Best Practices for Preventing Childhood Asthma

• • Install exhaust fans close to sources of contamination such as fuel-burning appliances, wood stoves, kerosene or gas space heaters, fireplaces, etc., and then vent to the outside.
• • Do not use gas cooking appliances as a heating source.
• • Change clothing when coming home from work.
• • Avoid using products that produce smoke, perfumes, various sprays, solvents, etc.
• • Use high-efficiency particulate air filters in vents in rooms and in vacuum cleaners.
• • Keep children away from trucks and buses that are idling.
• • Monitor outdoor air quality while keeping children indoors during an unhealthy range of air pollutants.
• • Keep pets out of a child’s bedroom.
• • Remove carpets from rooms and use other floor surfaces.
• • Use a portable air cleaner with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters in a child’s bedroom.
• • Do not use ozone generators in living quarters.
• • Use traps and baits to control mice and rats in living quarters.
• • Encase all pillows and mattresses that a child sleeps on with non-permeable material and wash all bedding in hot water weekly.
• • Remove stuffed toys on the pillow of the child.
• • Use a damp mop or rag to remove dust.
• • Keep home and car totally smoke-free.

• • Reduce potential for mold/mildew by controlling leaks, venting bathrooms, clothes dryers, and other sources of water.
• • Keep the child away from air conditioning in the home and car when it is first started.
• • Do not allow the child to rake leaves, mow lawns, or work with mulch.
• • If mold or mildew appears, remove the child from the area and wash the area with chlorine bleach solution.