Indoor air pollution and childhood asthma: effective environmental interventions

Exposure to indoor air pollutants such as tobacco smoke and dust mites may exacerbate childhood asthma. Environmental interventions to reduce exposures to these pollutants can help prevent exacerbations of the disease. Among the most important interventions is the elimination of environmental tobacco smoke from the environments of children with asthma. However, the effectiveness of reducing asthmatic children's exposure to environmental tobacco smoke on the severity of their symptoms has not yet been systematically evaluated. Dust mite reduction is another helpful environmental intervention. This can be achieved by enclosing the child's mattresses, blankets, and pillows in zippered polyurethane-coated casings. Primary prevention of asthma is not as well understood. It is anticipated that efforts to reduce smoking during pregnancy could reduce the incidence of asthma in children. European studies have suggested that reducing exposure to food and house dust mite antigens during lactation and for the first 12 months of life diminishes the development of allergic disorders in infants with high total IgE in the cord blood and a family history of atopy. Many children with asthma and their families are not receiving adequate counseling about environmental interventions from health care providers or other sources.