we figured out the asthma trigger

carlinlp · December 2009

smoke. there is a farmer a few miles over burning over 5000 acres of his land (legally - we called). I noticed the smoke the day teagan had his horrible attack but he didn't even go outside that day, not once. and it was fairly windy that day. the smoke is HORRIBLE tonight. as in, it looks like 5 feet of fog hugging the ground and we can smell it in our house with all the doors and windows closed horrible. i went to lakeline and could smell it that far south, i'm sure it goes further though, there is just a haze in the sky. and of course his breathing is awful tonight. the sheriff said there is nothing anyone can do because he'd doing the burning legally and it will last....wait for it....no less than 30 days. awesome. my kid won't be able to breathe or go outside for that long....WTF. I really wish there was something we could do because it just seems really unfair he should have to suffer so someone can burn their land. Angry

misjenn · December 2009

Are you kidding? 30 days for a burn? That is ridiculous! Is there anything like steroids or breathing treatments you can give Teagan to make it a little more tolerable? I would suggest writing a letter maybe and explaining your situation and hoping the guys isn't a jerk.

carlinlp · December 2009

yes, he's on breathing treatments here at home now, thankfully. he takes budesodine (sp?) and arbuterol several times per day. even with them, it's bad. i would imagine he'd be in the hospital without the home treatments the way he is right now.

i wonder how i can go about getting his contact info. when dh called the sheriff tonight to ask them about it they seemed like they had been explaining it to quite a few people.

HSartteach · December 2009

I'm sorry that it is going to suck for your son for the next 30 days. But, at least you figured out the cause. And look on the bright side...maybe it will continue to be cold so you won't go outside so much with LO over the next month...and maybe the wind won't be so bad...it could be worse, it could be spring or summer when you would want to be outside more. 5000 acres is a lot to burn, I can see why it would take so long. I'm sorry though.

carlinlp · December 2009

Yeah, but I have 3 kids, we are constantly on the go. The only reason Teagan didn't leave the house earlier in the week that day was because dh was working from home that day so I didn't have to drag Teagan out to do carpool x4 with the other kids. Staying in every day simply isn't an option

At least after tomorrow the other two will be out of school for a few weeks and we won't have to do carpool twice in the morning and afternoon. I just wish the smoke wasn't IN MY HOUSE! I guess we just need to pray for wind to break it all up.

HSartteach · December 2009

that's stinky (no pun intended Stick out tongue

)

cookie1and2 · December 2009

I'm sorry! It is a crop burning, like sugar cane burning? (I have NO idea about farming, so I may be off on my seasons). I grew up around a lot of sugar cane farms, and they have to burn their crop to harvest it, and it was very disruptive to my breathing as well. Are there any indoor air filtration systems you can look into? (As expensive as they may be, if they increase his health, then it may be worth it). What a pain. Hope you find a solution soon.

carlinlp · December 2009

K - I was just thinking about that. I went in to Teagan's room to check on him and thought about ways we could seal off his window and about an air filtration system. I'm not sure if we can afford one that would keep up with the entire house considering how smokey it is in here right now. I will look into it though. Thanks!! Maybe one for the play area and then one for his room?

naclh2otaffy · December 2009

Could you do plastic on the windows for burning season? I know in the north they sell the heavy plastic that you heat with a heat gun and it shrinks to the windows. It helped to insulate older, drafty houses during the cold months. Not sure if we have such a thing in Texas.

It's too bad the houses aren't built better to prevent pollution from entering. I hope he gets to feeling better, and I'm glad you at least have a trigger identified - knowing is a good chunk of the battle.

MrsMillerTime · December 2009

My mind immediately went to an infomercial I saw for an air purifier? Supposedly it can remove all the cigarette smoke from a room; I would assume it would do the same thing with burning smoke? It was relatively inexpensive (< $50) but I don't know how reliable an "as seen on tv" product would be....

At least you've figured out the trigger though!!!

KittyFX · December 2009

or even those filtrete air filters, are you using those?

ali-1411 · December 2009

Kinda off topic...but what kind of floors are in his room? Carpet is terrible for asthma. Does he sleep with any stuffed animals? That can make it worse, too. Poor little guy

clynn58 · December 2009

That is terrible it can be going for 30 and T has to suffer like that. I hope that you are able to find something that will help.

balihaigirl · December 2009

that's horrible. i'm so sorry he's going to suffer for so long, that's awful. ditto the rec of the air filters - it should be able to eliminate some of the smoke. i know that they make some fancy ones at brookstone but i don't know the price tag.

poor little guy!

mrssnflwr · December 2009

DH has allergy induced asthma, and we have air purifiers in our bedroom and the living room. It really seems to help him! We also have the expensive air conditioner filters and change them often. Also, would he wear one of those masks to cover his mouth and nose when y'all go outside? I know DD would probably hate that, but maybe it is worth a try? DH has to wear one if he's doing yard work.

Taytee · December 2009

Although my overly logical brain can see the reason for the controlled burn of land - it completely sucks that it's making Teagan so sick =( I mean, airway and breathing are core tenants of living. As a mother it's heartbreaking and terribly scary to feel like those are constantly being threatened. And I'm certain he's not the only one going through it. Any kid with Asthma in the area is probably suffering.

I hope you can seal up his room and get some sort of filter in there to at least get him good sleep at night. Even if you can't avoid taking him outside running around.

cookie1and2 · December 2009

I just remembered: my brother (who's a germ freak) swears by the air purifiers from the sharper image. He lives in Maryland, so not the same allergy triggers, but uses them in his kids' bedrooms.

NoVA-grl · December 2009

That's great you were able to figure out the trigger, but that sucks there isn't much you can do! Hopefully the air purifier or some of the other suggestions will work.

ebat · December 2009

cookie1and2:
I just remembered: my brother (who's a germ freak) swears by the air purifiers from the sharper image. He lives in Maryland, so not the same allergy triggers, but uses them in his kids' bedrooms.

I have one of those, I don't know how well it really works, but there was always a lot of crud sucked on to the blades(which you take out to clean.) We're not using it right now since we have hardwoods in our bedroom now. You're welcome to borrow it

ndluvsrk · December 2009

That TOTALLY sucks! 30 days?! That's atrocious.

I really hope that there is some sort of relief you all can find for poor little teagan. Cooping him up is definitely not a solution with all that energy he has!!

~NDK~

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