Traveling with chemical Asthma

• By JessicaD12
• Reply 3547844
• November 16, 2012 at 2:36 am
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I am so interested in your post as I suffer in the same way. Shopping is a nightmare too!

• By arniesaa
• Reply 3548190 · In reply to 3547844 by JessicaD12
• November 16, 2012 at 8:29 am
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Jessica thank you for replying to my post. Even going to church is no longer an option. I wish that people knew that 30% of the population is affected at some level by chemical irritants maybe they wouldn't wear so much cologne! Or maybe they need to see one of us gasping for air in an emergency room all day or being vented to breathe. Until then I am going to continue to live and see everything I can. My husband and I want to go on a cruise and I want to see a castle in Europe so I want to find something that I can use if I am in a crowd somewhere.

• By gwynbesner
• Reply 3549644
• November 16, 2012 at 4:45 pm
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I have gotten pneumonia every time I have flown for the past ten years. This year I wore a simple paper mask and requested wheel chair so I didn't breathe to heavily and I am fine. I just went to a meeting in someone's home and they were using plug in air fresheners. I removed them all and aired out the house before the meeting. It amazes me that some commercial banquet facilities feel the need to use plug-ins. Interestingly, real fragrances, cinnamon, rosemary, orange, floral, etc. do not bother me.

• By arniesaa
• Reply 3549843 · In reply to 3549644 by gwynbesner
• November 16, 2012 at 6:18 pm
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I agree with the natural scents. I usually do ok but I can't have real flowers in the house. I love lilacs and lillies of the valley but I can't even have those in the yard. I think the places that use plugins that surprises me the most are doctors offices and even hospitals. I have already been taken to the emergency room because my lungs have shut down and the person who is working on me is wearing perfume or cologne. I have heard my husband saying in the background that they have to get away from me before they kill me. You would think that anywhere medical would be safe but it is not.

• By JessicaD12
• Reply 3550723
• November 17, 2012 at 2:34 am
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I am so interested in all your comments. I too have no problems with 'natural' perfumes. Why people feel the need to put on so much scent just to do their food shopping for instance is beyond me! In shopping malls its even worse with the shops, sales staff & customers all adding to the mix! I will definately try a mask in future. Are the ones that you see cyclists sometimes wear any good? Also clothes washing powders anybody found a really good one? As with toiletries I find even supposedly odourless products still have some smell. I don't have any answers, I tend to try to keep away from smells or 'bite the bullet' and try to minimise contact. Any help so I could be more pro-active would be great.

• By JessicaD12
• Reply 3550724
• November 17, 2012 at 2:39 am
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ps I would also like to mention scented candles they are the bain of my life. In England every where smells of them these days! Especially at Christmas!

• By arniesaa
• Reply 3551070 · In reply to 3550724 by JessicaD12
• November 17, 2012 at 8:53 am
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Jessica I have found with laundry soap that the new "Tide" unscented with the note "Dermatolgist approved" works good for me. The old "Cheer" worked well for years but in the past couple of years they changed it and I no longer can use it. An elderly lady once told me 30+ years ago to add about a cup of white distilled vinegar to my laundry washing cycle. She said it would help the action of the soap, freshen your clothes but also seperate the soap from staying with the fabric. To this day I won't do wash without it, the vinegar works wonderfully! I have found that you want to use the cheapest vinegar you can find, an off-brand. Vinegars like "Heinz" are wonderful but too strong to be using. You will find that you cannot smell the vinegar in your clothes, the clothes will be softer and smell fresher. I have been using "Bounce unscented" dryer sheets for softening in the clothes dryer. They do have a smell but I can tolerate it in my clothes. When I first buy a new box of it, I have to keep the box in a plastic bag until I have had it open and used some of the dryer sheets.
I used to love going for a walk with my husband and our Lab "Buddy" but I no longer can do that because of people drying their clothes. They use very strong fabric softener and the dryer exhaust spews that odor and chemical out in the air and I can't breathe to walk down the sidewalk.
I totally agree with the Shopping malls especially around Christmas! The scented candles and now the liquid candles are so hard to breathe. One of the stores uses a scent that they spray on all of their clothes before they are hung on the racks. I cannot even go in that part of the mall. I have been doing most of my Christmas shopping on-line these days but I miss going shopping with my daughters and granddaughters.
As far as hand soaps and creams, I just use anything that declares itself unscented. In some cases I can't use them so I have to try another. I do however like the Neutrogena products and the unscented Vaseline Intensive Care lotion.

