ASTHMA & THE ENVIRONMENT
Asthma is a chronic lung disease that can be successfully controlled with proper care. Common symptoms include coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Five steps people with asthma can take to help stay healthy and lead fully active lives:
The precise cause of asthma is not yet known, the role of indoor and outdoor environmental factors is gaining attention, but more research needs to be done to better understand the relationships between many specific environmental factors and asthma.
Some indoor environmental factors have been shown to increase asthma symptoms and trigger asthma attacks in people who already have asthma. Common indoor environmental factors in this category include house dust mites, allergens produced by cats, dogs and cockroaches, secondhand smoke, fungi or molds, and high levels of nitrogen dioxide from indoor sources such as stoves, heaters, furnaces, and fireplaces. In addition, research suggests that house dust mites and secondhand smoke may contribute to the development of asthma in susceptible children.
The relationship between outdoor air pollution and asthma is less clear, though an increase in asthma symptoms is known to occur when pollen counts are high. Current research is focusing on the role ozone, sulfur dioxide, diesel particulates, and other outdoor air pollutants may play.
Interventions to address environmental factors recommend identifying allergen exposures, assessing sensitivity to allergens, and reducing or eliminating exposure. Creating "asthma-friendly" environments to minimize or eliminate common allergens is something people in communities can do in their homes, schools, and workplaces.
Resources in Hew Hampshire
-
NH Department of Environmental Services (DES) Air Resources Division:
-
29 Hazen Drive, PO Box 95
Concord, NH 03302-0095
Toll Free: 800/498-6868
Phone: 603/271-1370
Fax: 603/271-1381
e-mail: desair@des.state.nh.us
-
NH Department of Environmental Services (DES) Air Quality Forecasting:
-
For air quality forecasts and current air pollution levels in New Hampshire,
Toll Free: 800/935-SMOG
-
NH Department of Environmental Services Bureau of Environmental & Occupational Health:
-
For information and assistance concerning indoor air quality.
Phone: 603/271-3911
-
NH Environment and Public Health Tracking Initiative:
-
A project to investigate the relationship between environmental factors and health status.
Contact: NH Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health
Phone: 603/271-4664
-
Project INHALE (Integrated Human Health and Air Quality Research):
-
Climate Change Research Center, Institute for the Study or Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire.
Phone: 603/862-5369.
-
The Jordan Institute
-
A non-profit organization that helps communities enhance the health of people and the environment.
Regional Resources
National Resources
-
Dealing with Mold and Mildew in Your Flood Damaged Home
-
from FEMA
-
2006 National Environmental Leadership Awards in Asthma Management
-
National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
-
Provides links to organizations and agencies that have asthma programs. The resources provided through this site are extensive and targeted at a wide range of audiences.
-
EPA Asthma and Indoor Environments:
-
Provides general facts about asthma, current research, an asthma quiz, and special resources just for children. There are links to the EPA's asthma partners and other on-line resources.
-
America's Children and the Environment:
-
Measures of Contaminants, Body Burdens and Illnesses, Second Edition. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Includes quantitative information from a variety of sources to show trends in levels of environmental contaminants in air, water, food, and soil; concentrations of contaminants measured in the bodies of children and women; and childhood illnesses (including asthma)that may be influenced by exposure to environmental contaminants.
-
Tools for Schools Action Kit. Managing Indoor Air Quality in the School Environment. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
-
Helps schools identify, solve and prevent indoor air quality problems in the school environment.
Toll Free: 800/438-4318
-
Catching Your Breath: Strategies to Reduce Environmental Factors That Contribute to Asthma in Children. A report from the Working Group of Representatives from State Health and Environmental Agencies. Downloadable at:
-
Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)
ECOS
444 N. Capitol St., Suite 445
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202/624-3660
or
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
ASTHO
1275 K Street NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202/371-9090
- Link to
Resource Pages
for additional sites
-
Asthma Triggers
-
Resources for Environmental Specialists
