That's Fit

Special mattress pads, allergen-reducing fabric sprays, air filters, and so forth ... if you have asthma you may have invested lots of money in products such as these. Dust mites can be a big asthma trigger, and trying to minimize them is a good way to reduce asthma episodes. But a research group has determined that many of the special efforts people take to reduce allergens and dust mites aren't effective enough to make a difference.

Previous studies have reviewed both physical and chemical allergen reducers. The research group reviewed 54 studies. They found that, while many products were ineffective, others did reduce allergens as advertised -- but not enough to ward off an asthma attack.

If you currently own special products such as fancy vacuum cleaners, air filters, and mattress pads, feel free to keep using them. Many do reduce allergens, though they aren't effective enough to make much of a difference. A good habit to get into is washing sheets, blankets, and pillows often using high temperatures. Also, remove soft toys from your child's bed.

A survey released last week by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America concluded that a large gaps does indeed exist between asthma patients insofar as how they think their disease is under control and how it ends up affecting their daily lives in reality.

Although 66 percent of survey respondents say that their asthma symptoms were under control, the fact is that half also reported having what I would consider to be severe symptoms of asthma instead of mild ones: shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing and a tightening of the chest (all happening once or more per week) were the top symptoms produced.

What has happened here is the way of life many asthmatics have has become so normal that symptoms like those above are almost 'normal' to many sufferers. Therein lies the disconnect.