Watery eyes, sinus congestion, wheezing, and general misery — just from breathing outside air. Depending on the climate and season, your outdoor environment can be an ever-changing soup of allergy and asthma triggers, including tree and grass pollens, ragweed, secondhand smoke, car exhaust, and dust. You can’t always control your environment, but you can take steps to avoid airborne triggers.

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In 1995, the United States saw nearly 2 million emergency room visits for asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Once people with moderate to severe asthma were seen by an allergist, however, their hospital admissions rate decreased 67%. Why? Because when asthma is diagnosed and an asthma management plan is in place, the chance of needing emergency care drops sharply. With an asthma diagnosis, you can start treating the underlying disease, not just the symptoms. You can also regain control of your body and your life by working with your health care provider to create your own personal asthma management plan.

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As Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Audrey Hepburn puffed on an elegant black cigarette holder. James Dean projected a rebellious tough-guy image, photographed with an ashy cigarette butt hanging precariously from his lower lip. But steadily since then, tobacco smoke has been undergoing a richly deserved vilification. Let’s do the numbers.

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If you’re like most people, you spend about a third of your day in the bedroom. And if you have allergies and asthma, your bedroom is the best place to start eliminating dust mites and other common indoor allergens.

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You wash your bedding in 130° F or hotter water once a week. You’ve switched from your mother’s brand of tile cleaner to a more lung-friendly alternative. You’ve made a deal with your dog: no more sleeping in the bedroom, in exchange for a little extra playtime after baths and brushings. But be honest. In the midst of your weekly (and monthly, and bimonthly) scrubbings, your mind has wandered: are the benefits of environmental control really worth the effort?

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People often overlook the link between better breathing and truly restorative sleep. But respiratory conditions that disrupt normal sleep patterns, such as sleep apnea and nocturnal asthma, can deprive your body of a good night’s sleep regardless of how many hours you’ve spent in bed. According to a range of scientific research over the past 50 years, maintaining overall good health depends not only on the quantity but also on the quality of the sleep you get each night.

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In 1997, the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP, a project of the National Institutes of Health) refined the system that health care providers use to classify “types” of asthma. The new labels help clarify how asthma is treated. The change from “mild” asthma to “mild persistent” asthma may seem small, but it reflects an important difference in what you can expect from asthma treatment.

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Your asthma is a product of nature (the genes you were born with) and nurture (the environment you grew up in) — just like the rest of you. While you can’t do much to change your genes, you can do lots of things to control your asthma (instead of letting it control you). Here are some asthma management tips endorsed by the American Lung Association:

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What steps can you take today to breathe better tomorrow? Start by focusing on your bedroom, where you probably spend the longest unbroken stretches of time each day. From limiting animal dander to blocking the dust mites that thrive in your warm, humid bed, you can work toward an allergy-proof bedroom. Here’s what to do:

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“Try these herbs. They helped my sister stay out of the hospital…”
“Have you heard of the Buteyko technique?”
“You don’t need medicines. You need acupuncture…”
“Are you taking vitamin C?”
“You ought to try homeopathy instead.”

Advice. Brace yourself for an avalanche of it, the minute your asthma goes public. You may even go looking for it yourself — as you should. Asthma education is one of the four components of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. Whether from your own research, from your health care provider, or from well-meaning friends, you’re going to hear a lot about alternative therapy and complementary care.

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