Both the changing seasons and Holiday traditions can pose challenges for asthmatics, but there are a few small adjustments you can make to breathe easy during the Holidays.

Mold is an asthma trigger to watch out for in the winter. Wet leaves and fireplace logs are two common offenders for generating mold. To reduce your contact with mold, keep wet leaves away from your home’s foundation, windows and doors. Leave logs outside until you need them to reduce the amount of mold that takes up residence indoors.

Scented Holiday candles, air fresheners, and live Christmas trees can also be asthma triggers. An artificial tree is a great alternative to a live tree, but if live trees are a tradition, you can make a few adjustments to avoid an asthma attack. When you’re tree shopping, avoid purchasing a tree that has a yellow dusting of pollen. Once you bring the tree home, wipe the trunk with a diluted bleach and water solution (20 parts water to one part bleach) to get rid of mold.

When you venture outside, layer up to prevent an attack brought on by cold air entering your lungs. Cover your nose and mouth with a scarf for an extra barrier against the cold.

For more on managing indoor air quality, keeping humidity levels in check, and how to filter particulates, check out our post on indoor air quality.

Cigarettes used to be marketed as a trendy and cool, but they’re increasingly being replaced by e-cigarettes. The CDC found that over 263,000 teens who had never smoked a cigarette before tried e-cigarettes in 2013, which is three times the amount of teens trying e-cigarettes in 2011. Since there’s no tar in e-cigarettes, some consumers believe that e-cigarettes are a healthier alternative to regular cigarettes, but this isn’t entirely true.

Most e-cigarettes do contain nicotine, which can cause inflammation in the lungs. Particles in the vapor and flavoring in the e-cigarettes can also irritate the lungs, which is a recipe for trouble for those with asthma. These factors can exacerbate asthma symptoms and potentially bring on an asthma attack.

Air quality is easy to take for granted until we experience first-hand the effects of poor air quality. You can probably relate to driving with the windows down to let in the crisp, fall air, but that enjoyment abruptly ends when the exhaust of another vehicle wafts through your car. Fortunately, North Carolina is ahead of the curve on improving air quality, which is especially important for asthmatics.

Triangle Air Awareness, a public-private partnership between the North Carolina Division of Air Quality and the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, hosted their End of Ozone Forecast Season Luncheon last Friday to give the audience a snapshot of the state of North Carolina’s air quality. Speaker Sushma Masemore, PE, Division of Air Quality at the Department of Natural Resources, explained that the Research Triangle Region is meeting federal air quality standards. Masemore said that the NC legislature was ahead of the curve by enacting the Clean Smokestacks Act in 2002, which was an early action state mandate to control air pollution from coal-fired power plants.

Air quality has an effect on a variety of illness, like acute bronchitis, explained keynote speaker Dr. Kim Lyerly, professor of Surgery, assistant professor in Immunology, associate professor of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine. Thanks to the Clean Smokestacks Act, Dr. Lyerly and his research team found a reduction in death rates for emphysema, asthma and pneumonia in NC. The research team, which published their findings in the International Journal of COPD, discovered a tight association between a reduction in pollutants and improvement in death rates related to air quality.

“The take home message for us is that we had such a forward thinking state…that they strictly adhered to a policy that reduced emissions in NC,” said Dr. Lyerly.

We will likely see even higher EPA standards in the future, but based on the proactive CSA, NC is up to the challenge.

Sneezing, itchy eyes and nose…these symptoms sound like allergies, but they could be an indicator of sick building syndrome (SBS). If you have a frequent dry cough and often sneeze at work, it might not be a result of your asthma or allergies. Sick building syndrome (SBS) occurs when employees have acute health problems that are linked to the building, and not a specific illness.

The best way to identify if you’re experiencing SBS is to first take a mental or written note of your symptoms. In addition to itchy eyes, nose, or throat irritation; are you experiencing dizziness or nausea? Is there a certain room in the office in which you sneeze more frequently? Do these symptoms only occur or increase when you’re in the office?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, talk to your employer or the property manager about assessing the air quality in the building. Without proper ventilation and air filtration, you could be exposed to high levels of indoor air pollution caused by building materials and furniture that emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Mold and bacteria are additional irritants. If you have asthma, SBS can exacerbate your symptoms, so share your concern with your employer if you suspect SBS is a problem in your building.