My brain needs a nap. I’ll certainly keep asking those questions about chronic illness and children, just not today.
Today, I’m posting the first of those static pages I promised you. I originally compiled this list for BellaOnline, an excellent site for women that I’m leaving. Mostly I’m stepping down because I have time for one volunteer writing gig in my life, and this blog takes precedence. Another reason is that I find I enjoy writing about asthma’s very specific effects on me, AG, and our family more than I like writing the general, informational articles at BellaOnline.
Now for the triggers. This isn’t a comprehensive list, of course. Any airborne substance that can enter your airways has the potential to start a flare, and you probably have triggers that I don’t mention. This is simply a list of the more common ones, patched together from asthma websites, our former pediatric pulmonologist, and AG’s own asthma profile.
Allergens
1. Tree pollen
2. Grass pollen
3. Weed pollen
4. Mold
5. Animal dander, especially from household cats and dogs
6. Dust mites
7. Cockroach droppings
8. Food–including dairy, eggs, seafood, peanuts and other nuts, wheat, soy, additives like sulfites
Weather
1. Wind in the early fall or spring
2. Changes in barometric pressure
3. Changes in humidity
4. Extreme changes in temperature
5. Very cold and/or dry air
Airborne Irritants
1. Pollutants like industrial chemicals
2. High ozone levels in the summer
3. Air fresheners
4. Commercial cleaning products, including bleach
5. Paint
6. Varnish
7. Scented candles
8. Pesticides
9. Cigarette smoke
10. Smoke from woodburning fires
11. Perfume
12. Hairspray
13. Gases
14. Coal dust
15. Chalk dust
16. Talcum powder
Illness
1. Colds
2. Sinus Infections
3. Bronchitis
4. Sore throats
5. Influenza
6. Pneumonia
Medication
1. Aspirin
2. Other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
3. Beta blockers
Emotions
1. Excessive laughing
2. Excessive crying
3. Excessive yelling
4. Anxiety
5. Panic
Exercise
What triggers your asthma?
Hmmm…
Nothing under allergies.
There’s something about the weather changing, I usually flare in spring and fall.
Illness, not always, but I get the flu shot every year to try to minimize the odds.
Medication, I try to stay with tylonol even though I’ve never had issues with nsaids. You never know when that will become an issue.
Laughing is a huge issue for me. The other have not been yet.
The biggest issue is the airborn irritants. Everything you mentioned except for the last three. PLUS scented markers for dry erase boards, off gassing from newly installed carpets, Super strong new car smell, and oddly enough, some wood chips and the occasional Christmas tree.
I have dorky lungs…
“What triggers MY symptoms? “….Life!
Top on my list are, stress/anxiety, too much talking, indoor and outdoor allergens, perfumes, changes in the weather ( especially high humidity),
too much exercise ( pushing myself too hard) , the common cold, and not enough rest.
Too much talking? That’s rough, and also a new one to me.
The laughing, though, that’s a BIG trigger for AG. Also crying. When she was little, I’d have to remind her to calm down so she wouldn’t flare too badly and I often wondered if other parents thought I was threatening her:
“Try to calm down a litle, or I’ll have to get THE INHALER.”
Everything on the list, plus I noticed overeating will cause pressure on my diaphragm, inducing an attack.
Surprisingly, coffee and other hot beverages seem to make my asthma worse.
Any kind of dust, smoke or strong fragrance aggravate my asthma. The worst thing is people that use body sprays before exercising at the gym. I’ve had to change machines because some people stunk so bad.
Hi there, and welcome to the site.
Charles, is reflux involved, too? Or is just the pressure a problem?
Sam, my daughter has problems with cold drinks rather than hot ones–but ONLY if she drinks too fast. Otherwise, she’s fine. Go figure. I can imagine how irritating strong fragrances are for asthmatics–I can’t stand them, either, and I don’t even have allergies.
Thanks for sharing your triggers, guys. I think I’m going to edit this post to include reader input since some of you are mentioning triggers I’ve never heard of.
Wanted to add, artificial sweeteners. My allergist recomends cutting that first and has had really good results. His wife, myself, my little cousin, and two of my friends all had decreases in attacks and severity after stopping artificial sweeteners.
Just about everything on the list bothers me. Not included on the list are: eucalyptus, including eucalyptol found in antiseptic mouthwash; citrus smells, especially orange (I miss my oj in the mornings); and cinnamon-flavored candies and gum (although real cinnamon doesn’t seem to affect me).
Most of my triggers are on the list.the worst for is a rapid humidity and or barometer drop. plus a sinus infection that turns into bronchitis.
my major trigger is really a sneezing fit. when i sneeze like 5 times or more in a row. after that i am a mess.
My worst triggers are: cold air, cigarette smoke and laughing. Tree pollen is up there as well but not nearly as bad as the first three I mentioned.
Some additional thoughts here….If I had to narrow it down, I would say two major areas:
Synthetics. Any manufactured scent is going to slay me. It doesn’t matter if it’s candles, perfumes, cleaning agents or soaps. And I don’t know if it’s the scent itself or the carrier it’s in….Most natural scents I can handle with the exception of lavender. But fake citrus scents seem to be one of the worst.
Then anything that off gasses VOC’s. (Volatile organic compounds)
Common ones are paint, hairspray, cleaning fluids. I did use a low VOC hairspray for a while that I tolerated but I decided to give it up as it was likely to cause me problems eventually.
What triggers asthma? just about everything on that list too! What a pain! Spicy foods also triggers my asthma. I’ll start to have an asthma attack before the food even goes down! Also any type of powdery food that disperses in my throat, such as powdered white donuts, or even toast at times spell trouble. Sometimes I even have an an asthma attack while I’m sleeping, and wake up gasping for air. Severe asthma = no fun.
Even more new triggers. Thanks guys!
I’m going to post an addition and edit the static page later today b/c I think reading what triggers OTHER asthma sufferers will give newly diagnosed people (or parents of the newly diagnosed) a good place to start looking for triggers.