Fall parties are very special. As the season changes, celebrations take on a warm and cozy feeling. But Fall Parties and Halloween parties can play genuinely evil tricks on children who have asthma.
Among the asthma terrors at Fall Parties:
Pumpkin spice, mold, pine scent, bonfires, latex, fog,
Each year at this time the Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Study Specialists witness real frights. We see what can happen when a child or an adult confronts real asthma triggers that haunt the Fall Season.
The Halloween Environment: Fall Parties and Their Terrifying Asthma Triggers
Neighbors always gather at home this time of year. Sometimes we think adults are as engaged by this holiday as children. Adults enjoy setting their living rooms and dens up with entertaining fall themed fun. We have previously published this paragraph about this blogger’s childhood neighborhood party. See if you can identify all the asthma and allergy triggers in the scene from a neighbor’s delightful party:
“All my friends loved to visit at Halloween when our neighbor set up her dining room with an apple-bobbing tub, exotic spiced candles, fake cobwebs, and a real dry-ice machine. And wafting over it all was the faint nicotine haze of cigarette smoke from Grandpa.”
If you guessed that every one of those party favors and decor items was a potential asthma trigger, you guessed it. So, here’s the official FLASS Halloween and Fall Trigger List:
1. Be Careful Where You Party: When going to a Halloween Party, remember that “other people’s homes may have cigarette smoke, dust, or pet dander that could trigger allergies or asthma.”
2. What’s In Your Fall Decor? When decorating for the fall season, Halloween, or Thanksgiving, remember that candle wax, room scent, air fresheners, and jack-o-lanterns can be asthma triggers. Pine, Cinnamon and Pumpkin Spice are very strong aromas, so take care.
3. Misty Moments Might Not Be Fun: Did you know that both dry ice and chemical fog machines can make breathing very difficult for asthmatics? These special effects can even affect people who do not have to watch out for asthma triggers—the undiagnosed or sensitive among us.
Scary Stories, Games, and Movies: The Longer Days and Darker Nights of Fall Bring Out Them All!
Strong emotions like fear or excitement can be asthma triggers. If you have asthma, remember that you might prefer to avoid that Halloween 20 movie or that Haunted House of Blood. And if you just have to visit the haunted house of the chainsaw massacre, take your rescue inhaler.
Not just at Halloween, not just in the fall, but all the time, a person with asthma must be careful with strong emotion.
As before, we quote the words of the American Lung Association,
“Every day comes with its ups and downs emotionally. It’s important to remember that strong emotions can increase rapid breathing and trigger asthma symptoms. Stress, both personal and work-related, can be a major trigger as well.”
Caution: Too Much Terror is an asthma Trigger, on Halloween or at fall party movie.
FLASS ALERT: Trick or Treat Night for Halloween
Trick or Treat nights bring up another whole fleet of triggers. In the neighborhood, we want you to be aware that just the simple act of running between the yards can trigger “exercise-induced” asthma. According to the Mayo Clinic, this asthma trigger, “causes shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and other symptoms during or after exercise. The preferred term for this condition is exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.
This term is more accurate because the exercise induces the narrowing of airways.”
The doctors and healthcare professionals at FLASS advise you to follow the advice of your healthcare provider. Certainly, pre-medicate if you plan highly physical activity for any holiday. This is especially true for a brisk Halloween Trick or Treat Excursion. Take care of yourself in this regard. Not just on trick-or-treat night, but any fall night when you plan a long walk.
A Cooling Weather Report for Cloudy with Asthma Triggers
Autumn air can quickly change. We might enjoy A cool crispness, a blustery breeze, or a heavy dampening dew. However, to a person with asthma, any one of these can trigger an asthma attack. Likewise, outdoor exercise brings the added trigger of smoke from neighborhood fireplaces and outdoor cooking grills.
Some of these triggers linger long after the Holiday and become part of the fall season.
Others begin weeks before the Great Pumpkin appears. However, the big Trick-or-Treat night brings a whole arena of allergens and triggers all its own. We covered these in our previous blog, but just to re-cap:
You can still have Halloween fun with your child and protect him or her from seasonal asthma triggers.
Trick or Trigger: The FLASS List of Halloween Asthma Triggers
- Once again we list warnings against latex, nickel, and dye. Many Halloween masks are “made of latex. So check with the manufacturer before putting it on your child,” advises the parenting magazine, S.I. Parent.
- Balloons are not always innocent. If you are hosting or attending a party, whether for Halloween, Birthday or fall fun, it is best to avoid latex balloons. Remember, Mylar is a safer bet.
- The FLASS FALL TRIGGER LIST also includes face paint, glitter-glue, hairspray, cosmetics, dangerous costumes, contact lenses, and prosthetic glue.
Special Note: As always, we thank you for visiting the FLASS Blog. We extend a special invitation to next week’s blog, which will bring you the latest CDC news and research about the mysterious vaping disease.