely you are dealing with a mold issue in the carpets or walls or possibly a dust build up in the ductworks. I second the suggestion about taking your air purifier with you to see if it helps.

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Diagnosed with Crohn's and GERD in July, 2006 - No surgeries (yet)

Hi Brandi,I think that air cleaner will work well for you! Let us know how you fare.
Hugs Shirley

Thankyou, all for the advice and suggestions. To answer Shirley's question. No my grandma doesn't have any pets. The building his older, but don't know how old it is. The air purifier is something I will try next time I go there .

Some people are allergic to cockroach dust. This does not mean that your g'mother has roaches. Just about all older bldgs have some sort of bugs which die inbetween the walls, disintegrate, & the a/c & heater vents pick up the "dust" and distributes it throughout the house. My son is allergic to cockroach dust & I'm a clean-aholic. He always ended up in the hospital in Oct & March/April. Halloween & Easter occurs during this time period and since he's allergic to cockroach dust (found in chocolate candy) his exacerbations were full blown! He quit choc candy and his asthma attacks diminished. I couldn't eat chocolate for over a year. Now I simply call it my "protein!" Hope you find the answer to your problem soon. You might want to talk to your MD about being on routine txs right before, during, & shortly after your visits to curtail your exacerbations. If an MDI is used w/spacer and correctly, it is just as effective as a nebulizer. Your local ALA might have the Krames on Demand Program which shows pts step-by-step of using an MDI w/spacer.

I believe that your problem is  dirty air.  You should really try an air purifier.  I don't know where you live, but you should try and deal with a reputable source.  There are many types of air purifiers out there.  Make sure that you can try it out first and make sure that it works for you.  If you would like more information, just reply to this email.

Thanks

Reginator, thanks for reply. I do have an air purifier. I use it in my home. Haven't brought it over to my grandma's. I would like any information you can give me. Brandi.