This story was originally published at blog.livingwithasthma.net on May 6, 2013.
Silvia León shared her story of asthma awareness and her son's asthma triggers in honor of World Asthma Day:
Asthma Story- I visit many families every month and I am able to hear personal stories about their children's asthma. Mostly all families are using bleach and many other household cleaning products to disinfect their homes. Most of the time families are not aware that using windex, bleach, ajax, comex, and many others can be asthma triggers. Our non-toxic kits and recommendations is an easy way to start to change the air quality of their home. The air that children breathe while inside their home is what is causing the asthma most of the time, because studies show that we spend about 80% of our time in our house. So if mommy used bleach to clean the strong smell, and/or other chemicals, kids breathe that in and it can cause an attack.
Asthma Tips- My son has asthma and his triggers have diminished greatly because I do the following:
- Use non-toxic cleaning products
- Throw their pillows in the dryer once a week
- Use aller-ease mattress covers
- Put baking soda on their bedroom carpet to absorb more dust than the vacuum alone can
- Throw stuffed animals in the dryer
- Open windows for ventilation
- Keep pets outside.
- I am very pro-active and informed. Information is the key!
For more information on Sylvia's efforts, please visit the following links:
Environmental Health Blog: Protecting Your Child From Asthma Attacks
Environmental Health Twitter
Environmental Health Healthy Kids Twitter