Asthma....is the Phoenix air good or bad for people with asthma? (home, allergies)

[BeckyfromIL]

We're planning on moving to the Phoenix area this summer and my husband and son both have asthma. Just wondering how living in the desert affects it.

[KarmaPhx]

My fiance moved here from Michigan, and her asthma got much better after moving, but then again everyone is different.

[DewDropInn]

It depends on what their triggers are. I moved here from L.A. and I feel much better here. The smog in L.A. was a killer to me. The particulates in the air here seem like nothing to me after the smog.

Allergies are better too. But I do have to just about take to my bed when the palos verdes trees bloom.

Where are you coming from? And what affects their asthma?

[bluebelt1234]

Originally Posted by BeckyfromIL

We're planning on moving to the Phoenix area this summer and my husband and son both have asthma. Just wondering how living in the desert affects it.

Dust storms can be horrible for asthma. I went to a doctor in Phoenix for my asthma. He said that there are high pollution days in Phoenix. He said that he would recommend me to stay inside anytime there was a high pollution day. I saw a sign that said something about a high pollution day and that it would be unsafe for sensitive individuals to spend much time outside.

[BeckyfromIL]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

It depends on what their triggers are. I moved here from L.A. and I feel much better here. The smog in L.A. was a killer to me. The particulates in the air here seem like nothing to me after the smog.

Allergies are better too. But I do have to just about take to my bed when the palos verdes trees bloom.

Where are you coming from? And what affects their asthma?

We currently live in the Chicago suburbs and my son seems to have the most trouble when it rains or right after, so I'm hoping the desert will be good for him.

My husband seem to suck on his inhaler every day. When we visited Phoenix he didn't use his inhaler once, so I'm home that will be typical for him out there also.

Thanks for all the replies!

[JasonS]

My aunt visited last summer and she didnt have to use her inhailer the whole 2 weeks she was here,she said she uses it daily in CA

[Phxguy]

I have asthma and I live in a suburb of Phoenix. I have to use it especailly in the winter and Spring time. Winter because of windy and occasionally smoggy days( if it hasn't rained in a week). Spring because of the pollen, and when all the trees begin to bloom. Here in the Sonoran Desert during the spring time mopunds of pollen will build up just about anywhere. But now I'm starting to describe allergies. So asmatha is good in Phoenix, just keep a weary eye on particularly smoggy, dusty, windy, and those dreary rainy days that come around.

[azriverfan.]

Asthma has different causes. Exercise induced asthma is improved in Arizona because cold weather causes the brochioles to constrict in exercise induced asthmatics by an unknown mechanism. I have exercise induced asthma so if I go skiing or do any type of athletic event in cold weather, I will have to use an inhaler before I engage in these activities.

Allergies can also cause asthma. I'm also allergic to mold and when I was younger, I could suffer from an attack during football season when the lawn crew would clip the grass and the mold spores at the root of the grass would cause me to wheeze and become short of breath.

So it is possible for you to experience worse asthma in Arizona depending if you are allergic to substances that cause your airways to react. I've heard pollution can be a trigger here.

All primary care doctors manage and treat mild to moderate asthma effectively so you don't need to see a specialist. If you or a family member has bad asthma and is concerned about possible triggers, I would see an Allergy/Immunologist. Pulmonologist (lung specialists) also manage and treat asthma but the reason I recommend Allergists is because Pulmonologists will often refer their non-COPD Asthmatics to allergists anyway to determine a cause as they will suspect allergies are the cause. So you might as well cut out the middle man and see an Allergist if you are a young person or a healthy person who doesn't have COPD and has bad asthma. The allergist can help you determine what you are allergic to and strategies to avoid them. I saw an allergist and discovered I was allergic to mold. I never knew why freshly cut grass would cause me problems because I wasn't allergic to the grass but the mold that is released when the grass is cut. It's helped me a lot because I stopped doing my own lawn and I try to avoid areas that have freshly cut grass.

I'm a physician so like every physician we have a basic understanding of asthma and how to treat it. Being a sufferer of asthma, I thought I would share my experience so that you don't have to suffer the way I did for years.

MOST IMPORTANTLY

I'm hearing a lot of "using my inhaler everyday." Obviously there are different types of inhalers but none of you should be having to use a rescue (albuterol) inhaler everyday. If that's the case, your asthma is not being managed properly and you need to see a physician to use long acting inhalers and/or inhaled corticosteroids. In layman's terms, albuterol is a stimulant that can increase your heart rate and constrict your blood vessels. If you were prescribed an inhaler (albuterol) that was supposed to be used in emergencies only and you find yourself using it daily, that's not good. Go see your physician! If your inhaler is Proventil, Ventolin, Pro Air or it looks like one of these in the picture below then that is an albuterol inhaler and you should not be using this daily. This is not the same as Advair so don't be confused.

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en...ed=0CBoQzAMwAg

[Howard Roark]

I never had athsma, but I am senstive in my respiratory system. Added to this, I'm a fanatic about swimming (was in Masters swimming for awhile) and I swim 18,000 to 21,000 yards per week.

I'll write on two experiences: I lived in the Mojave Desert in a small town for eleven years. I would get sinus infections twice a year. I could not crush the sinus infection the natural way and had to use amoxycillin. I hate taking drugs. I had walking pneumonia once there.

In the mid 1990s I moved to Arizona. I had no more sinus infections ever since.

The difference: The toxic small particles of the Owens Dry Lake dust is always flying around the northern Mojave Desert. They are smaller than normal dust particles. Some of the Owens Dry Lake dust is mine tailings. Some of it arsenic. However in the Sonora Desert (which is the Arizona Desert) there is none of that. Added to it, there is hardly any wind in the Arizona deserts.

Back to swimming: many young swimmers become athsmatic. I'm not sure how. But I think it's related somewhat to the chemicals in the pool. The swimmer takes big breaths and breathes in the surrounding air. It does not help if the pool is indoor and the room is stuffy. Nor does it help living in a very polluted city such as Los Angeles (away from the beach cities).

[DewDropInn]

To the OP:

There is no comparison between "Chicago" air and "Phoenix" air. I've been in Chicago and the 'burbs many times. I'd take Phoenix over Chicago in terms of being able to breathe every time. It is very dusty here. I live in an area (far NE Valley) where there are a lot of unpaved roads so a lot of dust is kicked up into the air. There are particulate watches for the whole valley. It's monitored and there are "no burn days" when things are especially bad. And they'll issue warnings on when sensitive groups should stay inside.

But as I've said for me things are much better here. My lungs don't hurt after exercising. I don't sneeze nearly as much.

Once you are here try and talk to a doctor/allergest who knows this area. They, obviously, can help decide on any course of treatment if symptoms persist after the move.