Hi there,

I'm new to this board, but have been active on other boards here at healthboards.com.

My boyfriend, Ben, has asthma and allergies.

Sadly, I have three cats!!! And as much as I adore him, I just can't get rid of my cats, they are a part of my family! And when I mentioned that they could possibly go live with my parents, he wouldn't hear of it.

However with spring here, his coughing and breathing is worse than ever at my house.

I would love to make my house more "Ben-Friendly". I've been looking into the ionic breezes, but read that they can possibly make asthma worse over time?

So I'm consulting the experts - everyone here that has asthma or knows and cares about someone in their life that has it. :) I need help.

So here are my questions... what air purifiers should I get for the rooms in my house that will help alleviate his problems? Is there anything extra I can do to help with his allergies and breathing other than vacuuming as regularly as I can, and washing my sheets every few days so no cat hair collects on them?

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your help. I've never known anyone with allergies and asthma, so I need to educate myself!

Stephanie

I have asthma as well as cat allergies (and a number of other ones), but my parents have 3 cats. One thing that has helped me since I found out about the allergies is that whenever I go home for the weekend I take allergy pills ( I take the generic form of Allegra but there's lots that a doc. can prescribe). I'll start a day or two early and then take them through the weekend. Also, when you vacuum try to do it a while before he comes over in case your vacuum kickes the dust and such into the air. Also, when you wash your sheets make sure you either wash or dry them very hot so it kills the allergens and dust, etc. I'm not sure about air purifiers, but remember that some other allergens are high in the spring so he may be having trouble because of those.
I hope this helps and you don't have to get rid of your cats.
~ Andrea

Thank you. I really appreciate your help. That's a great suggestion. He says because it's spring it's just worse than usual, but I just hurt for him in his coughing and breathing fits and know that my house doesn't really make the situation any better.

Thanks for this!

I suggest the Way Healthier Home Air Purifier, I have heard it's the best for those w/ asthma or pet allergies.

Chiki, my son has severe asthma. Because of this I took the time to educate myself EXTENSIVELY on the topic of source control. This is the American Lung Association's recommended method of best addressing the removal of asthma triggers from your environement. I read the forums often, but I don't post as much as I wish I could.

If you have asthma - absolute DON'T get a device that produces ions. Any ionizer or UV for that matter. Both are potentially harmful to asthmatics.

What I've learned in studying the whole air purifier topic is that manufacturers and salesmen of air purifers are some of the biggest liars that have ever been put on the planet... and they tend to be solely interested in making a sale... NOT in providing healthy products. Devices that emit ions add an electric charge to a particle. This makes that particle attach to a nearby surface. For an asthmatic - this increases risks of contact allergies and the charged particle can actually embed easier into your lung tissue.

Salesmen of these devices that push themselves on asthmatics should be put up against a wall and shot. There were a number of class action suits that demonstrated that the ozone these ionizing machines produce harmed asthmatics... the ion issue I believe will be the next class action suit.

Air purifier manufcturers like to dis HEPA air purifers every chance they get, but if you look at what the EPA, FDA, and CDC have to say about HEPA... it is the ONLY air purifier technology that should be recommended for asthmatics. Anyone who says differently is either ignorant or trying to sell you a product.

Also, don't by an air purifier unless you also buy a HEPA vacuum. If my son is having a bad asthma day, we see an enormous difference vacuuming. The air purifiers need the benefits of the vacuuming to do their best job.

MommaJo

thank you for this helpful information.

Thank you for your information. I was just about to buy an ionic breeze from Sharper Image, upon a friends recommendation. Of course, she doesn't have asthma. But you are suggesting an air purifier?? I will have to do some research on that. I will try anything at this point! It is April after all.