Tailoring a good asthma maintenance plan for you or your kid isn’t just a question of figuring out the right combination of medications. If you’re serious about maintenance, it involves a semi-overhaul of your whole lifestyle. While you don’t have to completely change your life when asthma enters the picture, multiple small, easy-to-implement changes can reduce the allergens and airborne irritants that trigger flares.

Today’s links are all about creating a healthier home environment for better asthma maintenance. As always, featured Friday links also end up in the permanent sidebar for your future reference.

Healthy House Institute
Are you trying to make smarter, more eco-conscious choices about your kitchen countertops or trying to figure out whether getting your air ducts cleaned is worth the expense? HHI offers balanced, thoughtful discussion about all these topics and more. Unlike many non-medical health sites, this one enlists medical, science, and homebuilding advisory boards with actual professionals. Yes, HHI includes advertising but the content is not advertisement-driven, if you know what I mean.

American Lung Association Health House
If you’re lucky enough to have the money and opportunity to build a healthier home from the ground up, this ALA page should be your starting point. Find tip sheets on making your home healthier, learn the ALA’s Health House guidelines for construction, and find out the top 10 questions you should ask your builder before getting started. This excellent resource even details the resale value of building a greener home, and while it’s geared to new construction it contains valuable information for current homeowners, too.

Allergy Proof Your House
The Mayo Clinic lists room-by-room instructions for ridding your house of common allergens. Stressing simple changes for big impact, this resource even includes clickable pictures for interactive fun.

Happy Friday, everyone! If you have your own favorite resources for home help, email me through the Contact tab above or comment below.

Filed under: Air Quality, Asthma Triggers