Mastering your asthma means understanding your medications, using them correctly, and monitoring your signs and/or peak flow on an ongoing basis. But don't forget to avoid the things that trigger your asthma in the first place. This is very important!

Many of the same culprits that trigger allergies also trigger asthma -- and if you reduce your exposure to them, it will mean less inflammation, fewer symptoms, and a potentially lower dose of medication. Consider the following important allergens:

• Animal dander -- Do you feel nasal, eye, or chest symptoms after a carpet has been vacuumed? Do your symptoms improve if you have been gone from home for a week or more? Do your symptoms get worse within 24 hours of returning home?
• Dust mites -- Do you feel nasal, eye, or chest symptoms after a carpet has been vacuumed? Do you get these symptoms after making a bed?
• Pollen -- from grass, weeds, and trees, and outdoor molds: Does your asthma get worse during any particular part of the year?
• Indoor fungi (molds) -- Do you feel nasal, eye, or chest symptoms in basements or other damp, moldy rooms?
• Other asthma triggers -- include irritants like smoke, pollution, fumes, cleaning chemicals, and sprays. Food allergies are not a common trigger of asthma.

Anyone who has persistent asthma and is using daily medications should probably get tested for allergies by skin testing or in vitro allergy tests. These tests determine whether you are allergic to indoor allergens (such as animal dander, dust mites, mold, or cockroaches). Once you have a better idea of what's triggering your asthma, you can focus on taking specific steps, like keeping pets out of the bedroom or removing carpeting.

Many studies have proven that reducing indoor allergens in your home reduces asthma symptoms, so these steps should be seriously considered.

Finally, keep in mind that allergies can increase with age; they can also decrease. Allergy testing is like a snapshot of a moving picture. Even though a child has been tested once, testing again may be appropriate, especially if the living environment has changed.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy, or allergy shots, has been shown to reduce asthma symptoms. This strategy should be considered when you know that certain allergens are causing your asthma, you can't avoid these allergens and they cause symptoms year-round, and drug therapy is not working well. However, keep in mind that people with asthma are more likely to have bad reactions to allergy shots than people who take them just for allergies, and that asthma experts are not in agreement about what role this strategy should take.

Occupational asthma

Some people are exposed to irritants in their place of work -- such as chemicals, dusts, gases, smoke, and fumes. These irritants can trigger pre-existing asthma, but in other cases they can actually cause asthma that wouldn't otherwise occur. Therefore, it is important to deal with these irritants as soon as possible -- the longer you wait, the more likely it becomes that your symptoms will remain after you are no longer exposed to them in that workplace. An allergist can help you evaluate the impact that your work environment may be having on your breathing.