Inversion Season

It is beginning to feel like spring is finally here!   Although this is exciting news, there must be careful preventative measures taken with those with asthma conditions.  With the upcoming spring season, there have been many questions raised about indoor/outdoor recess time for Utah children at school.  It has come to that season when there is poor air quality caused by inversions that are well known in Salt Lake and Utah County.

In support of the Utah Departments of Health and the Environmental Quality prevention methods, it is important for Utahns to check an online tool that help individuals keep track of the outdoor air quality-the Recess Guidance for Schools.    This tool was developed for the intent to inform school leaders to know when the air quality is bad enough for school children to stay indoor during recess time.

According to DEQ toxicologist, Steven Packham, “The PM2.5 levels are updated hourly for Cache, Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, and Utah Counties.”  Thanks to the Utah Department of Health and the DEQ, they have worked with schools to implement the guidance. “School administrators using the guidance check PM2.5 levels daily. When levels are between 35.5-55.4 ug/m3, ‘sensitive’ students are accommodated indoors. At 55.5-90 ug/m3,, “sensitive” students and those experiencing respiratory symptoms will be accommodated indoors and, at 90 ug/m3 and above, it is recommended that all students be kept inside for recess and sports.”

If your child has any asthma conditions, check the links above to see how the air quality is around your area in Utah.

Preventing Indoor Asthma Triggers

There are many environmental factors within a home that can cause an asthma attack.  Such “triggers” need to be carefully assessed in the home and need to be removed if possible.  We will go over 3 important household triggers that are preventable in nature.

One important trigger within the home is dust mites.  These dust mites tiny microscopic spiders found in house dust.  Some prevention measures to limit dust mites is avoiding vacuuming or being in a room while it is being vacuumed or wear a dust mask while vacuuming or dusting and during other general household cleaning.  Use airtight covers on your mattress and box spring.   Wash all bedding, clothes, and stuffed toys once a week in hot water.   Washing your children’s stuff toys is a great preventative measure because children are more susceptible to asthma condition.

Another asthma trigger is indoor house mold.  You need to keep your kitchen, basements, and especially your bathrooms well ventilated.  Due to the fact that bathrooms contain a lot of exposure to moisture, mold can easily grow.  It is important that each of your bathrooms has a fan.  Some people do not understand the purpose of a bathroom fan.  It takes the moisture particles in the air after a hot shower or bath, and fans it out of the room.  It is important to leave on the fan for a sufficient amount of time.  Avoid using humidifiers if possible

Another preventable trigger within the home is to not smoke.  If you are a current smoker, your doctor or pharmacist can help you quit.  Do not allow smoking in your home, particularly in your bedroom.  Second-hand smoking is a major risk factor, especially among children.

Asthma Care Pharmacies

The Utah Department of Health Asthma Program has recently introduced a new program that will better educate asthma patients.  This program is called the Asthma Care Pharmacies.  The pharmacists that participate on the Utah Asthma Task Force presented a new idea of implementing expanded asthma education at the pharmacy to help patients understand and manage asthma more effectively.  This project will inevitably utilize pharmacists and their skills and knowledge and will allow patients to access additional resources.  The group of pharmacists that presented the idea met with partners that seemed very intrigued by the program and its potential benefits.  This included many other pharmacists, physicians, health plans, and local universities.

The mission of this program is “to assist people with asthma in improving their quality of life by providing the tools and resources necessary to maximize and promote wellness at asthma-friendly pharmacies.”  In line with the guidelines present by The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, this program focuses on asthma self-management education.  It is essential to provide asthma patients with the skills necessary to control their asthma and improve outcomes.  The basic motives of this program are as follows:

The Asthma-Friendly pharmacy program goes above and beyond what pharmacists are already required to do by:

• Utilizing asthma friendly-pharmacists to provide reinforcement of self-management techniques at regularly scheduled appointments.

• Providing face-to-face, individualized education sessions with the patient. Education will be in a separate counseling area away from the counter to provide privacy. The pharmacist will provide education on the diseases processes, elements of control, inhaler technique and trigger avoidance.

• Pharmacists providing comprehensive education on asthma and continued reinforcement of self-management techniques will assist patients to take personal ownership of their treatment plans.

• Keeping the pharmacist in contact with the physician to provide feedback on the interventions/education provided to the patient.

• Reinforcing education sessions throughout the year at one, three, six, 12 months.

• Pharmacist will be also addressing quality of life issues with each patient.

If you or anyone that you know with any asthma condition would be interested in participating in this program visit the Utah Department of Health Asthma Program website @

http://www.health.utah.gov/asthma/.   This seems like a great opportunity to recieve help in managing and controlling one’s asthma!

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!