Asthma/COPD Tip

             For those of you with asthma or COPD a car ride, even a short one, can be the beginning of a nightmare, or a pending life-changing event. One of the keys to living with lung disease is avoiding the triggers. If the triggers are in the air around you that key becomes very difficult to perform. Well, here is a tip that may make it easier.

            Even a short car ride can put you right in the middle of a multitude of extrinsic (or external) asthma/COPD triggers. A few of them to ponder might be temperature changes, humidity, or particulate matter and other foreign substances floating around in the outside air. Even something as simple as barometric pressure changes can put some patients in a very frightening and unsafe situation. If it were possible to seal yourself off from the outside air when you’re in your car wouldn’t that make your ride a lot safer and more enjoyable? Well, the truth is it really is possible and it doesn’t cost anything. The answer is in your cars air conditioning or climate control system.

            During normal operation your cars A/C system works by drawing outside air in through a series of ductwork and trap doors. Setting the system to “MAX A/C” or “Recirculate” closes the doors to the outside and the system simply recirculates the air that is already inside the cars cabin. Keeping the settings here will make a huge difference in the air quality inside your car by keeping the outside air, and any contaminants within, outside where it belongs. This will make your car ride much safer, and more enjoyable for you and your family.

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