Curtains should be replaced with shades or blinds and bedding washed using the highest temperature setting. Damp housing increases the risk for asthma. Electric stoves should replace gas ovens, which release nitrogen dioxide. Cockroaches should be eliminated by professional exterminators. Patients should avoid high activity when ozone levels are high, which usually occur in early afternoon, particularly on hot hazy summer days.
Levels are lowest in early afternoon and dusk.
Patients who are allergic to mold should avoid barns, hay, raking leaves, and mowing grass. Exposure to automobile fumes may worsen asthma. Fungi in car air conditioners can also be a problem. Although patients frequently blame food allergies for asthma attacks, true food allergies are rarely the cause. Still, some physicians now counsel all children with asthma to avoid nuts entirely, and, of course, children who experience reactions to any foods should avoid them.