• By gwynbesner
• Reply 3551163
• November 17, 2012 at 9:28 am
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I use All Free detergent and Bounce fabric softener sheets. I had never put the vinegar in with the detergent, I added it during the rinse cycle. I will try that, Amiesaa. I have not yet broken it to my kids that I cannot visit at Christmas. They use scented fabric softener in everything and enjoy scented candles.

• By arniesaa
• Reply 3551318
• November 17, 2012 at 10:34 am
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I am so sorry Gywn about Christmas. It is hard for others to understand. I guess the only way that I have been able to describe it to people is: it is like being held under water but I was not allowed to take a breath first. Most people remember when they were kids playing at the pool and someone pushed them under water and they couldn't breathe. That said, I had to leave my one daughters house on my grandsons birthday on Nov. 10th because she lit a candle in the bathroom after I was there. My other daughter had a birthday party for my granddaughter on Nov. 9th and I had to leave abruptly because her teenage cousin walked in loaded with perfume. My husband is wonderful and never gets upset when we have to leave suddenly but I feel like an outsider everytime.

• By JessicaD12
• Reply 3553267
• November 18, 2012 at 2:43 am
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Thank you so much arniesaa and gwynbesner for your replies, something to work on here. Print is another of my problems, mainly glossy magazines & wrapping paper. My family have now been told that I am not wrapping their presents from now on,, going to try to find suitable paper bags and be artistic. well thats the plan.... Have a good day one & all!

• By arniesaa
• Reply 3553822 · In reply to 3553267 by JessicaD12
• November 18, 2012 at 10:42 am
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It is really interesting that print bothers you! We had to stop getting the newspaper about 3 years ago. I used to enjoy going through all the ads that you get on the weekend for the following week but I would get all congested. A friend told me that her mother puts her newspaper in the oven and bakes it and then she can read it. I haven't tried that. I can get the paper on the internet and that works for me. I can read magazines though.

• By arniesaa
• Reply 3553845
• November 18, 2012 at 10:49 am
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Does anyone have a problem with wood burning? I can't go to anyone's house where they burn wood for heat or be at someone's cottage where they have an outside firepit. I think it might be my allergy to mold but I was curious if anyone else had the issue.

• By BackwardMan
• Reply 3553854
• November 18, 2012 at 10:53 am
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When traveling always look for pure allergy friendly rooms.
They are in every major market. Their purifiers are rates as a class two medical device
And they have a charcoal bank that removes VOCs. You can't find a better treated
Hotel room. Check out www.pureroom.com!!

• By gwynbesner
• Reply 3553944
• November 18, 2012 at 11:27 am
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Thank you BackwardMan for sharing that. I travel a lot and only two of my cities were listed in Michigan. I will have to just go early smell the room and then bring in my Hepa filter and sheets, pillow and quilt for now.

• By JessicaD12
• Reply 3553962
• November 18, 2012 at 11:33 am
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Yes I find wood burning stoves a problem as are bonfires. In England we have Guy Fawkes night (5th November) where literally the whole country has bonfires and fireworks. As this happens in our autumn, the next day the air is so thick & foggy. Very bad for breathing and as the air creeps indoors it is a nightmare. Luckily a wind usually picks up & eventually blows the pollution away. I also have problems with steamy atmospheres such as bathrooms. I reckon that with poorly lungs, we need all the fresh air we can get. In polluted, steamy air etc the oxygen levels are lower & our breathing suffers. However with chemicals, print etc they restrict the airways so we can not breath so easily. Have I got this right? I don't know.

• By arniesaa
• Reply 3554293 · In reply to 3553962 by JessicaD12
• November 18, 2012 at 2:04 pm
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I think you have it right. When I used to travel alot for work I would go down to Mobile AL and their heat & humidity is horrible in the summer. I found that very difficult to breathe at times. I live in Upper Michigan in the states and the air is usually pretty good.

• By arniesaa
• Reply 3554295 · In reply to 3553854 by BackwardMan
• November 18, 2012 at 2:05 pm
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Do you know if they have pure rooms on cruise ships? We really want to take a cruise, I have never gone on one.

• By arniesaa
• Reply 3554298 · In reply to 3550723 by JessicaD12
• November 18, 2012 at 2:07 pm
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I did some research on the cyclist masks and in the end ordered a mask that is recommended by the asthma foundation. I am really excited to try it out. Thanks for the idea.

• By BackwardMan
• Reply 3554391
• November 18, 2012 at 2:46 pm
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I have not found pure rooms on any cruise lines yet. U should ask for them to let them know there's a demand for them. Hotels r catching on but very slowly.

• By arniesaa
• Reply 3554471 · In reply to 3554391 by BackwardMan
• November 18, 2012 at 3:22 pm
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Thanks, I will make sure to ask Norwegian cruise line for a pure room.