The mail bag

The Mail Bag In response to your article in the March/April issue, “The Rising Tide of Asthma”: I did not have asthma until after we moved to Mesa, Arizona. I found that Mesa is in the top five cities for asthma. The way many homes are built here causes an excess of dust in the home. We have a heat pump where the air handler is installed in the attic space below the rafters. But there was no covering over the attic rafters to hold back that dust. There is a huge amount of dust in the attic, so any small leak in the air handler brings dust into the home. I solved the problem of the air handler sucking in dust by stapling a roll of Tyvek house wrap to the attic ceiling rafters. After many bruises I completed the job (I am in my 60s). The dust is nearly gone with this change, and the house has a refreshing smell. My nose no longer plugs, and I feel so much better. I have also sent a request to the City of Mesa asking for a change in the building code that would require the attic space to be sealed from dust with Tyvek. I hope this request is accepted. I would like to see a study of people with asthma and the type of home they live in. Thanks for listening, Leo Kasel Mesa, Ariz. As a registered nurse in an elementary school, I was delighted to read the response from Amanda Jenkins of Tacoma, Wash., regarding hand washing in the Mail Bag section of the March/April issue of Asthma Magazine. In our school district, the nurses are required to teach hand washing to the students each year, and they all do a great job. Also, the teachers are very good at making the kids wash their hands throughout the day. However, it is next to impossible to institute mandatory hand washing in any school. Also, every surface has germs. If a child touches a surface, and then the face, she or he can potentially become ill. If our children were in the bathroom all day washing their hands, they wouldn’t get anything done in class! One thing we teach our kids here is not to touch their faces with their hands at all! Unfortunately, kids will be kids, and germs will be spread. The best things parents can do is to teach their children to wash their hands before eating and after toileting, keep their hands to themselves, and keep their hands away 33

|

ASTHMA MAGAZINE

March/April 2005

from their face. Hopefully, the more kids that put these simple rules to work, the more kids will follow their example. Thank You, Karen Harper Illinois Six months ago, on the advice of my asthma specialist, I purchased a room air cleaner for use in my car. The adapter plug goes in the cigarette lighter. This cleans the air enough for me to drive on the mid-Atlantic interstate for 2 hours without symptoms. Formerly, I’d arrive at my destination feeling ill. Fine particulates and pollution trigger my asthma. The room air cleaner adds what I need to stay healthier year-round. My 1995 sedan was sold with state-of-the-art air filtration. A new air filter is installed with every oil change. Nonetheless, the air is not clean enough for winter driving. The air conditioner seems to clean the air better than the heater. Other asthmatics say that to avoid breathing interstate pollution, they drive only on low-traffic-volume roads even if the travel time is significantly longer. Beverly Barnett Arden, Del.

We want to hear from you! Share your ideas about asthma management or your opinion about an article you have read in Asthma Magazine. Excerpts from selected letters will be reprinted in the following issue. Send letters to Asthma Magazine, PO Box 473, Hingham, MA 02043, or e-mail them to [email protected].